More dead animals. Hey, don't laugh at my photos, okay? I should have asked for better lighting; the busy office was incredibly dark. Getting decent pics is a crapshoot for me, as is evidenced by my crappy photos label. I have zero interest in photography itself. However, looking at my photo set compared to the standard is making me feel a bit embarrassed that I didn't take the time to line them up perfectly, properly sized, lighted, etc. Eh, as it was, it took me a good 2-hour visit to take photos of a few trays' worth of Paul Johnson's Annaphila specimens, some from the Pinnacles National Park collection and some from his personal collection. Thank you for your time and attention, Paul!
While I prefer alive and natural, over dead and spread, collections do have their uses. My photos of a live Annaphila from March 9, 2014 match Paul's 4 A. decia specimens, especially compared to the series (scroll down for Annaphila spp.). There's a distinctive, cartoony sideview of a boy's face on the hindwing, too. The collection dates were 03/12/02, 03/18/07, and 2x 04/13/06 (yes, yes, I use mm/dd/yy). That's good enough for me, even though I still don't think they're well represented online and barely match old hand-drawn plates (Hampson Species Index, figs. 7 & 8). I did find it interesting that a couple more photos were uploaded to BugGuide in the days since my live post. It's natural, since they're on the wing now. And, I also located this gorgeous live shot, despite its misspelling (a challenge of online searching).
Alright,
I'll admit I was jumping the gun the other day, fantasizing about how I may
have accidentally found a previously undescribed species. It's funny; I'm not ashamed. Regardless, it reminded me
of an item on my bucket list. I'm not ready to go down that path now,
anyways. Someday, right?
Annaphila decia head on view
I should mention, it's really difficult to spread tiny moths this well. Spreading takes good dexterity, talent, patience, and desire. I have none of those qualities. It's cool how those upright scales (that looked like jumping spider eyes) are still preserved in the spread body. Now, all I need to do is find me some jumping spiders...
ps 03/27/14 - I am still researching this and may end up personally comparing with U.C. Berkeley's Essig Museum of Entomology original paratypes, which are accurately identified. There is a potential that my photos, Paul's specimens, BugGuide, and Flickr are all the same, just not A. decia. Crazy, huh? Go museums!
ps 03/27/14 - I am still researching this and may end up personally comparing with U.C. Berkeley's Essig Museum of Entomology original paratypes, which are accurately identified. There is a potential that my photos, Paul's specimens, BugGuide, and Flickr are all the same, just not A. decia. Crazy, huh? Go museums!
