Minyak Wangi Rama-Rama

From a peppermint Pericopinae. I recorded this video on-site in northern Costa Rica a few years ago. When I reached down to pick up this moth, it was hard to avoid noticing the behavior. The moth, Chetone angulosa (Erebidae: Pericopina) ((used to be Arctiidae)), has a common defensive mechanism for this groupthey . . . → Baca Lebih: Minyak Wangi Rama-Rama

Taksonomi Gagal

Recently came across some ridiculously horrible taxonomy from China (.pdf). If you scroll down a bit you can see the english translation. At first glance this looks like a standard taxonomy paper with bare-bones species descriptions. You might even think to yourself, “huh, wonder why they are describing species from only one specimen”. Not the . . . → Baca Lebih: Taksonomi Gagal

Butterfly of the week

I’ve been a bit remiss at posting regular challenges, so I’ll try to pick up the pace. Who can tell me anything about this butterfly? The most you’re getting is that it is from the Western half of the US. Credit for family, genus or species and ridiculous credit for subspecies and where it is . . . → Baca Lebih: Butterfly of the week

Off with their heads!

(photo credit)

The monarchs have started their spring migration north and you might even see one soon (not exciting if you live in FL or HI where there are year-round residents, or in CA where there are separate overwintering spots). Reports from their winter locations in Mexico however are dismal; with possibly the lowest . . . → Baca Lebih: Off with their heads!

Genius of the press, part II

Published in the Santa Barbara News Press, Winter 2009. Who can tell me what’s wrong with these captions?

Page scan credit: Stuart Wilson.

Butterfly of the week

Not the typical butterflybut this is the protein folding structure from a South American hemorrhagic feverthe Machupo virus. The article was found on Science Daily. A striking resemblance to a butterfly, maybe even a Hesperiidae (photo from Butterflies of America).

. . . → Baca Lebih: Butterfly of the week

Stupid buttefly of the week

Know this butterfly? It’s OK, no one really does. It is in the genus Apodemia (Riodinidae), but the taxonomy of this group is a disasterand don’t even get me started on the subspecies. This specimen was photographed in September, meaning it is most likely to be Apodemia mormo (mormo) based . . . → Baca Lebih: Stupid buttefly of the week

Rama-rama selang masa

Walaupun agak tidak berminat dengan rama-rama, mereka cantik dipandang. Berikut ialah video yang sangat hebat oleh seorang lelaki yang saya kenali di Southern CA. Video selang masa beliau tentang kitaran hayat lepidoptera cukup mengagumkan, dan yang ini khususnya cantik. Jika anda memotong kepada kira-kira 3:00 dalam, anda akan melihat berpuluh-puluh . . . → Baca Lebih: Rama-rama selang masa