|
|
Post by trehopr1 on May 4, 2019 4:38:22 GMT
I have never been one to "paper" up very much. I have always considered it a necessary "evil". Something that is required when one goes on a sojourn of a few days or when one one encounters a situation of overwhelming good fortune in insect numbers. I have largely practiced "fresh pinning" my days catch within a day or two of capture. I never over collect just because I can or because I'm just having a grand old time. On the contrary, I limit myself to only that which I feel I can work up within the time frame of a couple days.
And yet, there seems to be a preponderance of collectors who seem to have no self control...They practically collect till they drop and then they wind up with piles of papered specimens which they only "scratch the surface of" when it comes to preparation. So, time and time again they repeat the process, they cull what they actually want or can use in their collection; and then it gets packed away in some box or Tupperware with the best of intentions to eventually prepare it. NOT....
More often than not I have found hundreds if not thousands of specimens forever papered and left for perhaps somebody else to work up (which of coarse rarely happens) to any meaningful extent. I have surveyed several old collections over the years thru a dealer friend who picks one up every now and again if the price is right. And EVERY time, beyond the collection itself comes the "tonnage" of unprepared material. Of coarse, my friend winds up spending "Oodles of hours" combing thru the tonnage for a few requisite good things.
So to this end I ask anyone who cares to ansewer: does this have to continue to be the coarse of modern collectors? It seem wasteful, single-minded in intent, and unconcerning about life in general. One collector on the other site says he has a "freezer" full of said material which he plans to "donate" to an institution along with his collection! REALLY......
I have news for a guy like that: he might as well take it with him to the hole because nobody at any institution is ever gonna' work up much of it and it will eventually get "shitcanned" for taking up undo space.
So, while all this may bring a smile to your face I'd still like to hear others opinions on this topic. Don't know if will ever change my outlook on the matter but, it's good conversation...
Been a little quiet (and wanting) lately on the forum for a juicy topic.
|
|
|
|
Post by luehdorfia on May 4, 2019 10:22:18 GMT
Very good topic! I myself am definitely not in favour of having a “papered collection”. The winter months should be dedicated to spreading. The collector that I admire most is still the holder of the largest Parnassius collection in private hands at the moment, Prof. Klaus Rose in Germany with 70.000 spread specimens and not a single papered one! But he told me he would spread up to 100 specimens per day during winter of his expeditions during summer.
That’s how it should be.
Still I don’t support your view, papered material with good data is still very valuable. There are still papered specimens of collecting expeditions during the 19th century and that’s where you can still find new species that are already extinct.
Even if you don’t spread it, it might be valuable for the future if maintained well and with all data. Because after all collecting doesn’t harm the insect population.
You made it sound like “hunting big game” a few won’t hurt if you do it sustainably. This implies that insect collecting is harmful. But it isn’t harmful at all! We could collect hundreds every day and it still wouldn’t have any impact.
I just read a report about wind power stations and in Germany alone it is estimated at about 500 tons of insects are crushed in the rotors. It’s not something that you have to “believe”, the rotors are so dirty after a few months that they have to be cleaned from the insect corpses because efficiency decreased by 20-30% because of the rugged surface.
Confronted by that “natural preservation agencies” said: well insect populations have high reproduction rates, this is just a tiny bit of the population it doesn’t hurt at all. 500 f*ing tons!
So anyone please just go out and collect as much as you want. All of us combined probably can’t collect more than 50kg of insect per summer. So enjoy your hobby and don’t let anyone make you feel negative about it.
|
|
|
|
Post by cabintom on May 4, 2019 16:54:35 GMT
I have always have some papered material that I'm trying to work through. The "problem" out here is that there's just so many species, and so many of them a very similar and very difficult to tell apart on the wing. I have to remind myself to, basically, try and catch everything I see because, not infrequently, something I assume to be a common species on closer inspection turns out to be a new personal find.
Just today I was looking at a rather beat up Bicyclus specimen I have which turned out to be B. rhacotis, a species not previously known from this far east.
Or, as another example, a friend had a lot of papered material from N. Kivu, so he very graciously decided to give me a small box of the stuff. Among that material was Bicyclus subtilisurae Brattstrom, 2015, which was known from only 23 specimens at the time of description.
|
|
|
|
Post by jshuey on May 4, 2019 17:07:01 GMT
I have always have some papered material that I'm trying to work through. The "problem" out here is that there's just so many species, and so many of them a very similar and very difficult to tell apart on the wing. I have to remind myself to, basically, try and catch everything I see because, not infrequently, something I assume to be a common species on closer inspection turns out to be a new personal find. Just today I was looking at a rather beat up Bicyclus specimen I have which turned out to be B. rhacotis, a species not previously known from this far east. Or, as another example, a friend had a lot of papered material from N. Kivu, so he very graciously decided to give me a small box of the stuff. Among that material was Bicyclus subtilisurae Brattstrom, 2015, which was known from only 23 specimens at the time of description. Indeed, when working in regions with many look alike species, I've always collected a sort series or everything potentially confusing for later analysis at every place I see them. I've turned up some amazing discoveries in neotropical skippers that way. The most recent, being a couple of Urbanus that I thought we U. belli, but were in fact, recently described species that are impossible to tell apart in the field. Plus, I've used my papered stock as trading material over the years to obtain bugs I'll never have a chance to collect myself. John |
|
jhyatt
Aurelian
Posts: 224
Country: U.S.A.
