1 November 2007

What a bumper month! 35 new additions (        ‘d ) to the identified species and 15 new additions (        ‘d ) to the unidentified page.

Again, picking my moth of the month was hard going but I’ve settled on the elegant Dura niveus Lymantriidae.

I’d been noticing the odd, at first unidentified, Maceda mansueta over a period of a couple of weeks. Then, there was a ‘plague’ for 2 or 3 days, with hundreds spotted. And yes, this is a very variable species as can be seen at Moth Identification 3. There was also a mini-plague - OK that’s a bit oxymoronic but you’ll know what I mean - of Utetheisa lotrix. I even caught them at it! In the main street too!

Many thanks again to all those assisting with identifications.

This month has also seen the birth of 3 new Moth Stars. I’ll put my favourite here, featuring Vitessa zemire and Oenistis altica. The others, and The Temple of Moths, can be viewed at Moth Art.

I’m having an exhibition, Mothology: Discover the Magic, of my art at Kuranda Veranda between 2pm and 6pm on Sunday November 4. If you’re in town please drop in and say hello. The exhibition is the ‘art’ half of the monthly Jazz Art afternoon which also features jazz guitar virtuosos, John McMillan and Tony Clucas.

Sorry, but my 2008 Christmas card/Desk Calendar has now sold out.

Cheers till next month

Buck

1 August 2007

It’s been a busy month of moth identifications, and photographing new species. I would like to acknowledge Don Herbison-Evans, Nick Monaghan, Graeme Cocks and particularly Ross Storey and Dave Rentz for their interest and assistance in my endeavours. Given the chilly weather, for us, I was gratified to continue to find new species both at home and on my daily circuit of the lamp posts in Coondoo Street. I’m expecting more in the near future. With this in mind I’ve decided to revise my identification pages on a mothly basis ie once a month, from now on. Each month I’ll pick my moth of the month. This month I’ll indulge myself with three striking new additions to my collection: Bastilla constricta, photographed at home and identified from the new book by Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards: A Guide to Australian Moths,

Cerura multipunctata, found sitting in the gutter of Coondoo Street and Chabula acamasalis, perched on the base of one of my favourite lamp posts.

And finally I should declare that my neighbour, Leigh, is rearing a batch of Hercules moths. I am following his progress with great interest. Leigh has promised to give me a pupa in the near future. We found some great tucker, Bleeding Heart, in our backyard.

                                                                                                                    Cheers Buck

26 February 2007

* Eve flew to Mt Isa and then drove on to Julia Creek to assist Outback Arts with negotiating cross shire cooperation for new arts and community related projects.

The flight back was the milk run to Doomagee, Mornington Island and Normanton but Eve said that it gave her a great look at a truly remote part of Australia from the air. She took some great shots of Normanton country from the air.

* Many thanks to Don Herbison-Evans who has been busy helping to identify more moths which I am about to update.

Cheers Buck

14 February 2007

It is not my intention to write a daily blog. And, as this is the first of my news posts, it is also the ‘latest’. So, to recent highlights:

* The launch of this, our expanded website, which covers all of our LeapFrogOz activities, not just my obsession with moths

* Eve was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her services to community, particularly regional arts and cultural development in Far North Queensland on Australia Day, 26 January. See www.artsnexus.com.au

* May 11 has been set for the opening night for Playing Cards, my next one man show

* After living in this beautiful wonderland since 1980 we still receive great surprises. Between late November and April each year we have a full-on display of Clerodendrum flowers just off the verandah. See the photo on our Home page. We’ve always called them Turks’ Heads or Pagoda Flowers and they attract birds (Lewin honeyeaters and sunbirds in particular) and lots of different butterflies including Ulysses and Cairns Birdwings. Well, for over a week we’d noticed something was devouring the leaves of a Clerodendrum which was hard up against the verandah. I ventured that it was probably one those huge locust/grasshoppers which we see from time to time. But one day Eve spotted the caterpillar. You can imagine the frenzy of photography that took place over the next couple of days. Now I’m not a cosmic person but it was really special to find out, via Don Herbison-Evans website, that it was a Hawk Moth, a Psilogramma increta Sphinginae Sphingidae.  Then it just disappeared, or went to ground to pupate. We knew it must have been ready as it measured 12cm on the final night we watched it. I did try to find the pupa around the base of the plant but was unsuccessful. But you can imagine I’ll be on the look out for a very special Hawk Moth from now on.

Cheers Buck

25 April 2007

Just over two weeks til opening night of Playing Cards. Apart from rehearsing the performance pieces I’ve been flat out finalising the exhibition side of the evening. With the Mobile Moth Mandalas I’ve settled on the final product after going through several different prototypes. Slightly reducing the size from 15cm to 12cm diametre has allowed me to use already available CD packaging. And going to offset printing - in bulk - has allowed me to reduce the price by half.

I have added another new product too, Moth Mandala Wall Plates, with which I am very happy. Good decor pieces.

And there are now two new designs for the Limited Edition Prints. MOTHerland Orbit   I have had printed on fine art canvas using the Giclee technique and the result in the words of my framer is ‘superb’.

To round out the exhibition I have also produced a selection of Posters. Bring on 11 May!

Cheers Buck

29 May 2007

Playing Cards is going great. The audiences so far have really enjoyed the moths, the art and the performance.

Following a request from the WA Museum in Albany I have now created four different A3 posters, Magic of Moths, using identified species. As usual this little push uncovered some new websites from which I have identified more species. So, the Moth Identification pages have expanded. My first 3D art piece, Treasure Jar of Moth Balls, is also on the Moth Art page.

It is interesting too, that this year is turning out to be good for moths. I am seeing some of my friends from a couple of years ago. But there is always the occasional new find. A few nights back I found this beautiful, and slightly different specimen of Erebus crepuscularis sitting on our bedroom floor.

Cheers Buck

5 July 2007

It’s too cold for performing now. Playing Cards have been put away for a few weeks. The cold has diminished the moth activity too.

However, I have discovered a new source of moths easily available in Kuranda. The bottom part of Coondoo Street has these very bright white lights sitting atop a short post about 75cm tall. Fantastic attractants for moths. I’ve found many new species and can’t wait for the weather to warm up for them to realise their full potential.

Also had a great time at Max and Margaret Moulds. I was assured that all the entomologists in North Queensland were in attendance. Max had rigged up some white canvas sheets with mercury vapour lamps. My prize catch was this Cyclodes spectans.

With such an expansion in the identification of new species I’ve rearranged my

Moth Identification pages according to family groupings which seems to be more standard.

                                                                                                                    Cheers Buck

Bastilla constricta

Noctuidae Catocalinae

Cerura multipunctata

Notodontidae Notodontinae

Chabula acamasalis

Pyralidae Pyraustinae

1 September 2007

In July Nick Monaghan (http://lifeunseen.com/index17.php) intimated that mothing, and in particular the identification of one’s catches was ‘certainly a challenging hobby’. It certainly is! Combine that with Ian McMillan’s (http://icmcmillan.tripod.com/index.htm) accurate observation that I am living in a ‘lepidopterist’s paradise’ and I probably spend far too much of my time trawling moth sites. But then, that’s pretty pleasant, so not too many worries. Plenty of new species have been added to my pages this month. All the new entries have been marked with an orange star in both the identified and unidentified pages.

Moth of the month? So many great ones from which to choose! But I simply can’t go past my first Coscinocera hercules.    

I also finished my first prototype for a new range of 3 dimensional Moth Stars. Very happy with the result.                                                                         

Cheers Buck