EXOTIC INSECTS GALLERY

All of the specimens shown on this website are taken from my personal collection. Click on the thumbnails for more images.

> ORDER COLEOPTERA: BEETLES

Mantichora "Tiger Beetle" (Mantichora species), Male, Namibia
Like all members of its family (Cicindelidae), these are voracious predators of various insects and other small invertebrates. However, whereas other tiger beetles tend to be small, diurnal, brightly colored and excellent fliers, members of the rare African genus Mantichora are huge, occasionally nocturnal hunters, with fused elytra that render them completely flightless. Fast runners with excellent vision, these giants scurry over the desert terrain in search of prey, armed with two overlapping, oversized sickle-like jaws, one slightly longer than the other, presumably for deeper penetration. Their namesake, the "mantichore," is a vicious man-eating beast of ancient folklore.


"Jewel Beetles" (Family Buprestidae), worldwide distribution
Belionota tricolor
Chrysochroa fulgens
Chrysochroa buqueti
Polybothris sumptuosa gema
Megaloxantha purpurescens
Temognatha carpentarie



"Longhorn Beetles" (Family Cerambycidae), worldwide distribution
Batocera wallacei, Indo-Pacific
Titanus giganteus, Amazon
Macrodontia cervicornis, Amazon
Acrocinus lomgimanus, C & S Amer
Hypocephalus armatus, Brazil








> ORDER LEPIDOPTERA: BUTTERFLIES and MOTHS



"Blue Morpho" (Morpho aega female, form pseudocypris), Argentina
Exclusive to South America, morpho butterflies are well-known for their spectacular bright blue iridescence. The coloration is not due to pigment, but to microscopic lamellar structures in the fine powdery scales of the wings that refract light along the blue wavelength and which, in some species, can change intensity from translucent pinkish-blue to deep violet, depending on the angle. Really something to see.


"Peacock Swallowtail" (Papilio blumei), Sulawesi







"Purple Spotted Swallowtail" (Graphium weiskei), Papua New Guinea
This lovely species is found in forest mountain regions of PNG and neighboring islands, where it flies very high, between 4500 and 8000 feet, and rarely descends below 4000 feet. A rarer blue form (Graphium stressemani) also exists, but there is no other butterfly quite like this. One of my absolute favorites.




"Green Birdwing" (Ornithoptera priamus poseidon)
Numerous species of the genus Ornithoptera (many of them legally protected) occur throughout the islands of the Indonesia-Australian region. Females are huge, but only the large males are magnificently colored in iridescent green, blue, or orange. Many hybrids and geographically localized subspecies also exist, as well as many color variations even within the same species; compare the male pictured here with another male, which lacks the yellow hindwing markings.




"Mother of Pearl Salamis" (Salamis parhassus), Central Africa







"Red Glider" (Cymothoe sangaris)






Euphradea xypete








"Pink Glasswing" (Cithaerias phantoma), Upper Huallaga Valley, Peru








"Gladiator" (Hypolimnias dexithea), Madagascar






"Atlas Moth" (Attacus atlas), Male (Left) and Female (Right), Malaysia With a one-foot wingspan, this is considered by many to be the largest moth in the world. A member of the "Silkworm Moths" (Family Saturniidae) - whose individuals also include the Luna Moth (Actias luna) and Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora cecropia) - its range extends all through Southeast Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, in addition to Malaysia. Although their coccoons are used to make thick strands of silk in some cultures, commercial silk is produced from a distant relative, the Chinese Silkworm Moth (Bombyx mori, Family Bombycidae).


"Sunset Moth" (Urania riphaeus, a.k.a. Chrysiridia madagascariensis), Madagascar
Yes, this is a moth! This colorful species belongs to a family (Uraniidae) of day-flying moths that could easily be confused with swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae). With intensely iridescent green, gold, orange, and purple coloration on the upperside as well as underside, it has been described as "one of the most beautiful creatures in the world" and, along with Blue Morpho butterflies (above), is used extensively in jewelry and artwork.




gynandromorph This is an amazing specimen, and truly one of nature's greatest rarities... It is a perfect bilateral gynandromorph of the "Orchard Swallowtail" (Papilio aegeus) of Papua, New Guinea. The left half is completely male, and the right half is completely female - including the body, right down to the genitalia; a single male clasper can be clearly seen on the end of the left side of the abdomen. (Compare this specimen with a normal male and female pair.) Needless to say, such genetic aberrations (or "freaks") are stratospherically rare. According to the staff at the Insect Farming and Trading Agency in PNG, this specimen was the first such butterfly of this species bred there in 25 years.




display


Click on the image to view pics of some of my butterfly displays.





> ORDER NEUROPTERA, FAMILY CORYDALIDAE: DOBSONFLIES

Male Dobsonfly (Corydalus cornutus), USA








> ORDER ORTHOPTERA, FAMILY PHYLLIDAE: LEAF INSECTS
and FAMILY PHASMIDAE: STICK INSECTS

Phyllium giganteum, Male (Left) and Female (Right), Malaysia

























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