|
Post by jhyatt on May 4, 2019 19:10:36 GMT
I really like having a good stock of papered material in the freezer (yes, I have a dedicated freezer for bugs). I very much enjoy preparing and curating material, and want to keep it up as long as I can.
It seems likely that I'll be able to keep doing this for some years after I get too decrepit to do further field work. Hence I think I have a good reason to keep a stash of material awaiting preparation, even though I know it's more than I'll get to in any given winter.
Furthermore, I love to do swaps, and the papered material is where my trading stock resides. It's like money in the bank!
jh
|
|
|
|
Post by boghaunter1 on May 4, 2019 21:12:13 GMT
I agree completely with leuhdorfia & jhyatt... I have 2 smaller freezers of frozen specimens... will mount up all when I am also "too decrepit" to get out regularily into the field...
John K.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ed on May 4, 2019 23:46:50 GMT
My collection is practically just papered material at the moment. I have 2 drawers with some freshly spread day moths and everything else is packed in boxes. Regardless, the idea of not papering or catching everything I see sounds crazy to me!
|
|
|
|
Post by trehopr1 on May 5, 2019 3:21:59 GMT
Well, I certainly appreciate all of the lively feedback this thread has generated. Thank you to everyone who has thus far contributed. All viewpoints are welcome. Mine is just a singular viewpoint. I have seen some good points thus far made of the topic. I do indeed appreciate all that has been remarked. This is the point of of having a forum: to discuss all things related to the subject (no matter how trivial). It is still fun to hash over topics, get differing opinions, and still perhaps GLEAM something in the process.
I know I am a richer man for your opinions and again thank you everyone for your point of view !
|
|
jhyatt
Aurelian
Posts: 224
Country: U.S.A.
|
Post by jhyatt on May 5, 2019 13:55:42 GMT
Thanks for starting the thread, Trehopr1. It's always fun to learn what other collectors are doing, how they manage things, their approach to collecting, etc etc.
Cheers,
jh
|
|
|
|
Post by luehdorfia on May 5, 2019 20:51:18 GMT
And one addition to “catching everything that you see”. I myself just don’t have the physical fitness for that, after a small series, I just don’t have the motivation to run after another one, sweating, breathing heavily, and just wanting to go back home take a shower and enjoy some drinks. At the end of the summer my physical fitness is much better then, but during winter it deteriorates again....
Who has the fitness to run after every single one from 9am to 6pm?
|
|
|
|
Post by Paul K on May 5, 2019 21:45:16 GMT
And one addition to “catching everything that you see”. I myself just don’t have the physical fitness for that, after a small series, I just don’t have the motivation to run after another one, sweating, breathing heavily, and just wanting to go back home take a shower and enjoy some drinks. At the end of the summer my physical fitness is much better then, but during winter it deteriorates again.... Who has the fitness to run after every single one from 9am to 6pm? After 3-4 hours of collecting in hot, tropical weather I want to go home, take shower and drink cold but I mean like almost freezing beer ( I should say few beers ). I don’t care about butterflies until next morning. |
|
jhyatt
Aurelian
Posts: 224
Country: U.S.A.
|
Post by jhyatt on May 5, 2019 22:47:02 GMT
I'm like you, Paul K - except that a few hours and drinks after that shower, I'm ready to fire up the moth lights and start collecting again...
jh
|
|
|
|
Post by Ed on May 6, 2019 12:14:15 GMT
It pays off to be young when it comes to chasing leps!
|
|
|
|
Post by exoticimports on May 6, 2019 12:21:29 GMT
I've done several tropical collecting surveys, which results in thousands of papered specimens each.
Of these, I've donated probably ten thousand specimens. This has rendered happy a number of museums, scientists, and researchers.
However, doing so has had one huge drawback- as I sort through the remaining material it's been not uncommon to find that what I thought was multiple of one specimen were actually two, three, or four different species. As a result, I've realized post facto that I have definitely given away specimens for which I have not retained any for my reference collection. In fact, in at least one donation when reviewing the material I had to ask for set specimens to be returned.
Chuck
|
|
jhyatt
Aurelian
Posts: 224
Country: U.S.A.
|
Post by jhyatt on May 6, 2019 14:12:41 GMT
Ed,
The beauty of moth collecting is that you don't have to chase 'em, at any age!
jh
|
|
