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Post by jshuey on Jun 2, 2020 13:21:14 GMT
I remember seeing the blocks in action at the Carnegie when I was a student. At that time, there were literally barrels of papered bugs (not kidding - multiple barrels filled to the top) that needed to be processed. There were a couple of older staff that were really good with the blocks, and they burned through the back-log pretty quickly. And because the "envelope data" needed to be associated with each bug individually, it was simply wrapped in under the string for each specimen, ensuring that no information was lost until a proper label was created.
If you have never seen the Carnegie lep collection, it is outstanding. One of the top five collections in the US. It has historical roots that underpin Holland's Moth Book and Butterfly Book. The "Holland Room" (if it still exists) has cabinetry made by prisoners and a wrought-iron scaffolding system to create a "second floor" in the old, super-high ceiling portion of the collection (very Victorian - I hope it is still intact). The Carnegie was also one of the very first collections to invest in compactor systems to increase their ability to conserve the collection. As Bob mentioned, it is a global collection and John Rawlins, who led the entomology section for years, was great at attracting $$ and aggressively collecting any and everything encountered on a global basis on months-long team expeditions. Certainly hundreds-of-thousands of leps in the form of raw samples from biogeographically interesting places were brought into the collection, spread, and curated during this period alone. John told me once that most of the expedition sites they sampled were chosen based on ecological threat, and that his goal was to have sampled entire lep biotas, such that samples of species, both known and unknown to science, would be conserved in the collection. My guess is that this collection houses one of the largest libraries of undescribed moths in the world. (FYI, because of the long time spent at each site systematically sampling habitats, many of the leps were reared in the field, with larval photos associated with spread adults in the collection).
And despite many of your misconceptions, all of this material is beautifully spread. Just because "I wouldn't do it that way" -- doesn't mean that the alternative approach is wrong.
John
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Post by jshuey on Jun 1, 2020 13:14:20 GMT
There is a facebook group called amateur microscopy - the spend half their lives looking a weird stuff from aquaria. They will know what this is.
john
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Post by jshuey on May 14, 2020 16:11:54 GMT
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Post by jshuey on Apr 28, 2020 20:21:14 GMT
I looked at Ebay, and there are several options from decent sellers, especially if you can get by with a "student" scope from the big names. When I was searching for a new scope a few years ago, I ended up with a Chinese thing from AmScope. For less than $900, I picked up their ultra wide-field and I'm pretty happy with it. An older version of this one - www.amscope.com/clearance-1/clearance-stereo-microscopes/2x-45x-zoom-microscope-with-60-led-metal-ring-light.html. Something comparable from the big names would have cost 5X as much (new). I added a 3mp digital camera, and it meets all my needs. The only problem I have every now and then, is it gives me a "double image" when I zoom to higher magnifications, easily fixed by zooming all the way in and then backing down to the magnification I need. Obviously, one of the lens systems is not aligning properly during the zoom movement and I probably need to strip the cover off and lubricate some gears. But it's nothing I can't live with for now.. Here's a stacked photo from my system. A new genus and species from Peru (unfortunately, I am late to the game and there is a paper in press describing this beast already in the works). I wasted a bunch of time on this description - check with other friend before you invest this much time is the lesson I learned!. John
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Post by jshuey on Apr 23, 2020 15:29:06 GMT
I keep reading that COVID is killed by exposure to UVC (and, sometimes read UVB).
Most of us have black lights and/or Mercury Vapor. Instead of taking the time to wipe down the counters, why not just run the MV for an hour?
