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Post by Paul K on Jul 23, 2015 5:50:26 GMT
I would like to invite everyone who has experience with having keeping collection in tropical countries . I just started mounting my specimens here in Thailand and of course in the different climate then Canada care must be taken differently. PS Tom I was wondering if you are keeping your leps in Africa or you bring them back to Canada and spread them there. Adam We know your room is sterile and air con all the time so the tropic rules not apply there
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Post by wollastoni on Jul 23, 2015 12:25:13 GMT
If you are not able to make a sterile, air con room like Adam, I would put it in your drier room, with as much anti-humidity product/tools as possible.
I would also be very careful about ants/psocids, putting the drawers in a closed furniture with anti-pest product inside.
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Post by Paul K on Jul 23, 2015 14:10:34 GMT
I am installing silica gels and humidity indicator inside the drawers ( and of course zensect balls). For now the drawers will hang on the wall in the dark room ( no window only artificial light ) . The chalk line was made around the drawer so hopefully no ant can pass thru... Also easy to monitor most of the time when I am here. I hope in the future to organize room same as Adam has when I will move all my collection but for now I have to deal with what's available.
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Post by trehopr1 on Jul 23, 2015 16:56:12 GMT
Paul K, if I were going to be in a tropical climate like yourself for a few weeks or months than I would try to make an effort to pin out and spread what I could (while it is fresh). Try to find a dresser with 4 or 5 drawers to put your spreading boards in. And then put in your pest deterrent to keep out psocids and ants. Check often and try to have it in the same room as any drawers you may have (along with a de-humidifier running). A tall empty cabinet with doors of some sort will also work in place of a dresser. Just make sure it has pest deterrent. I am a proponent of preparing up specimens (fresh) and as soon as I can or as time allows. Not only is the material overall easier to work with (pliable); I think the results are better especially as concerns smaller and more delicate lepidoptera. And of coarse, hawkmoths and certain genera of Nymphalids can be really tough to spread nicely later on due to their stiff musculature. That's not to say that these things can't turn out nicely AFTER having been papered for months or years. It's just all about the EASE involved when working them while fresh. Another good reason for preparing up what you can as you collect it is the fact that you may come home with several hundred or thousand things (depending on your stay). Not only is such an enormous task daunting; it also allows for the possibility of some of it forever remaining papered. As we all know the preparation stage takes a lot of time. One has to invest time and care if you are to be happy with your work and collection. It should always reflect a labor of love from a true collector (hobbyist). Researchers on the other hand do their work professionally but, don't tend to nit pick or fuss about details that hobbyists find important. On trips of only 1,2,or 3 weeks papering is the obvious only alternative as time is just too short for anything else. So BEST OF LUCK on your stay and prepare up a ton ! ! Look forward to future pictures of your haul.
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Post by cabintom on Jul 23, 2015 19:48:39 GMT
I'm generally unable to follow best practices (unfortunately), so I may not be the best person for advice. Also, I haven't made up my mind completely about how I'm going to keep my collection for the long-term.
A few things, I'm now going to be in Congo for 2 to 2.5 years at a time, so I'll definitely be spreading specimens and building my collection there. (I'll likely bring parts of the collection back to Canada with me at the end of those terms, but the amount is going to be limited by what my wife will tolerate, and the amount of room available at my parents.) I'll be building storage boxes that are as airtight as possible and contain both a desiccant and a pest deterrent. (Hopefully this plan works well enough.) I'd like to store the collection in a humidity controlled room, unfortunately we don't have stable electricity (ie. no electricity for weeks on end at times) so that's not likely going to be a possibility, unless the government makes some major investment in the area (I'm not holding my breath). Lastly, it's still a relatively volatile place, so there's a not-insignificant chance I could lose significant parts of the collection during an evacuation or looting. (That's just the reality I have to deal with.) So, I'm photographing each of my set specimens, that way I've at least got a digital collection. I'm also planning on passing along any scientifically interesting specimens as soon as I can.
Now, if I was a somewhat-wealthy man, much of this would be different.
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Post by cabintom on Jul 23, 2015 19:49:54 GMT
Try to find a dresser with 4 or 5 drawers to put your spreading boards in. And then put in your pest deterrent to keep out psocids and ants. Any idea if those pest deterrents are strong enough to keep away cockroaches?
