Thread: Butterfly and Moth help

Hi everyone, guess many of you have nice gardes and live in diff areas so i have an idea where you can help me!. Could you tell me if you or families ever see any big moths,(adults or caterpillars/cocoons) especially green/yellow ones with long tails.
And any nice butterflies(real ones!!! that are black/green/black/blue
I am building a butterfly farm business and would like to find some of these so any help would be great,dont hesitate to pm or show me some pics
cheers rob

^
You mentioned exporting them rob.
Do you mean live ones?
i thought they only lived a couple of weeks.

At certain times of the year we get loads of butterflies.

Large black ones and smaller yellow ones.
Some other types as well but not in big numbers

Originally Posted by Thetyim

At certain times of the year we get loads of butterflies.

Enough to fill a container for export?

In some area of the Kao Yai national park, there are clouds of butterflyes, many many, impressive and beautifull, but you will not be allowed to take those...

not a Monarch

Originally Posted by El Gibbon

Troides Aeacus - The Golden Bird Wing

That's it. Somehow I figured you'd be able to ID it. Thanks.

Originally Posted by forreachingme

In some area of the Kao Yai national park, there are clouds of butterflyes, many many, impressive and beautifull, but you will not be allowed to take those...

borrow a few just to get them started on another swarm.

Farming butterflies is a unique experience. First you better have a market for the pupa. (pupa stage is the stage that is shipped, WITH PERMISSION from the Thai Gov't.)

Raising butterflies in an environment that is not a natural habitat is virtually impossible unless your a real expert with many years of experience.

I doubt very much if, for example, you could possibly raise Monarchs here. On the other hand there are ooooooodddllllles and lots of more spectacular species that are native here.

The key is the food source for both the moth/caterpillar form and the adult form. Often they are different.

E. G.

EDIT:

Forgot to mention, if your planning to export in any form, be very careful they are not on the 'endangered' list. US Customs and Wildlife has a team that searches out and punishes folks that traffic in these species.

In my post above I mistakenly included the same photo twice. Here's the other:

Originally Posted by buad hai

In my post above I mistakenly included the same photo twice. Here's the other:

Nice!
You're lucky that you are able to have these giant pretty Butterflies in your garden! I've often seen some beauties in Doi Inthanon Park.
The largest Butterflies I've seen in my own garden here in N.Y. are those Black Swallowtails, and that's pretty rare occasion.

looks like you've got a female to boot.

Check the leaves where she dawdles, for eggs. You might be surprised!!

Not sure on this species but the eggs can be small white dots no bigger than the head of a common pin or quite lavish in design.

Watching the life cycle of butterflies can be a fruitful and time consuming avocation.

Enjoy

E. G.

This one never stopped long enough to lay eggs. Never stopped beating the wings, just going from flower to flower for nectar. I kept wanting to get a shot of her with the wings folded, but no dice.

How big are the larvae?

I've never seen the eggs of a Birdwing, I imagine with the size of the adult they will be slightly larger than the Rose, which I have seen.

They might be light tan or eggshell and may even have stripes (vertical). Butterfly eggs are domed shaped and sculpted. (moths are rounded or flat). Look for plants they land on and spend a few seconds. Particularly on the underside of leaves, a favorite place to deposit eggs.

The larvae may be up to two inches long or more with large species. Butterfly larvae do not have spines or hairs, but may have some abdominal filaments. Butterflies have 5 pairs of legs although in some species they may be almost unnoticeable. The legs will be found near the head, other legs (prolegs), near the tail of the caterpillar, are used only for this stage of development.

Natural enemies are lady bugs, wasps and praying mantis. If you find eggs you can enclose the area in cheese cloth to protect the eggs until they hatch into larvae/caterpillars and get large enough.

If your successful they will then go into the pupa stage where the caterpillar weaves a solid shell to grow in. These crysalis tend to show wing patterns and coloration near the time the butterfly itself is ready to emerge.

prolly toooo much info for a simple question.

E. G.

hi all, eggs of troides are about 2mm round an orange colour,larvae are huge!! in final instar 3" and as fat as your thumb or more,have pics somewhere,feeds on aristolochia careful poisonous!!
any of you seen any big moths???
yes iam will be working with the gov

Bonjour Rob!
The best way for your project, now, you know IT!

Bonjour La Mouche,
Yes i know it is!!!!!! percentages !!!!

12 cm wingspan

Anyone know it? Had about a 6 cm wingspan.

^ seems to be The Tailed Jay - common in Thailand. Can't tell from the photo but the 'light' spots should have a green tinge to them. Also looks like a male since the tail is not as elongated as a female would be.

He appears to be puddling (i.e. sucking nutrients from the ground) which is good for you if your interested in capturing more with your camera. A light gravel/sandy area that remains moist and contains some remnants of a chemical b-flies need. In our old house it was where the wash water was dumped after laundry.

Once a puddling area is discovered one wants to keep it in the same condition as when you first noted the b-flies. You'll get other species using the same area and at different times of the year. If you've got a spot then setting the camera is easy with minor adjustments for lighting. When they appear your all ready to shoot.

Worked a charm for me.

As for the first photo it appears its a moth of some type.... ?? the antennae are fibrous rather than bulbous (as in a butterfly). These bulbous ends of the antennae are readily visible in the photo of the Jay.

Great shots!

E. G.

EG: you're a wealth of knowledge and thanks BH for posting the pics to draw this knowledge out...

I've been feeling that TD has been going downhill, with little of interest to read of late...so it's nice to see some decent threads which have some real interest and nice too that the dick-heads don't come in here with their constant bickering...

Tks Klongy, as usual most usefull knowledge comes from doing one's own research on a subject. The impetus in my case was to help identify the thousands of b-fly pics I have. In the instance of Jays for example there are between 15 and 20 KNOWN specie of Jays found in Thailand.

You wouldn't believe some of the minute differences. Hence I've been forced to study them (pix) for hours at a time. The same is true of all of the Pap family, which are rich and diverse here in Thailand - the biggest and most beautiful of all the butterfly species.

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to a fellow named Steve Bird for introducing me to this hobby of photographing and identifying these wonderful creatures.

E. G.