A Drawer a day will keep the winter blahs away

In this particular instance it's really a case of proposing a new name in order to split the species into a separate genus purely on the basis of its size, but not checking first whether the name proposed for it has already been published at generic level. When it was found that the name had already been used the old name had to be replaced with a new one. Of course it is a matter of personal preference whether you BELIEVE it is worth placing in its own genus or not.

I should point out that regardless of the names used it is often totally subjective whether or not any species or related group of species should be split from one genus and placed in another. If you agree with the reasons for the separation, then follow the new classification. In some cases there is a really valid reason why a species or group of species moves genus, generally when it is shown that the previous classification includes taxa that do not actually have a direct common ancestor with all of the other members of the genus, which is more recent than all species placed in other genera.

An example of subjective splitting is whether or not you PREFER to treat Pterourus, Heraclides, Chilasa etc as genera or as groups or subgenera within genus Papilio. It is really up to YOU which of the two you prefer in this case.

An older example of a good reason why it is sometimes actually necessary to change genus names for a particular species is the case of Atrophaneura antenor from Madagascar. It was placed in genus Atrophaneura along with the windmill and batwing species of SE Asia. However, the ancestor of antenor probably diverged before the rest of the Troidini except Battus and so it has a common ancestor with many species that are not placed in genus Atrophaneura, eg. Pachliopta, Parides and the birdwings. This is a clear case where a species has to be moved from the genus it was placed in, and put in a separate genus. The alternative is to put all of the species that were previously considered as belonging to various different genera back into a single genus, which is not really satisfactory.

Adam.

A few more..... FYI, the two on the upper and middle right were from the sixties and I got them in the 70s from within the US. I'm indeed lucky to have had the chance to nab them when I did. They came from the Butterfly Co., NY back then. I was a teen in those wonderful days.

Oh Bill, how I remember those days of the Butterfly Co. in Far Rockaway New York ! I started purchasing from them in 1974 on thru to 1979. I'll never forget that wonderful catalog of 900 insects from all over the world being offered for sale. How much I desired to purchase an O. alexandrea pair for $125.00. Problem was I was only in high school at the time and had no job or income to pay such a "high price" for a pair of butterflies.
That's not the first time I've had a chance at securing myself a pair of alexandrea. But, it certainly is one of the better bargains I've missed out on due to bad timing or lack of money or both.

Timmsyrj, I have to say it just "boggles the mind" that you are able to have the generally large series of things that you do. I mean it's not like you just go out in your backyard and bait trap em'. Many of these species you have posted (at least in A1 condition) cost some real cash to own. And while most of us might afford a pair at best --- you seem to have 8 or 10 pairs ! Just staggering. But, more power too you if you can do it. I'm sure all have been well earned. Bravo !

Thanks for the compliment trehopr1. I like to display certain species the way you would encounter them in the wild. I was inspired to do this one day while "tree tapping".(see my video on this collecting method on youtube or this forum). I try to do some of this each summer if I can. In the following photos I have several species of Red Catocala, which were all collected East of the Mississippi. I found some locations in the Mississippi bottomlands of Western Tennessee, where I encountered Catocala carissima, Catocala amatrix(both nominate and form "nurus"), while tapping Cypris and Tupelo trees wearing knee-high rubber boots and keeping an eye out for Cottonmouth snakes(a poisonous pit viper of Eastern swamplands). In the second photo I condensed several species and their variations for a closer look. Tom

Where possible, especially with ranched species like the Ornithoptera, I buy in bulk, I've had 4 orders with I.F.T.A over 6 years before they finished, each for around £2,000 ( at one point it was $2 to the £1) so I got good value, one order had 125 pairs of Ornithoptera priamus s.sp ( urvilleanus, caelestis, demophanes, bornemanni and poseidon) I've bought in goliath, chimaera and victoriae at 10 pairs of each per order, I set out all specimens and kept a few for my personal collection and sold off others at the local shows here in the U.K, because I was buying in bulk I got them much cheaper per unit, those I kept for my collection I basically got them free as I sold off twice as many and the profit I made covered the cost of these, after a show I'd send another order off using the money I made at the show, each order had a few additional species added for my own collection, all paid for by selling off the surplus.
Sadly I don't have the time to do the shows much now, I've only attended one in the last 2-3 years as a visitor so my spending has slowed down as I'm not making the hobby pay for itself anymore, I do still buy in bulk though where possible so I have large numbers of surplus should I get the time to do more shows. Just look at the deals you get from insectsale when you buy wholesale, you get 10 specimens for the price of 6, I set them all, keep the best 4 and sell the other 6 for double what I paid, I got 4 specimens free for the collection and covered shipping and import fees and CITES permit costs where applicable.

Rich

P.S I do like looking through eBay for mixed papered lots going cheap, I bought 900 A1-/A2 Papilio and Nymphalidae from Uganda for 200 euro, there must be 400 Papilio, mostly common mix but I got 2 male P.rex and 11 male and 4 female P.nobilis nominate, 40+ P.mackinnoni and hesperus males, they're worth what I paid for the whole box, when you add the 300+ charaxes and 200 assorted nymphalidae (salamis, euphaedra, hypolimnas etc).

That's a great way to get some fine specimens for your collection timmsyri. Not to mention efficient and smart, keep some of the best ones and sell the rest to support your hobby/activity. I would do the same, but here in the US you pretty much would have to be a licensed dealer to do that. There are so many regulations imposed upon us including the Lacey act by government agencies that it is a nightmare to try and import anything legally especially cites 2 material as a private collector. So I buy from dealers here in the US, and collect locally and travel to places like Arizona or West Virginia to obtain specimens. It can be a lonely pursuit at times because there are relatively few collectors, and we are spread out far apart. Sadly, it seems that insect collecting is slowly dwindling into oblivion in the US. I feel fortunate to have this website to connect with other collectors worldwide, not to mention the wonderful friendships and comraderie that started here. Where else can you show off your collections, see others collections, and get feedback from hobbyists both amateur and professional, from all over the globe? Last spring Eric and I visited Bill Garthe's home for a few days to celebrate his retirement from teaching. We had a great time, and to personally see his collection was impressive to say the least. The coleoptera he has curated impressed me the most, and the joy of four gathering enthusiasts was uplifting. I collect and study beetles as well, though my collection is thin compared to Bill's. Here are a few of mine.