No can do... you do not have your email access available to other forum members here (just like I don't). Just as well though since with the health issues I only have limited time I am comfortable sitting at the computer anyway... the body just can't handle it and is part of why I don't do much email with anybody anymore. Some of my "long winded" posts on threads take several "sittings" over many hours before I complete and submit them. They often have to be long to be understood easier is why, especially when so many factors are part of an answer. "Shop talk" emails would be the same, or more likely worse. So threads are easier for me as they only need to be done when I am up to it and have someting to add. They just don't have the urgency an email seems to have. ;)

Start a thread on whatever, and if I can add anything I will. A thread might benefit anyone here who cares to read it, or can simply be ignored by those who don't.

L.

I did not know you or anyone else could NOT access MY e-mail via "send message." I want to know how to change this, since others on here, have the option to send an e-mail to. I'm sorry to hear of your condition. I figured by the timeline of your lep-rearing, you were approximately my same age, too.

Yes, I am aware of how things were in Belize, as of 1995, since a couple of my friends actually immigrated there, from the Dallas area. I never understood why Ornithoptera had to be so over-collected, many species were pushed toward endangerment and even extinction. Far-sighted natives of respective countries, began "farming" morphos of various species, for the trade, which indeed did take pressure off the wild populations.

I'm just not into any butterfly rearing, but yes on certain saturniids and sphingids. As you can read on here, most memebers simply find a few larvae in their own yards or on their own property and bring inside for parasite and predator-free rearing, or even encourage egg-laying by planting host plants, then collect and rear, but ALWAYS release the adults.

Moths are a different deal. Sphingids should be released and I mostly do. Sat's can simply be turned loose leaving a few females to call in like males for another cycle of ova. So far, the only sphingids I've retained for some captive breeding are Carolina, white-lined, Achemon and big poplar. I use purchased screen-covered tents which can be physically entered, and I keep potted, live host and nectaring plants inside. I've even observed moths feeding from hummingbird feeders, as long as a natural blossoms were placed in the holes to entice them.

The wild-spawned and naturally-fed sextas are far superior to the lab-reared, artificially-fed ones. In fact, just buying ova from a scientific/biological supply house or a breeder like Great Lakes Hornworm Co, has resulted in disaster, when feeding hatchlings on real [but toxic] tobacco or even tomato leaf, since the artificial diet has ruined them for generations. Beside, that fake feed only results in turquoise-blue larvae, rather than the beautiful, natural hues of greens seen in the wild. Like lineatas, sexta larvae come in a variety of colors, resulting in the same moths. I've seen enough black on a few sexta cats, it looked like they were simply dipped in black ink and never even rubbed off, while most look simply antiqued [stained/rubbed dry] with India ink. This year's batch had so little black, their wrinkles were clean and green. During my stay in SE Kansas, a few years back, were curiously a dull, pale [almost grayish green with lots of tiny pale freckles] which almost perfectly matched the underside of tomato leaves and the plant stems! Fortunately, the gardener on whose plants I gleaned, did not see any need to just kill any caterpillars that were so hard to even find in the first place, let alone did any significant "damage' to his plants.

Here, sextas are ridgidly protected and this is a commercial truck farm! Yesterday morning, I found a beautiful female Imperial moth near the base on a pine tree trunk. I simply photographed but did not capture. This is also sassafras country. I would not be surprised to find pipevine in this forest, either, since I'm in the geographic range for it. Next spring, I will just toss handfuls of dill seed out to not only meet our spice/herb needs but draw in the swallowtails and just let nature take its course. Rue draws the giants, too. I do enjoy [wild] swallowtails.

Changing your membership to allow email being sent to you is easy. From the forum index page go to Instructions, Members Services, and edit your personal preferences. At the bottom will be a box to select that adds an email link to your profile.

Over collecting wild populations is just greed IMO, whether it be for the almighty dollar or simply bragging rights. Yes, I have known several individuals who singlehandedly decimated colonies for either or both reasons, and some for no reason at all. Folks not knowledgable enough or too lazy to rear, a couple who think that they are doing the long series in the name of science. I remember one clown who returned to the same small colony year after year after year and collected every individual he could net and every larva he could find simply because they were his favorite lep sp/ssp. While he hadn't eliminated the colony completely (as of the last time I was at the location), they had become a rare sight instead of a fairly common one there, and larva that were once abundant were scarce. Why in most of my field work I didn't share the locations of new colonies I discovered with anyone, to protect them from the onslaught sure to come when (not if) the word got around the lep circles, especially for rarer species/subspecies.

Yes the legal "butterfly farms" do take some pressure off a species, but it still pales in numbers when compared to the livestock and adults still taken out of the wild for "butterfly collections". As long as there is somebody who will pay a buck or ten thousand of them for a single specimen, there will be people who will find a way to supply them, even if illegally. IOW, the black market for many rare species still thrives worldwide, and always will as long as they exist in the wild. And there are still a lot of butterfly supply companies worldwide that market and sell wild collected specimens and/or livestock unchecked with a blind eye turned to them by their governments. And they eagerly seek individuals who can supply same to them... no questions asked.

