A Drawer a day will keep the winter blahs away

Hey Bill, just for a size reference, how big are your Macrodontia cervicornis male and Titanus giganteus? I'm trying to get a feel for how big some of the brightly colored longhorns are.

I completely understand the size thing. I was just trying to get a size reference since those are the few specimens I have and can make a direct comparison to all the more exotic species I hadn't seen before. Your collection of beetles has really given me a good idea of what my collection could be one day, and what to strive toward. Thank you for posting them.

Also, that Longimanus male is phenomenal. Definitely one of my favorites.

Those are some of the finest O. croesus specimens I've ever seen. Very nice collections you have there Rich. In regards to Bill's comment on the size of beetles in our collections, I have to agree. Prices go up considerably with each additional mm. I am happy with nice representatives of the species, they don't have to be the most massive examples for me. In fact I sometimes value interesting elytral patterns over size as is the case with Dynastes. For example, a few years ago my wife and I were collecting Dynastes granti with Evan in Arizona. Of the dozens of specimens we encountered I focused more on distinct patterns than just trying to get the biggest ones, although we did collect some good sized examples. To myself at least, distinct patterns matter just as much as size. Tom

 

Once again Bill, those beetle drawers are just amazing. I also like your strategy of collecting large and small specimens. While morphological variation is important it's also potentially an unending pursuit. On the other hand size is a concrete physiological limitation, so getting specimens that are toward the edges of the size distribution can help you demonstrate what the species is capable of.

Very cool

Yes, the flying mounted specimens try to reflect what they look like when flying. Every beetle I've ever seen fly, pops open the elytra as though they were stabilizers. Admittedly, I've never seen a Goliath beetle fly except in videos. Honestly, I do think that beetles do not fly with the elytra closed.....but it does look cool. Personal taste should prevail with one's own collection.

Wow! I really like the last box! Those Manticora are great.

The drawer of A. luna is an excellent example of numerous specimens employed to demonstrate extreme variation in form related to location, and moreso, season.

Chuck