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Post by yorky on Oct 18, 2020 7:07:47 GMT -8
The first picture is a case of specimens that I exhibited at Derby University at an entomological society meet in 2018. All are either abberations or forms which took a considerable amount of time and patience to acquire, or locally rare species. The vast majority of comments I received were "why don't you let them live" or "aren't you cruel " After 2 hours I stopped taking questions and packed up, trying to explain the reasons why it is vital to have reference collections was of no interest to the vast majority because their pea sized intellect and brainwashed views couldn't see it.
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Post by kevinkk on Oct 18, 2020 13:45:14 GMT -8
Trees, one thing I guess you can hug nowadays. I was verbally assaulted one time for catching a butterfly, by what I'd call "a large and
uninformed individual"
Collecting in hobbyist numbers has virtually no impact whatsoever on populations, it's deforestation, housing tracts and sprawling strip
malls that impact things.
I gave up midsummer setting up my UV light at home, where I used to bring in medium and small material, but after the entire area was bulldozed
and littered with 40 foot tall crackerjack second homes, it's all gone, and those are the same people that would call you a "killer" for netting
a butterfly.
Ok, we all like to see living creatures, and it's something I think about in the field when I let things go I just don't need for my collection.
In the field I try to avoid contact with other people, wearing my revolver helps as well.
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Post by yorky on Oct 18, 2020 14:03:58 GMT -8
Can't carry a revolver in the UK so I take my son,just as good a deterrent
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Post by rayrard on Oct 20, 2020 11:19:11 GMT -8
People worry me more than any wild animal encounter, but again I'm not in Africa or Alaska where the animals are worrisome. Humans, although most are nice and can be interested in what you are doing, it only takes one bad one to ruin a collecting day.
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Post by kevinkk on Oct 20, 2020 12:17:43 GMT -8
People worry me more than any wild animal encounter, but again I'm not in Africa or Alaska where the animals are worrisome. Humans, although most are nice and can be interested in what you are doing, it only takes one bad one to ruin a collecting day. People are more unpredictable, and while I have been called names one what was one occasion, by the large and loud individual, I have had interested persons ask what I was doing with a purple light at night, or relate their own experiences in school or camp. That's the paradox I suppose, while we like to talk about what we're up to, it can be a dicey encounter, and the main reason I collect, especially at night in places that people don't frequent, and you can see headlights for a mile. My guess is that others feel the same way in the outdoors, and after dark, tend to keep distance. I have been kicked out of a campground before though, it might have been a state park, but really? I could do the same thing on the other side of the road. |
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Post by rayrard on Oct 20, 2020 20:02:56 GMT -8
I ran into a particularly rude "ranger" (or should I say rent a cop ranger) in a State Park in PA where I had paid the fee and was staying in the camp with my friends. I walked a 1/4 mile down the road to an isolated area away from the campers and put up my light. I was just going to photograph bugs for iNaturalist given the no collecting rules at parks. The ranger comes by and tells me I'm not allowed to be there and I need to pack up in an hour, and he didn't care what I was looking for or why. The most surprising thing is when I asked if he wanted to see what was coming in, he said "I don't care about what's on there... it's just a light on a sheet!". These are the people they are hiring for jobs in PA State Parks these days where they don't give a crap about nature and don't allow people to study it. I bet he just wanted authority to yell at kids for drinking beer on the site.
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Post by trehopr1 on Oct 27, 2020 10:58:38 GMT -8
Yorky, just wondering if you have any particular "favorite" species which you really like to get amongst the many you have shown.
I can say that where I live here in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. I still get exuberant whenever I capture a Tiger Swallowtail, Mourning Cloak, or Red-spotted purple. None of those species are necessarily common in my area (like say cabbage butterflies); so, if you find one at all and its in good shape you REALLY don't want to miss it !
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Post by wollastoni on Oct 27, 2020 11:03:11 GMT -8
People worry me more than any wild animal encounter, but again I'm not in Africa or Alaska where the animals are worrisome. Humans, although most are nice and can be interested in what you are doing, it only takes one bad one to ruin a collecting day. Fully agree with that sentence. And even in places where animals are dangerous, humans are far more dangerous in 99% of cases. |
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Post by yorky on Oct 27, 2020 12:16:06 GMT -8
Polyommatus icarus females, especially the blue forms, so beautiful and variable.
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Post by Paul K on Oct 27, 2020 12:37:35 GMT -8
Polyommatus icarus females, especially the blue forms, so beautiful and variable. P.icarus has been just introduced to Canada few years ago. It has established good colonies in Toronto area. I was lucky to collect one female this summer. |
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Post by yorky on Oct 27, 2020 13:04:08 GMT -8
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Post by yorky on Oct 27, 2020 13:04:44 GMT -8
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Post by yorky on Oct 27, 2020 13:05:20 GMT -8
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Post by exoticimports on Oct 28, 2020 3:50:21 GMT -8
Nice photos Yorky.
When I was processing Lycaenids it was a real chore, they're so boring. Until we had to work on determinations and I took 10mb digital photos of them- suddenly I could see them, see the fine markings and minute colors.
Chuck
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Post by yorky on Oct 28, 2020 8:02:13 GMT -8
Here in the UK I find our lycaenidae amongst the most beautiful of our native species, but with just 59 resident species we're not exactly spoiled for choice.
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