collecting french guyane

[foxxdoc]

any referral ?

gite moutouchi guyand is in links; any experience ? English spoken ? any potential for botanical collecting also ?

tom

[Paul K]

Tom

I've been there for 2 weeks , great place for moth collecting In Dec to March. July to November butterflies. I plan to go back there for that season.
The owners name Fred and he speaks english very well, good food , free beer.
Here is the link to his website:
www.amazonenature.com/english/accueil.htm

Paul

[wollastoni]

Some more info here : collector-secret.proboards.com/thread/291/french-guyana

[satyrinae]

I've been there for the month of November which is excellent for Morphos and moths. We hired a camper from a guy call Jean-Bernard who live at Tonnegrande but I lost his details. I know that once he had a website.

[trehopr1]

I know of a friend of mine who spent 3 weeks collecting in French Guyane during the month of January (1987). With the help and guidance of an French entomologist named Gerard Travekleon and his staff; both my friend and his companion succeeded "wildly" in their endeavor. On the upside, my friend told me that the "mothing" and beetle collecting was simply overwhelming. In just 3 weeks time these two guys papered up 5000 saturniids and over 3000 sphingids. They also collected nearly 100 Titanus beetles of all sizes running the gamut of 9 cm. up to 16 cm. Butterfly collecting however,was flat. Very little taken due to fatigue and generally poor weather conditions.
Now the downside. My friend remarked that January is the high point of the rainy season. He was provided a large sizeable tent which accommodated 2 cots and a work table. Despite the tent, he said that between the rain and the high humidity his clothing was virtually moist the entire time. In short, miserable conditions by the 3rd week. Additionally, he said you had to check yourself regularly for leeches as they just seemed to appear out of nowhere. And the late nightwork brought with it fatigue and a general desire to just rest during the day when you could, sort, paper, and prepare for the next night. The "fun factor" he said pretty much ran out by the beginning of the 3rd week so the final week was utterly "grueling" --- day in and day out.
As a return for all the help he had received in setting up his campsite he struck an agreement to turn over any Cerambycidae which were collected (excluding Titanus) as well as any Sphingidae deemed "interesting". He said that worked for him.
He said the trip in summary was a huge success because of his returns on his collected material which he sold off over the next 2 years. However, he said doing something like that once was "once enough". Only the MOST hardy and "fevered" individual would dare such a experience a second time.

[Paul K]

Trehopr1
Your friend he went there to work    .
I spent there 2 weeks in dry and pleasant bungalow or cottage. Have hot shower, electric almost all the time, hammock to relax and dry double bed. Laboratory you could work during the day and the freezer for collected material , don't forget the most important always cold beer in my fridge ( included )  . Free laundry service once a week also   .
I only collected about 1000 moths all families as I picked only A1 fresh specimens mainly. I have been there first two weeks of February and that is still a rainy season but during the day there were always some breaks in between to collect few butterflies.
As I have not sell any collected material the cost of the trip have got  no return.
I have to mention also that I was night collecting only for 5 nights during that time as on the 4th and 5th night the specimens attracted to the light started to repeat  and come in fewer numbers also.
After all I was the happy man and spent pleasent time there.

The only draw back is the flight cost.
Toronto-Cayenne: $2200 CAN ( French airline skyjacked the fare in lack of competition )
Compare to:
Toronto-Lima ( Peru ): $800.00CAN
Toronto-Bangkok: $1450.00CAN
Toronto-Nicaragua: $700.00CAN 

P.S.
Don't forget to get yellow fever vaccination . 
You must show the record upon arrival or immigration will not allow you inside Guiana. ( well if you don't have it and they miss to ask you for that the problem is if you get sick , you must die...no cure ).

[trehopr1]

Good heavens Paul k I'm going to have to call you up for suggestions the next time that I take a tropical excursion ! ! Man, you sure know how to travel. Cold beer, dry sheets, hot shower, hammock --- your kill'in me here.... Wow
No seriously, my friend wound up collecting the "caveman" method. Back in 1987 when he arrived there was no ecotourism industry present. At least none he had heard of. His collector companion knew the entomologist I mentioned which is how they were hosted and ultimately set-up camp wise. In essence these two individuals were trading their labor of collecting "out in the bush" for the privilege of keeping the majority of what they found ( except of coarse the Cerambycids and certain sphingids which were requested ).
My friend really went there at the time in hopes of clobbering Titanus. Anything else he kept was just gravy money on top. He really was a dealer far more than a collector. And he did really well by it. But, that's another story. He did manage some butterflies when the rain would let up. But, they were merely a fraction of his collected material. As mentioned fatigue more than anything else took its toll on his day collecting.
Of coarse he really focused primarily on big, showy insects that would net him good money here back in the states. So, he pretty much did'nt collect medium or small moths, cicadas, flies, or much of anything else with little monetary value. The fairly constant rain meant that things kept hatching out so the stuff he was taking was by and large ex-pupa which was why other dealers here at the time were clamoring for his goods. He did play his cards right in releasing his material slowly over a 2 year period so as not to flood the market.
He remarked that he did get all the proper shots but, that he still came home with a mild case of what was diagnosed as leishmaniasis.

[Paul K]

Yes
1987 there was no internet and i guess not easy to find any destination before hand.
But apparently when I was there in 2004 there were not to many places either you could stay with clean, dry bad.

[trehopr1]

Paul, did you ever manage to spread any of those 1000 moths you collected in French Guyana ? I don't think that I would ever manage to prepare out that number considering my work and family obligations.

[Paul K]

Oct 17, 2015 7:13:02 GMT trehopr1 said:

Paul, did you ever manage to spread any of those 1000 moths you collected in French Guyana ? I don't think that I would ever manage to prepare out that number considering my work and family obligations.

I spread about 500 of them all A1 single specimens and about 100 of some doubles and A1-.
About 300 still seats in envelops as they are mostly doubles and A1- specimens.
It was a big job and took several months between work , wife's complanes and everyday tasks which we all have to do and deal with.

[Paul K]

Some of my favourite drawers from French Guiana's Amazon rain forest.

[wollastoni]

WOW !
Those drawers are amazing !

[trehopr1]

AWESOME !
Very nicely done Paul ! My sincere compliments. Beautifully prepared specimens, drawers neatly arranged and labelled (sorted to respective families / subfamilies) and impressive diversity ! Your specimen drawers are a pleasure to view Paul. They are easy on the eyes. No "shingling" here and no overpacked drawers. Love em'....

[charaxo]

Oct 17, 2015 14:38:15 GMT Paul K said:

Some of my favourite drawers from French Guiana's Amazon rain forest.

hello paul k
i have the very rare baeotus deucalion pair from cacao (french guyane)

[jshuey]

Oct 16, 2015 7:29:45 GMT Paul K said:

Trehopr1

The only draw back is the flight cost.
Toronto-Cayenne: $2200 CAN ( French airline skyjacked the fare in lack of competition )
Compare to:
Toronto-Lima ( Peru ): $800.00CAN
Toronto-Bangkok: $1450.00CAN
Toronto-Nicaragua: $700.00CAN 

I've never explored this, bit I've heard that you can take a North America carrier to some of the Caribbean Islands, and then a hopper flight into Cayenne for about half the price.  But it costs a day of travel time on each end, plus hotel on the island.

John