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Post by timmsyrj on Dec 22, 2015 11:00:25 GMT -8
My goliath's, rothschildi, tithonus and sole pair of paradisea..     Merry Christmas everyone.. Rich |
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Post by trehopr1 on Dec 22, 2015 11:55:58 GMT -8
Great stuff timmsyrj ! Do you have all 6 or so subspecies of Goliath ? Did you find it tougher to get descent specimens of paradisea (that you only have a pair) or did your interest change or the market ? Curious....
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2015 11:56:47 GMT -8
Quite the birdwings:)
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Post by boghaunter1 on Dec 22, 2015 12:08:03 GMT -8
Hey Boghaunter,
Is that you D.B.?...if it is... Long time no see in these forums!... Welcome back... Great to see some of your beautifully curated silk moth drawers. Merry X=mas! Apologies (Oops...Sorry!) if I have the wrong person... still great drawers though & a Merry X-mas to everyone then!
John K.
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Post by boghaunter1 on Dec 22, 2015 12:14:31 GMT -8
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Post by boghaunter1 on Dec 22, 2015 12:18:31 GMT -8
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Post by trehopr1 on Dec 22, 2015 13:24:06 GMT -8
Wow, boghaunter1 some really impressive preparation work on those beetles ! ! My sincere compliments. VERY well done.... And, I might add some particularly impressive individual specimens. I also like the "spacing" that you have given your specimens. Each can be easily appreciated for itself and no chance of things getting broken should anything need to be removed for closer observation. Bravo.
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Post by boghaunter1 on Dec 22, 2015 17:38:59 GMT -8
Hi trehopr, Thank you very much for the generous comments; I am a bit of a perfectionist with my mounts of insects (especially huge, colourful tropical spp.) as I believe that if they were killed solely for the purpose of mere display... well... I just want to pay proper homage to them by making them look as good as possible, plus some can be very pricey & demand careful preparation... Following is a photo (taken with my phone... hope it comes out okay) of a Giant Water Bug from French Guiana Lethocerus maximus. It shows the extent to which I will go when I mount bugs... this bug, believe it or not, took me about 1.5 hrs. to do. A large Megasoma actaeon, for example, mounted in the flying position, may take me 2.5-3 hrs. to complete & may take 3-4X the number of pins shown below. This water bug is truly a giant being 105mm long in body length & 200mm (8") in wingspan. In George Beccaloni's book "Big Bugs Life Size" is pictured the supposedly world record size L. maximus with a body length of 103mm & a wingspan of 213mm (8.5"). Mine is a half inch less in wingspan, but has a slightly (+2mm) longer body. I'm pretty sure that there are specimens which will be collected (or already exist, but are hidden away, in obscure $$ private collections), that will have 120-125mm body lengths & 9-10" wingspans. I will post a photo of this bad boy (depinned) & a few other bigger spp. after X-mas/New Yrs.    |
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Post by trehopr1 on Dec 22, 2015 19:03:42 GMT -8
Boghaunter1, I absolutely share your sentiments when it comes to the "presentation" of my specimens. I too am VERY particular about "the look " of my specimens so I accord them proper homage also in my preparation. Cudos, on the preparation of that Belostomid. I've never tried one of those.
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Post by timmsyrj on Dec 23, 2015 1:29:19 GMT -8
Great stuff timmsyrj ! Do you have all 6 or so subspecies of Goliath ? Did you find it tougher to get descent specimens of paradisea (that you only have a pair) or did your interest change or the market ? Curious.... Most of my Ornithoptera came from I.F.T.A who closed down several years ago so I haven't bought any more for several years, I bought in bulk from them and sold some off at the U.K shows and exchanged some for other Ornithoptera, and I bought quite a few off eBay with the money I made from specimen sales at the shows etc. But , yes I have to say I lost interest also, mainly because I couldn't find a reliable exporter with the permits, getting them into the U.K can be a nightmare, even those I got from I.F.T.A who I'd dealt with several times still took a while to get the import permits and specimens cleared through customs, once they finished I found it difficult to get import permits. I bought some from within the E.U but moved my interest to Stichophthalma and other nymphalidae. I don't have all sub species of goliath no, but then I'm not sure anymore how many there is?, I have procus, supremus ( including f.titan), samson ( including f.joiceyi) and elizabeth-reginae, though they have probably all changed since I stopped collecting them, everything else seems to be getting split, raised or re named, all my labels stay as they where. I managed to get some of the last Ornithoptera chimaera chimaera they had before they closed down, I picked up 30 pairs, A- / A2 for I think $15 a pair, some quite damaged through insects, but still quite a good series..   Rich |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2015 7:15:07 GMT -8
Timmsyrj, "everything else seems to be getting split, raised or re named, all my labels stay as they where." AmenThis zoologogical renaming crap has gotten out of hand. For example, the genus for O. alexandrae has changed four times in fifteen years:(  |
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Post by mothman27 on Dec 23, 2015 10:23:03 GMT -8
Bill - really like the drawers from your collection showing the North American Sats Nice to see examples from other collectors personal collections which sometimes have material than their local museums do not have . I noticed in your Hemileuca drawer above I believe an example of Hemi. hera marcata which you don't see very often . Thanks ! Here is my contribution to the winter doldrums ! In the fourth drawer over, What species of Automeris is the very large one? Thanks, Tim
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Post by trehopr1 on Dec 23, 2015 20:09:19 GMT -8
The ironic thing Billgarthe regarding O. alexandrea is that unless you happen to be 15 years old that butterfly WILL ALWAYS be O. alexandrea to the greater body of us hobbyists and professionals !
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2015 21:57:25 GMT -8
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Post by trehopr1 on Dec 24, 2015 6:36:25 GMT -8
Billgarthe, just wondering if you have collected your Catocala largely by way of sugaring with a lesser amount by light; or would you say the ratio for you is more like 50 / 50.
I have personally found light capture to be a little more effective because unless there is some sort of drought going on I will nearly always get at least some. Sugaring on the other hand is tons of fun and feels like an "adventure of sorts" but, has never been nearly as effective as it seems so many variables seem to effect its final results !
Just curious what your take on it is as it seems Catocala are one of your favorites....
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