Chuck
It's typically a deeper blue UV that us used for this type of disinfecting. Hospitals and research labs do it all the time. But they have surfaces that are designed to withstand UV treatment (they don't fade or react) and UV lights designed specifically for the task. I was just talking to a group yesterday that is suing UV to sterilize field gear (in this case aquatic sampling equipment that is often used near waster-water treatment plants). It's not the only way they are trying to clean up their equipment - but just another added layer to help protect their staff. John
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Post by jshuey on Apr 23, 2020 15:22:38 GMT
For $50 buy them. You won't lose money on them. Despite his sloppy work, they are largely "good enough". Chuck What he says.... For $50 a copy, you can't go wrong. john
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Post by jshuey on Apr 13, 2020 17:54:56 GMT
Wow John! Eumaeus genus is incredible! especially E.childrenae. Are those mainly from Belize too? Is underside equally beautiful? any photos? Thanks Paul, Yes the larger unit tray is Belize (the other unit tray is from Mexico). And I happen to have an old photo right here on my hard drive. It is indeed an amazing bug to see in the field. john
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Post by jshuey on Apr 13, 2020 14:36:33 GMT
I promise - no more! Here's drawer #1 of my hairstreaks. Again, mostly but not entirely, collected by me. John
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Post by jshuey on Apr 11, 2020 23:43:33 GMT
By the way, I love hairstreaks - almost as much as skippers! Just to prove that not everything in my collection is as rough from the field as the Calycopis looked, here is the genus Janthecla. Most of these (Belize and Brazil) collected by me. Three species in Belize - the top two unit trays (janthena and janthodonia ) and the bottom-left tray (rocena) from Belize. The J. rocena was a country record last summer at Caracol Ruins where I did not have a net, but I did have a small killing jar in my pocket. It was looking for minerals and landing on the limestone of the ruins. I followed it around for about 5 minutes taking stabs at it with the jar. But it was very forgiving, and would just fly off a few meters before settling again on the limestone. Very nerve racking, thinking that this was a "new to Belize" bug but not entirely sure what species I was really looking at... John
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Post by jshuey on Apr 11, 2020 22:47:31 GMT
Here, is a specimen that I have which has the name Thecla pronuba on its pin label. The data says Jalapa but, I cannot make out the country due to lousy handwriting. Acquired from a collection being parted out a few years back... It looks like Atlides polybe - a nice bug. Jalapa is a city in Mexico and Guatemala (and probably other countries as well). John
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Post by jshuey on Apr 11, 2020 20:28:47 GMT
jshuey, Your Calycopis trays are very impressive. C. isobeon is not rare in my area (East TX, USA). It often flies alongside C. cecrops, which looks very similar. So the irony is, that people send me photos of "isobeon" all the time from Belize. Of course, who knows what those photos really are, but based on my experience, probably not that species. But that seems to be the "go to ID" for people who know isobeon from Texas and northern Mexico. There was a paper published a few years back that noted that isobeon was really rare in Honduras, found at higher elevations. So I know it really should be in Belize somewhere - right? This is one of the reasons I collect a few of these bugs at every spot we encounter them. A few years back, Nick Grishin wanted some Calycopis quitana for genetic analysis. So I sent him "all three" of the similar species - quintana, bactra and drussila. Plus I added some problems bugs, including one we called "gigantor" in the field because it was noticeably larger. "Gigantor" was fairly common on top of Baldy Beacon when we were there once, its an odd grassland ridge-line that abuts rainforest in central Belize. After running the DNA, nick informed me that "gigantor" was isobeon, as were two of the females I sent his way (the photo is of the unit tray I mailed to him for analysis - I've circled the three isobeon specimens). So Nick, not I, discovered isobeon in Belize! Nick's paper is here www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5310595/John
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Post by jshuey on Apr 11, 2020 19:36:34 GMT
Looking thru my Bolivian material last night I was re-acquainted with a hairstreak capture I had made whilst there in 1989. Collected near Puente Villa Bolivia on May.22.1989 (afternoon)/net sweep I have no idea as to the genus or species but, it sure is a pretty little number. I will show both sides in case someone recognizes this one. It's the only one which I remember seeing ! your bug is Panthiades phaleros - always a great catch and never common. john
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Post by jshuey on Apr 10, 2020 21:09:48 GMT
Here are two shots of a genus that many people ignore - Calycopis. I find them fascinating! As some of you know, I've been working for many years trying to understand the fauna of Belize, and there are 13 species known from the country. Four of these cannot be easily IDed in the field and two of these are dirt common (drusilla and orgio) while two are quite rare (isobeon and quitana). For the first two species - you can only separate the males once spread (the upper left unit tray are all the un-IDed females). Hence, our motto has always been, "if it flies, it dies" with respect to this genus. i.imgur.com/q41wAd7.jpgi.imgur.com/uZlZIL3.jpg
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Post by jshuey on Mar 18, 2020 12:43:28 GMT
The greatest concentration of A. celtis I ever found was around an Interstate highway rest stop in the middle of South Carolina... They were everywhere! Didn't see a clyton among that outbreak, though. In my back yard, you never see both species on the same day. Celtis has two generations in Indiana, and clyton flies between them. j
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Post by jshuey on Mar 16, 2020 15:09:14 GMT
So, what many collectors don't realize, is that both of these species can be quite common in small-town urban environments. The host plant, hackberry, is an adventive tree that is common in older small town American back yards. Its seeds go everywhere and it quickly establishes along fences and foundations.
I live in a a typical "historic" neighborhood in central Indiana - the ages of the homes are between 80-120 years. Over the decades, especially in the era when lawn care was not so intense, the seeds rain in and establish (I have to hand pull them from our flowerbeds). So I have three mature hackberry trees in my yard alone - a small fraction of the total on my block. And I get to see both species perch most of the summer in my back yard. They land on you as you walk down the sidewalks here! And indeed, clyton is less common than is celtis in this setting as well (but more like 10 to 1).
john
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