INSECTS and SPIDERS

Spectacularly diverse, often colorful
classes of animals, some much beloved,
that play such significant, but often
overlooked roles in our lives. Presented in
magnificent closeups with detailed texts.

MOTHS and BUTTERFLIES
A thorough look at these colorful and much beloved insects and their unusual developmental stages. 4 programs. 80 slides and detailed guides.
EP #409X SLIDES
$129.95

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SAVE OVER $40.00 ON 4 SLIDE SET BUNDLE ORDER EP #409X.......$129.95
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MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES Order #409..........$42.50

This introductory survey familiarizes students with the anatomy and develop-
mental stages of Lepidoptera, introduces the concepts of metamorphosis and
mimicry, and presents a number of commonly encountered species, some as eggs,
caterpillars and/or cocoons. 20 slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 9488 This is another of the large silk moths--this one is called
Polyphemus. The name refers to the huge eyespots on the back wings, Polyphemus having been
the one-eyed giant of Greek mythology who imprisoned Odysseus. This moth occurs all over the
eastern United States, as far west as the Rockies.

Polyphemus presents a different case of mimicry. Perched with its wings spread as in
this picture, the eye-spots cause it to resemble an owl, which is also nocturnal. Since owls will
feed on the creatures that feed on polyphemus, it is thought that predators are frightened off by
this resemblance.

The caterpillar is bright green with red spots and yellow lines. It feeds on shade trees
such as oaks, elms, maples and birches. The cocoon is spun among the leaves of a food tree
and in autumn falls to the ground along with the leaves which it resembles. In spring, the
handsome adult emerges, mates, lays eggs and the life cycle recurs. The adult moths eat
nothing and hence live only a short time after producing their eggs.
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MOTHS OF NORTH AMERICA Order #482..........$42.50

A photographic safari into the habits and importance of moths. Includes
cut-worm moth (life cycle), looper, geometer moth, inchworm, underwing, tiger moth,
woollybear, ctenucha, tussock moth (male, female, larva), luna, ailanthus moth,
ceanothus moth, whitelined sphinx, clearwinged sphinx, hornworm, bag worm, leaf
miner, casebearers, leaf roller, plume and yucca moths. 20 slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 22947 Here we see the larva (top) and the adult male (bottom)
of a tussock moth (family Eiparidae). The larvae of the more common species are very
distinctive in appearance, being quite hairy, with four conspicuous tufts of hair on the top of the
body toward the head. These hairs are easily dislodged and can cause a skin reaction or
allergy. The larvae of the tussock moths feed on the foliage of forest and shade trees and
sometimes reach injurious proportions. There are several native species in this family, but the
most notorious species, the gypsy moth (Porthetrid disbar), is an import from Europe and has
become a serious pest of forest trees in the northeastern United States.

The antennae of the male tussock moth are quite feathery. Other than this, the males are of
typical moth form and usually mottled in coloration.
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BUTTERFLIES OF NORTH AMERICA Order #483..........$42.50

Exquisite photography examines the behavior and classification of satyr,
swallowtail, heliconian, monarch (aggregate and larva), queen fritillary, crescent,
checkerspot, mourning cloak, painted lady, red admiral, buckeye (mating), sovereign,
blues, copper (male, female) hairstreaks, metalmark, skippers, sulfur, orange-tip, plus
the life cycle of the cabbage white. 20 slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 22965 The heliconians (family Heliconiidae) comprise a family of
chiefly tropical butterflies, although there are a few species that inhabit the southern half of the
United States. This gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) is well-distributed throughout much of the
United States, occurring on both the East and West coasts and, in the central states, as far
north as Iowa. The species ranges from the United States southward to Argentina.

The heliconians are closely associated with passion flowers, upon which the larvae feed.
The larvae contain poisonous body fluids and are left alone by predators. The widespread use of
passion flowers as ornamental vines has undoubtedly contributed to the present wide range of
the gulf fritillary.
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INSECT METAMORPHOSIS--THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY Order #436........$42.50

Close-up photography and lucid text detail the astonishing changes that take
place in the life cycle of the monarch butterfly as it goes through complete meta-
morphosis, from egg to adult. Pictures illustrate eggs, larva, caterpillar, molting,
cremaster, prepupa, pupa, emergence and adult. 20 slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 13363 Monarch caterpillars, like most other larvae, have very
specific food requirements. They feed only on plants of the milkweed family and on some of the
nightshades. Monarch larvae can convert as much as 31% of the carbohydrate present in
milkweed into fat.

This milkweed plant has on it three larvae at different stages of growth. The largest one
is fully grown. The smaller two must go through several more molts. Before they become adult,
monarch larvae go through five molts over a span of 10 to 14 days. The exact time varies with
the temperature. In the process they eat so voraciously that milkweed plants are often reduced
to shreds and tatters.

The specialized food preferences of monarch larvae are responsible for the fact that
some monarchs, both larvae and adults, are poisonous to birds, while others are not. There are
103 species of milkweed in North America--some are quite poisonous, some are mildly
poisonous, some are not poisonous at all. Depending on the nature of the particular plants the
caterpillar has fed on, the animal’s body may or may not contain significant amounts of the
poisonous cardiac glycosides found in milkweeds. This accounts for the fact that monarchs are
sometimes less preyed upon by birds than might be expected.

Some birds do prey upon monarchs, but they have learned to tell the poisonous ones
from the nonpoisonous ones by taste. They quickly spit out the poisonous ones. Often, adult
monarchs are found with triangular pieces bitten out of their wings--they were tasted and
discarded by some bird.

It seems likely that even birds of the same species will differ in their eagerness to eat
monarchs. A bird that has had some “good” monarchs before it got one that made him sick will
probably go on eating at least some monarchs, while a bird that was made sick by the first four
or five monarchs it ate, may never touch another. The nonpoisonous viceroy butterfly mentioned
earlier, because of its close mimicking of the monarch, is often passed over by birds that have
had bad experiences eating monarchs.

REVIEWS: “A classical, photographic essay...” Previews.
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~0072-049~ Polyphemus moth. photo by Charles R. Belinky, Ph.D.

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