Attracting California Sisters?

[Chris J. Durden]

At 11:13  1/06/99 PDT, you wrote:
>Chris et al,
>
>thanks for the advise.  I'll give it a try next time I go fishing.  Couldn't 
>be any worse that some of the Thai Food I've tried cooking.  This soup kept 
>calling for fish sauce, which I assumed was like anchovie paste... boy was I 
>wrong!  But I still love the soup.
>
>I think it must be hitting the peak of sister season here in CA.  Two of 
>them, if you can beleive it, flew into my net over the weekend (in SAn 
>Jose.)  Ok, really I was going for lorquins admiral... but apparently they 
>were chasing each other and I ended up with two sisters after all.  Now if I 
>could just figure out how to sex these guys.  Any hints?
>
  Hold the butterfly gently by the body, with wings over back, and head
down. Look at the underside of the end of the abdomen.

MALE - a pair of valves (like clam shells) end the abdomen. These open
along a longitudinal line. There is a spiked object on the inside of each
valve. Body weight is usually lower than female. Abdomen is usually
tubular. Forewing apex is usually more pointed than female.

FEMALE - all the sutures between segments run across the body. The body
weight is usually higher than that of the male. Abdomen is usually plump,
widest in the middle. Forewing apex is usually more rounded than the male.

  Handle a number of individuals to check for sure if they have valvae.
While you are doing this learn the extent of variation in wing and body
shape. When your eye/memory is calibrated you should be able to distinguish
females from males on the wing.
.........Chris Durden