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Post by nomad on Feb 10, 2013 3:14:38 GMT -8
 Nice photograph of Delias gilliardi mud puddling. Please can you tell me if this habit which is often observed with other Pieridae is common among the Delias butterflies and is it mostly the males which will do this. Will Delias butterfles visit damp ground or puddles in large numbers, with more than one species. Have new species or very rare ones been captured in this way? I should also be very interested to know if all of those Delias species that were discovered by the early collectors such as A.S. Meek and the Pratt's have all been found again or are there any or many that have not been seen since those first captures. Would this be because they are really rare in nature or these localities have not been visited since the early part of the 20th century. Peter.
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Post by nomad on Feb 10, 2013 3:40:32 GMT -8
Does anybody know the identity of this Delias butterfly? which was photographed by Ray Straatman in Papua ingesting at a puddle. There is no other photograph information. Could it be Delias aroae from the Owen Stanley Range? Peter Attachments:
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Post by wollastoni on Feb 10, 2013 4:52:25 GMT -8
Dear Peter, Very nice picture, thank you, very hard to find such live pictures of aroae sub-group. Aroae sub-group is one of the most complex so it's hard to be 100% sure of the species without locality and recto/verso pictures. As it is very dark, it could be Delias endela from Chimbu Prov or Delias aroae indeed. More info here : www.delias-butterflies.com/groups/species-groups/group-vii-cuningputi-group/About mud-puddling, mountainous Papuan Delias do a lot. In the Pass Valley, 2000m., West Papua, I saw a spot where you can see about 10 different species of Delias mud-puddling. You can see thousands of them in one day, very impressive. 95% of them were common stuff, but there were some rarities among them (D. klossi, D. oktanglap...). I would say all of early discovered Delias have been re-discovered. The reason would be the early explorators did not reach the remotest place of Papua for many reasons (hostile tribes, hard to bring food + material on very long distance...). Olivier |
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Post by nomad on Feb 10, 2013 5:16:41 GMT -8
Olivier
Thank you for your information. I believe Ray Straatman went all over New Guinea studying the Ornithoptera but collecting many other butterflies as well. He certainly visited the Owen Stanley Range and almost certainly Morobe Province during his travels. Seeing those gatherings of Delias butterflies in the Pass Valley, West Papua, must have been a wonderful experience. I wonder how many Delias butterflies there are remaining to be discovered in those remote parts of New Guinea.
Peter..
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Post by wollastoni on Feb 10, 2013 5:45:24 GMT -8
Well must be many. The 2 famous "Lost World" expeditions to the Foja mountains in West Papua had terrible weather conditions but Henk van Mastrigt found 5 totally new species in few weeks : www.delias-butterflies.com/media/Maps/ij_foya.htm Many new species has been discovered in the 21st century in New Guinea but also in Indonesia. |
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Post by nomad on Feb 10, 2013 9:13:59 GMT -8
Olivier, I think you are right and the Ray Staatman photograph is indeed Delias endela from the Chimbu Province of the Highland region of Papua New Guinea. Ray Straatman visited here during 1973. A photograph of the Chimbu region that he took is enclosed here. Peter. Attachments:
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Post by wollastoni on Feb 10, 2013 10:56:20 GMT -8
Nice, look like heaven to me ! Thanks for posting those beautiful pictures Peter.
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Post by wolf on Feb 12, 2013 14:58:07 GMT -8
Delias ganymedes halconensis from Mindoro, Philippines. Attachments:
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Post by wolf on Feb 12, 2013 14:58:50 GMT -8
Delias blanca apameia from Mindanao, Philippines. Attachments:
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Post by wollastoni on Feb 27, 2013 2:50:48 GMT -8
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Post by wollastoni on Mar 3, 2013 1:55:19 GMT -8
Delias niepelti hypochrysis PINK FORMIlu village Central Mountains West Papua August 2009 Coll. Pequin This pink form seems to be rare as I have never seen some before... Attachments:
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Post by nomad on Mar 6, 2013 10:12:59 GMT -8
Delias hyparete indica mating pair by Dr Brian Fletcher [ shown with permission] at Da Lat Vietnam, 27. 2. 2000. Pity about the grass but still a interesting photo. I believe a common and widespread species. Attachments:
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Post by wollastoni on Mar 6, 2013 10:21:52 GMT -8
Yes hyparete is the most common and widespread Delias. You can see it even in the center of big towns like Bangkok. Those one are not so fresh, but they are splendid when fresh. It is a very variable species with 20 distinct subspecies, some very beautiful like mindanaensis, some with no red at all. Common but very hard to have a pair of each ssp. More info here : www.delias-butterflies.com/groups/species-groups/group-xxii-hyparete-group/delias-hyparete/ |
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Post by nomad on Sept 15, 2013 5:45:59 GMT -8
Hi all. Delias kuehni kuehni [ Honrath 1886 ] just off the boards.  Delias kuehni kuehni female from Pelang Islands near Sulawesi. |
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Post by nomad on Oct 5, 2013 1:32:50 GMT -8
I have just been looking again at this wonderful thread with its spectacular Delias specimens.  My favourites are Olivier's extreme rarity, the male D. cumanau from the remote Foja mountains of West Papua New Guinea and his female D. walshae from the Central Highlands of that Island. Also Barry's D. salvini female and Robert's superb D. bagoe pair. I have been told the most sought after Delias species among collectors are those new species from the Foja mountains discovered during the Lost World Expedition. No supply from this newly researched area  . Here is a very beautiful Delias pair from Timor, the female is uncommon. Attachment DeletedDelias lemoulti, the female bottom is from Mount Mutis 2012Attachment DeletedThe remote Foja Mountains, where rare Delias fly. |
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Nice photograph of Delias gilliardi mud puddling. Please can you tell me if this habit which is often observed with other Pieridae is common among the Delias butterflies and is it mostly the males which will do this. Will Delias butterfles visit damp ground or puddles in large numbers, with more than one species. Have new species or very rare ones been captured in this way?
My favourites are Olivier's extreme rarity, the male D. cumanau from the remote Foja mountains of West Papua New Guinea and his female D. walshae from the Central Highlands of that Island. Also Barry's D. salvini female and Robert's superb D. bagoe pair. I have been told the most sought after Delias species among collectors are those new species from the Foja mountains discovered during the Lost World Expedition. No supply from this newly researched area 
. Here is a very beautiful Delias pair from Timor, the female is uncommon.