Dear Andrew,
I share your dream and it is my desire that, over time, the Guam Shell Club
and its website will progress in the general direction you propose.
Photographing mollusks takes considerable time and patience. Like insects,
capturing a mollusk at the right moment can be an utterly frustrating and
hair-pulling activity. Think these guys are slow moving? Give this activity
a go and you'll change your mind as you try to shoot close up. But the
reward of a few nice images makes it all worthwhile. Perhaps, over time, a
"Mollusks through Mask," or something of that sort, may become a reality.
I have the "Butterflies through Binoculars" guides for all US regions, as
well as the one for dragonflies. They are all well done.
As I ramble...my last dive was spent looking for micro mollusks through a
10X magnifying glass. I spent close to two hours, in just 20 feet of water,
simply checking out life under small rocks. I was fascinated by all the
small critters that rarely get any notice. As I did this, stumbling across
"giants" like Cypraea moneta was somewhat disorienting. As for finds, I did
turn up a couple interesting micro marginellids, will not even guess which
species, let alone genus, they belong too.
Cheers,
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists of America List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Andy Rindsberg
Sent: Friday, August 13, 2004 11:39 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: A moth
Very good! I spent a happy hour with "Butterflies through Binoculars: The
East", which has photos of all the species of living butterflies that are
native to the eastern United States and Canada, without finding the moth.
Well, no wonder, there are a lot more species of moths than of butterflies;
sometimes I should listen better to Art!
Examining this book did give me to wonder why we don't have more guidebooks
like this for mollusks. "Butterflies through Binoculars" emphasizes the
living organisms. In addition to identification advice and color photos of
butterflies perched on stems and flowers, there is authoritative information
on where they live, what they eat as caterpillars, when they are likely to
be found in different regions, and how the species is faring in modern
America. It's useful information for butterfly searchers (for one thing,
they can grow some of the food plants in their own gardens), and it's
interesting too.
It seems to me that this is the trend in mollusks too -- I'm thinking, just
offhand, of Ross Gunderson's photography of micromollusks and José Leal's
guides to the mollusks of Florida. Obviously, redoing "American Seashells"
with even a paragraph for each species would require a whole shelf of books
-- ah, but what books they would be.
What kinds of live-animal information would Conchlers like to see about
shells in a guidebook? Photos of living animals in color, burrows and
trails, water depth, environment, timing of egg laying? For most species,
sadly, information on such topics is very sparse. However, if someone, or a
shell club, wanted to start small, they could select one family or one
geographic locality and post a website with a page for each species. Nature
notes could be contributed by reliable observers, individually credited, and
checked by the local expert. Like "Moths of Ohio" but developed by a group.
"Butterflies through Binoculars" was a labor of love, by the way. The author
made a point in his introduction of saying that it was not a moneymaker.
Well, just dreaming maybe.
Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama
-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists of America List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Bob Abela
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2004 11:18 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: A moth
Hi Art,
Visit http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/moths/oh/toc.htm
My guess...one of the many Tiger Moths (Arctiinae).
Cheers,
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists of America List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Peter Maddison
Sent: Friday, August 13, 2004 8:04 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: A moth
Hi Art
Try posting the photo on [log in to unmask]
- you may have to subscribe to be able to paste the phooto. Peter
----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, August 13, 2004 6:28 AM
Subject: A moth
> Sorry, this is not about a shell.
> A friend brought me a photo of a moth. Adams County, Ohio. About an
> inch
and a half. Pure white with black lining the edge. In the center is a black
figure that suggests a crucifix. Can't find it it my moth and flutterby
book. I would be almost sure that such a moth would have to be called "The
Crucifix Moth". But what do I know.
> Ideas?
> Thanks,
> Art
>
> PLEASE NOTE: My new, long-term, and correct email address is:
[log in to unmask] Please update your records!
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