Post by mikeh on Jan 25, 2021 18:13:08 GMT -8
Discussions like this are definitely very personal depending the places one visits and the desirability of thw quarry. Personally I feel like I have never had much trouble with Swallowtails or Phoebus sennae but a large part of this may just be me not remembering the misses as much as the successes in these instances. To me the worst ones are the ones that I was not able to identify before they got away or the probable lifers that I have only seen and missed the one time. A big part as well is observation and learning their habits and figuring out the best approach to making the catch.
Some comments on a few species that have been mentioned and some that have not which I have a bit of experience with.
H. crysalus has always seemed fairly easy to me and I have never really had much trouble finding it if I look in the right places, it also readily inhabits the suburbs if there is hostplant. I actually caught one the first time I ever went collecting with my homemade coat hanger and window screen net. I think the trick is to just find colonies in trees that are not too tall and then tapping the trees to encourage them to fly a short distance and re-perch for easy netting. Sometimes you can find Gambel's Oak that are a bit sappy and have large numbers flying about the same tree. The host trees tend to grow taller further south so collecting them in Arizona is much more challenging than collecting them in Utah or Colorado though.
Day-flying Hemileuca were always impossible for me to net as a teenager, I remember chasing after one for like half a mile once in a big meadow when I was about 16 and of course it was completely futile. The key to me seems to be recognizing common flyways on slopes where they are fairly common and just laying in wait until one flies close enough, in good places I still only end up netting about 3-4 per hour on average. First time I caught one was about 10 years after I started collecting but there was a population explosion near my house that year of eglanterina and I saw hundreds of individuals in places where I had never seen any before or since. I found a ravine with a narrow opening in the oak trees and individuals were flying through it about one a minute and I was able to pick up a nice series in just a few minutes.
Junonia evarete nigrosuffusa is very wary and a bit tricky to sneak up on but they are also very territorial so even if I miss I feel like they are likely to stick around the same area and if I am patient I can net them eventually.
Megathymus yuccae I have had decent success with, at least they are big so I can see them coming or landing and I have had decent sucess. Males also seem territorial and tend to stick to ravines in my experience so sometimes one can find a spot they seem to like and lay in wait for them to come and perch. Megathymus streckeri has seemed practically impossible but maybe I just need to find a better spot.
Hilltopping Hesperia has been my bane, too small too follow when they get spooked, I have to spot them as they land on rocks or when they are already perched and manage to sneak up on them. Often it seems they are relatively uncommon with only one or two individuals buzzing around below the summit. And of course they are too small and similar to other species to ID without them being in hand. Skippers in general seem to be quite challenging unless they are nectaring. Amblyscirtes and Atrytonopsis are two other difficult genera for me.
Oeneis has several species that are somewhat difficult to catch, O. jutta often hides on the bark of trees where it is difficult to spot and swing the net but occasionally can be found nectaring and exposed where it is easy to catch. This was actually the first Oeneis I found as a teenager a year or two after I started collecting since I unknowingly went backpacking in a valley that is well known for them and found several on flowers. The higher elevation Oeneis melissa, polyxenes and bore are also challenging due to the elevation and rockyness and for melissa the tendency to fly over cliffedges but really the hardest part is getting to good habitat and each can occasionally found commonly in places with more favorable ground cover. Oeneis alberta is extremely challenging as well in Colorado due to its scarcity, usually perching and not flying but always flying fast and far when spooked but seems much easier in Arizona.
Erebia magdalena is also very challenging to catch due to flying over scree but sometimes can be found nectaring in more grassy areas and easily netted. Oftentimes it just takes patience and picking a good spot to stand since they can't easily be chased.
Lycaena phlaeas in the West seems difficult due to problems getting to good habitat and that habitat being very high and rocky, they also seem to be always on the move and difficult to track.
Some comments on a few species that have been mentioned and some that have not which I have a bit of experience with.
H. crysalus has always seemed fairly easy to me and I have never really had much trouble finding it if I look in the right places, it also readily inhabits the suburbs if there is hostplant. I actually caught one the first time I ever went collecting with my homemade coat hanger and window screen net. I think the trick is to just find colonies in trees that are not too tall and then tapping the trees to encourage them to fly a short distance and re-perch for easy netting. Sometimes you can find Gambel's Oak that are a bit sappy and have large numbers flying about the same tree. The host trees tend to grow taller further south so collecting them in Arizona is much more challenging than collecting them in Utah or Colorado though.
Day-flying Hemileuca were always impossible for me to net as a teenager, I remember chasing after one for like half a mile once in a big meadow when I was about 16 and of course it was completely futile. The key to me seems to be recognizing common flyways on slopes where they are fairly common and just laying in wait until one flies close enough, in good places I still only end up netting about 3-4 per hour on average. First time I caught one was about 10 years after I started collecting but there was a population explosion near my house that year of eglanterina and I saw hundreds of individuals in places where I had never seen any before or since. I found a ravine with a narrow opening in the oak trees and individuals were flying through it about one a minute and I was able to pick up a nice series in just a few minutes.
Junonia evarete nigrosuffusa is very wary and a bit tricky to sneak up on but they are also very territorial so even if I miss I feel like they are likely to stick around the same area and if I am patient I can net them eventually.
Megathymus yuccae I have had decent success with, at least they are big so I can see them coming or landing and I have had decent sucess. Males also seem territorial and tend to stick to ravines in my experience so sometimes one can find a spot they seem to like and lay in wait for them to come and perch. Megathymus streckeri has seemed practically impossible but maybe I just need to find a better spot.
Hilltopping Hesperia has been my bane, too small too follow when they get spooked, I have to spot them as they land on rocks or when they are already perched and manage to sneak up on them. Often it seems they are relatively uncommon with only one or two individuals buzzing around below the summit. And of course they are too small and similar to other species to ID without them being in hand. Skippers in general seem to be quite challenging unless they are nectaring. Amblyscirtes and Atrytonopsis are two other difficult genera for me.
Oeneis has several species that are somewhat difficult to catch, O. jutta often hides on the bark of trees where it is difficult to spot and swing the net but occasionally can be found nectaring and exposed where it is easy to catch. This was actually the first Oeneis I found as a teenager a year or two after I started collecting since I unknowingly went backpacking in a valley that is well known for them and found several on flowers. The higher elevation Oeneis melissa, polyxenes and bore are also challenging due to the elevation and rockyness and for melissa the tendency to fly over cliffedges but really the hardest part is getting to good habitat and each can occasionally found commonly in places with more favorable ground cover. Oeneis alberta is extremely challenging as well in Colorado due to its scarcity, usually perching and not flying but always flying fast and far when spooked but seems much easier in Arizona.
Erebia magdalena is also very challenging to catch due to flying over scree but sometimes can be found nectaring in more grassy areas and easily netted. Oftentimes it just takes patience and picking a good spot to stand since they can't easily be chased.
Lycaena phlaeas in the West seems difficult due to problems getting to good habitat and that habitat being very high and rocky, they also seem to be always on the move and difficult to track.
