witches in the SF Bay Area...

[James Kruse]

Greetings:

I have been told that very recently a live Ascalapha odorata (Black Witch -
a very large dark brown noctuid common in Mexico) in good condition was
found in Berkeley, California. Not only did it make its way to the Bay Area
in pretty nice shape, it ended up flying into the second story window of
Wellman Hall on the Berkeley campus... where the Essig Museum of Entomology
is kept!!! Natural selection at work? Is this like the trophy fish that
jumped into the boat? Now what do you put on the label... found in the Essig
Museum? duh!

Anyhow, I am writing to find out if anyone in the Bay Area is rearing it and
intentionally/unintentionally released any. It is rarely found in northern
California, even though it goes _much_ further north in eastern states,
usually in the fall. It is even more unusual, a bizarre coincidence in fact,
that it ended up in the entomology museum (under its own power). But, the
campus is pretty dark and the building is on a hill with the second story
windows open and the lights on almost all of the time, so I don't think
there is any funny business going on. Less so if someone local set some
loose. 

An odd and probably unpleasant thing to release at a wedding I should think,
akin to releasing bats.

Regards,

James J. Kruse, Ph.D.
Curator of Entomology
University of Alaska Museum
907 Yukon Drive
Fairbanks, AK, USA 99775-6960
tel 907.474.5579
fax 907.474.1987
http://www.uaf.edu/museum/ento



 
 ------------------------------------------------------------ 

   For subscription and related information about LEPS-L visit:

   http://www.peabody.yale.edu/other/lepsl