Month: November 2018

LEPIDOPTERA LIFE CYCLES: The Luna Moth (Actias luna)

The Luna Moth (Actias luna) is one of the most spectacular of the giant Saturniid moths from the United States. With its green colors and long delicate tails, it is breathtaking to see live and in person, especially for the first time! According to the amazing book “The Wild Silk Moths of North America: A Natural History of the Saturniidae of the United States and Canada” by Paul M. Tuskes, James P. Tuttle and Michael M. Collins, this species can be found throughout most of the eastern part of North America. There are two seasonal forms, with those hatching in the spring being a more intense green in color whereas those hatching in the summer tend to be more yellowish. The spring forms also have a more vibrant purple outer wing margin. I have found them very easy to rear on both walnut and sweetgum, with the only real issues being overcrowding which tends to attract yellow jackets and birds, who love to eat the caterpillars, especially when using net bags on the branches of trees.

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT: Battus philenor, the Pipevine Swallowtail

Welcome to part one of a series I am doing called Species Spotlight. Each entry will showcase one particular species of invertebrate, whether it’s a butterfly, a moth, an arachnid or a millipede. Wherever possible I will use my own photographs and each entry will feature general information of the species as well as any additional notes that I can add, based on working with said species. The topic of this entry is the Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor. 

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BOOK REVIEW: “Butterflies of Pennsylvania: A Field Guide” by James L. Monroe and David M. Wright

If you are a regular reader on here then you know that I love field guides. There are so many good ones out there that you just don’t know which one(s) to get. I have reviewed some of the better ones but to be honest, as good as they all are, none of them are perfect. Each field guide brings something pertinent to the table but they also miss the mark in other areas. I actually wish that someone would take the best elements of all of these guides and make one perfect guide.

Some guides try to be over ambitious, covering either the whole United States or just the east or west coast. These are all fine and good but the problem is, the more ambitious they are, the more likely they are to keep out important information because they want to minimize the overall size of the guide. Field guides are just that, guides meant to be used in the field. If they weigh ten pounds it makes it difficult to bring the book with you.

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The Highly Underrated Grammostola pulchripes, the Chaco Golden Knee

With over 900 species of tarantula worldwide, most keepers are always on the look out for the new and exciting must-have species that just recently became available, after years of being absent from the hobby (or never available at all). Tarantulas that feature larger-than-usual sizes or stunningly beautiful colors are always in high demand and while this is fine and good, some staples of the hobby take a back seat. Other species, that should be popular, just never achieve that must-have status. The subject of this blog, in my opinion, is one such species.

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Old World Versus New World Tarantulas

As of this writing there are 954 known species of tarantulas in the world, with dozens upon dozens of described genus names. As research continues on these fascinating animals, new genus and species names are created and animals are being shifted into new nomenclature. You just never know when what you had yesterday as a Brachypelma smithi could now be Brachypelma hamorii tomorrow. What one day was Avicularia versicolor is now Caribena versicolor. As new species are discovered and more research is done, I am sure these shifts will continue.

Old World Tarantula
New World Tarantula
Old World Tarantula

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The Thrill of the Hunt: Finding Moth Cocoons in the Wild

For anyone that raises butterflies and moths, having your caterpillars form pupae is a huge undertaking. You spend weeks feeding these hungry mouths and though you may be doing it in protected environments, the chance of failure is still there. Stink bugs, yellow jackets, skunks and raccoons are always hungry for your babies and at times, no matter how hard you try, they still seem to find what you are working so hard to protect. There is an excitement that is unequaled when your caterpillars finally form their chrysalis or cocoon. With all of these odds against you in captivity, what chance do they have in the wild?

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BOOK REVIEW: “The Book of Caterpillars” by David G. James

When I was approached in early 2015 to be a part of this book, I quickly agreed. How exciting would it be to be a part of a book that had not been attempted yet about one of my favorite subjects, butterflies and moths. Yes, there have been other books on caterpillars (most notably “Caterpillars of Eastern North America” by David L. Wagner and “Caterpillars in the Field and Garden” by Thomas J. Allen) but none can boast a world-wide variety of 600 species shown full size! That is exactly what “The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from Around the World” has done!

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Setting Up A New Tarantula Enclosure

When you have as many tarantulas as I do, you tend to go with what is easy in terms of enclosures. Uniformity works best, not only because it makes feeding easier but also because in many cases, you can maximize space used (and most tarantula enthusiasts will concur that you just cannot have enough space). There are downsides to this though, especially if you really want to showcase a prize specimen.

For the most part, I use Exo-Terra Breeding Boxes (see review HERE). Their rigid construction allows for stacking which maximizes much needed shelf space. The problem is that they don’t really allow for your collection to be displayed properly. For housing a large variety of tarantulas, they are perfect; but if you want visitors to check out your collection, viewing them is difficult.

 

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