There are very few valid reasons NOT to release all reared leps that were not produced on a legal "farm" IMO. Doesn't matter if only a dozen or the thousands I reared. Rearing in high numbers for a specific organized project by someone involved in it and that will be released is one thing, doing so to sell them is another. Why in all the thousands I reared almost all of them were released - most as reseed projects to strengthen a colony, some to reestablish and promote recovery of all the species after government sanctioned spraying had decimated all lep species in an area (ie gypsy moth control), and all those reared in high numbers to establish a colonies phenology.

The folks here have a genuine concern for lepidoptera, nuture their gardens to attract them, rear some and release those they get through to adult. In the larger picture it does little or nothing to help a species, but it sure doesn't hurt them either. Like all creatures the leps themselves can regulate on their own to the current conditions and survive as long as their natural habitat is not destroyed and they are not over collected to the point of the loss of a colony. Nature has given them the ability to offset natural losses, but at the hands of man is not a natural loss.

FWIW - YMMV

I sure wish I could help re-colonize the DFW Metroplex with Io moths. However, whatever took them out to begin with, will not stop and their loss will only reoccur. I blame fire ants, increased parasitoids and above all, the increase of professional lawn care services and all those chemical lawn treatments, since Io's pupate on the surface, rather than below or above it. Spraying for "asps," the larvae of puss moths, did not help, either, since puss moths feed on about anything the Io did as well.

Far too many gardeners and yard keepers think every single bug has to be killed--the Unicorn prominent for casually eating a few rose or cherry leaves, Io's since they sting, hornworms found on TREES, rather than garden vegetable plants. I've seen it growing up. Waved sphinx, walnut sphinx or big poplar larvae are NOT tobacco/tomato hornworms, yet neighbors sprayed for them, claiming "They're helping the gardening community by reducing tomato worms." PULEEEZE!!!! That's like saying killing earthworms controls leeches.

Some 30 years ago, I clearly remember a random article in "The Auk," whereby a man back east, had reared and released hundreds of Regal moths. The author even mentioned how the moth was uncommon there, until this man began his project, some years earlier. That said, I KNOW captive rearing/releasing DOES give nature a little push.

Well, what I KNOW about captive rearing/release comes from personal experience actually doing it as part of organized projects for many years where together we reared and jointly released by the thousands to tens of thousands annually in all of the broods of a specific colony if possible. I was a contributor in projects for many species, and not only in NA but in some other countries as well. Those projects, done by professional Lepidopterists' and serious amateurs concluded that to make a significant change in a colony or to replenish it after a natural or man made disaster, it needs to be done in very high numbers, year after year, even for decades depending on the circumstances to restore it to its former glory if the habitat can still support that. That analogy infers the hypothesis that rearing a few or even a hundred of a nonmigratory species for release on an individual basis not associated with an organized project of many individuals for release in the same area really doesn't produce long term changes, and even short term changes, if any, are insignificant. It's all about the numbers and repeatability. Small numbers and sporadic local releases that may be years apart by an individual of nonmigratory species are just not significant.

Probably the best known and well documented example of a project to the layman here is the annual Monarch rear/release projects in NA that anybody can participate in. It makes a difference simply because while an individual's personal contribution to it alone may not be significant, the sum total of thousands of people contributing to it every year ALL ALONG the migration routes can be. My contribution to these particular projects was very minimal simply because I didn't rear continental D. plexippus in high numbers. Instead my efforts with this species was centered around the rear and release of high numbers in Hawaii several times as part of a population trend ratio study of the form nivosus found there. Most of my involvement was only over a nine year period and with only sporadic contributions to it by other individuals. The releases might have had some short term impact on the local population just because of the shear numbers released. But it wasn't done every year all year long with the continuous year-round broods there of this species, so it's doubtful it had any long term benefit.

Good points, larry. in addition to captive rearing/release, I also contend that public education and awareness is also quintessential to the survival of many leps. Stop spraying vegetation because it harbors stinging caterpillars. Instead, take an in-depth look at the impact of indiscriminate spraying [for bagworms, puss moths or gypsy moths] wil have on the environment as well as other leps inhabiting the same trees, shrubs, ornamentals, et cetera.

I was absolutely thrilled to see a little Black girl on TV, [Disney Channel] holding a tobacco hornworm she had nurtured and reared. It was a featured pet on a short, filler series titled "Kids and their Pets."

I agree. Awareness on an individual property owner level does make a difference if they curtail unneccessary spraying that has heavy collateral damage. There are lep friendly methods to rid pests without also destroying them. Public awareness and conservation is why I gladly did seminars at schools, libraries and natural history museums whenever I was asked to, as well as fund drives to finance the preservation or purchase of wild habitat to benefit all species plant or animal found there.

Larry, please contact me. Many on here already know my e-mail, anyway.
It's sun_dog63[at]yahoo.com

Thank you.

To be clearer than above... I'm not interested in putting the time or effort into discussions one-on-one via email that offer no possible benefit to any of the good folks here that might chose to read them.
L.