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Post by trehopr1 on Jul 24, 2015 0:19:52 GMT
Cabintom, I think the idea of having a digital collection as a backup is truely excellent. I would still try however, to box up (in Schmitt size boxes) whatever I accumulated periodically and then send it off by post to Canada. Especially the most important specimens. That way if evacuation is necessary or looting takes place than the perpetrators will have relatively little to steal or damage. Just don't let too much accumulation take place where you are now staying. Best Regards !
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Post by cabintom on Jul 24, 2015 4:38:54 GMT
I would still try however, to box up (in Schmitt size boxes) whatever I accumulated periodically and then send it off by post to Canada. You've never had to rely on the Congolese or Ugandan postal services have you? In reality, I'd be almost guaranteed to lose a large portion of those important specimens through mail theft, inappropriate customs seizures, etc. I guess I could just keep certain specimens papered and periodically have them FEDEX'd to Canada by friends in Uganda, but I doubt I could afford that on my salary. (Though it may be an avenue to explore.)
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Post by trehopr1 on Jul 24, 2015 5:47:58 GMT
It truely is a pity that even the mail service over there is frought with incompetence and corruption. It seems some places in this world are just destined to forever live in the Stone Age. Too little hope, too much greed, and too little care add up to a whole lot of nothing. Well, I'm sure you will figure out something and I wish you all the best just the same !
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Post by Paul K on Jul 24, 2015 6:32:35 GMT
Thanks Trehopr Believe it or not I have looked for dehumidifier in many stores in Bankgok and it seems like people don't use them here cause I did not find one for sale. I was thinking to bring one from Canada but the smallest one is still heavyweight and big and electricity here is 220V so it needs converter. About collecting thousands of specimens from the trip it is not really the case ( unless moth night collecting ) It is not ease to find good spot and even then to find nice, fresh specimen good for collection. I was thinking that if I can target 20 mud puddling butterflies then you have nice collection at one shut. Reality was much different. Before I decide which one I should get first or one is good most of them already damaged themselves in the net. I still want to get that Japan silk net that Adam has.
Paul
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Post by trehopr1 on Jul 24, 2015 7:29:52 GMT
Well, perhaps Paul K you should try to PM Adam on where to find one. He said that he has been living there in Thailand since 1981 (if memory serves). I'm sure he will have some helpful suggestions. I would think that even in a sweltering tropical country like Thailand there has got to be banks, offices etc. where business "suits" work. I'm sure they employ de- humidifiers in their office environs. Otherwise they would walk out of the office soaking wet every day. So, again best of luck !
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Post by Paul K on Jul 24, 2015 7:59:11 GMT
Well, perhaps Paul K you should try to PM Adam on where to find one. He said that he has been living there in Thailand since 1981 (if memory serves). I'm sure he will have some helpful suggestions. I would think that even in a sweltering tropical country like Thailand there has got to be banks, offices etc. where business "suits" work. I'm sure they employ de- humidifiers in their office environs. Otherwise they would walk out of the office soaking wet every day. So, again best of luck ! They use air conditioner units in offices, shopping malls, etc. so they are removing the humidity that way. We have air con also but use mainly in the night time as during the day the doors and windows are usually opened and i don't have separated butterfly room yet. Paul
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Post by Paul K on Jul 24, 2015 8:16:14 GMT
Now, if I was a somewhat-wealthy man, much of this would be different. Yes Tom Our collection and live would likely be much different. For ants and cockroaches I use chines chalk which should not allowed them to cross. Make sure you make solid line around spreading boards and drawers. I hope it should work but yet can not confirm as I just start using it. Paul
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Post by cabintom on Jul 24, 2015 10:18:06 GMT
For ants and cockroaches I use chines chalk which should not allowed them to cross. What's it made of? (The brand names here are quite different... is it boric acid? or something else?)
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Post by Paul K on Jul 24, 2015 11:38:07 GMT
I used to buy and used this in Canada 24 years ago when I lived in cheap apartment with roaches but I couldn't find it there now. My wife she bought me same thing here in Thailand but besides thai and Chinese signs I can only read on one brand : Deltamethrin 0.11% w/w And the other brand : Cypermethrin 1.1% w/w If that can help somehow.
Paul
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