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Post by exoticimports on Nov 5, 2021 6:35:09 GMT -8
Ah, coleopterists! Unique even in the entomology world! Fanatics for the color brown, who think morphology is all about tarsi.  (Fig. 1: Coleopterist collecting in SoCal just as the snow starts flying) And yet, our outside-the-bell-curve friends must be given credit for participating in a forum so focused on Leps, surround by more ordinary people. In honor of our hardbacked friends, I start a thread to bring joy to their faces:  (Fig. 2: a beetle) |
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Post by Paul K on Nov 5, 2021 6:57:34 GMT -8
Haha, remember fig. 1 scene from Jurassic Park:
“Stick stupid, stick”
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Post by exoticimports on Nov 5, 2021 11:11:05 GMT -8
More beetles.   |
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Post by alandmor on Nov 5, 2021 11:23:42 GMT -8
And some more beetles. Hardbacked yes, but not necessarily brown (Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Fruit and Flower Chafers):  |
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Post by panacanthus on Nov 5, 2021 11:38:00 GMT -8
I’d rather continue with the Jurassic Park phrases:
“Ehhhh, no wonder you’re extinct.”!
And no, I don’t mean us Coleopterists!
(That’s a beautiful drawer alandmor!)
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Post by exoticimports on Nov 5, 2021 12:19:49 GMT -8
No son, those are coleopterists having just spotted a singular pleocoma.  |
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Post by bandrow on Nov 5, 2021 17:39:26 GMT -8
Chuck,
I have just three words for you... too damned funny!!!
Cheers!
Bandrow
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Post by trehopr1 on Nov 5, 2021 18:26:37 GMT -8
Coleopterists are a curious lot. They like hard-shelled things of which -- there are a LOT ! Whether beetles are colorful, odd, or large there's ALWAYS room for just -- one more; in their beetle collection "garage". So, here's a few for you (non-beetle) people to ponder; for there is no end to these armored six-legged wonders...  Click Beetle (Elateridae) Semiotus sp. / Peru  Jewel Beetle (Buprestidae) Temognatha bonvouloiri / Western Australia  Ground Beetle (Carabidae) Chrysocarabus hispanus / France (endemic)  Burying Beetle (Silphidae) Nicrophorus americanus / Chicago Ill. (Rogers Park neighborhood) July.16.1932 **now critically endangered  Stag Beetle (Lucanidae) "Darwin's Beetle" Chiasognathus grantii / Chile  Longhorn Beetle (Cerambycidae) *Gotta' love a "TIKI" beetle for that South Pacific feel...  Goliath Beetle (Scarabaeidae) Goliath orientalis / Africa (Zaire) *one of the "whitest" examples I've ever run across... (in this species). |
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Post by exoticimports on Nov 5, 2021 18:35:24 GMT -8
Chuck, I have just three words for you... too damned funny!!!
Cheers! Bandrow Surely, Sir, you might contribute a photograph? |
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Post by panacanthus on Nov 6, 2021 0:47:24 GMT -8
Just a few very random specimens..... Euchirus longimanus Pair (giant male 85mm)  Calodema ribbei flavofasciata  Mecynorrhina torquata poggei "spotted form" with blue highlights  ![]() Calodema rubrimarginata Pair  Telotoma hayesi Male 124mm  Lastly, Goliathus goliatus quadrimaculatus mint Male 99mm (poor, old photo - too lazy at the moment to take a new one!)  |
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Post by trehopr1 on Nov 6, 2021 11:52:07 GMT -8
Dang, your species pictured put most of mine to shame -- in terms of cost !
I do have a pair of E. longimanus but, I simply cannot afford the other ones...
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Post by trehopr1 on Nov 6, 2021 12:32:28 GMT -8
I have a friend who once got carried away with the Mecynorrhina "complex" of color variations.
He must have had something like 14 or 16 specimens of them; and though they were curiously beautiful there were a fair few that (at the time) were rather costly. When I asked him candidly, how much he had into them he estimated nearly $4,000.
He had them around for five or six years but, then started "culling the herd" to recoup some of his investment.
He said to me later that he realized that if something happened to him his wife would not only be upset with his over-the-top spending; she could well end up selling them off for a mere pittance not knowing their true value.
He now has only 5 left which he has retained as favorites.
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Post by trehopr1 on Nov 6, 2021 12:41:33 GMT -8
I would also add that the family Buprestidae has always been a favorite of mine however, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of a middle ground for pricing on them.
It seems one either owns an assortment of the many rather cheap ones or you jump to that next level of things costing you (an arm or a leg) for pride of ownership. Rather like dabbling in Agrias...
Both of these "cult" groups are largely slated for those with the deepest pockets. We "regular joe's" only get the leavings of the common stuff...
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Post by panacanthus on Nov 6, 2021 15:04:08 GMT -8
I would also add that the family Buprestidae has always been a favorite of mine however, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of a middle ground for pricing on them. It seems one either owns an assortment of the many rather cheap ones or you jump to that next level of things costing you (an arm or a leg) for pride of ownership. Rather like dabbling in Agrias... Both of these "cult" groups are largely slated for those with the deepest pockets. We "regular joe's" only get the leavings of the common stuff... I’m just a machinist so I think that would be classified as pretty “regular”!!! It was funny that you mentioned about the Mecynorrhinas as I actually took some photos just a couple days ago of variations I was going to share but I wasn’t satisfied with them. It can be difficult to get some of the deeper colored ones to show well with a full case/group photo. One of these days I’ll get better photos and share. They are one of my absolute favorites and the variation is astounding. |
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Post by exoticimports on Nov 6, 2021 16:46:17 GMT -8
I 14 or 16 specimens of them; and though they were curiously beautiful there were a fair few that (at the time) were rather costly. When I asked him candidly, how much he had into them he estimated nearly $4,000. Insect collecting with cash has always been a rich mans hobby. The beauty of entomology is that an impressive collection can be compiled with hard work and little cash. There are few collecting hobbies that can say the same. Of course $4000 is a relative number. A Vickers machine gun is $16,000 and a 1960s Corvette starts well over $80,000. We are stewards of history, both natural and manmade. I dare say though, for $4000 I’d go to the source and bring back $8,000 worth of them. |
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