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Post by Paul K on Jun 6, 2015 4:19:52 GMT
In Poland - Europe we learned how to use this measuring device in elementary school. I guess they missed that to include in North American school programs.
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Post by trehopr1 on Jun 6, 2015 5:05:47 GMT
Well, yes they did Paul K -- at least during my generation of growing up. And while you fellows in Europe were brought up using the metric system (measuring things in liters ,meters, and kilometers). We over here across the pond were still being raise on inches, gallons, or miles. Maybe by now things have changed up a little but, then I really don't know...
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Post by africaone on Jun 6, 2015 6:59:51 GMT
One must understand that different kind of collectors exist. It is to much probable that most of the records are not censed in public media and known by the the public. Some guys keeps there treasure in bank safe, others never speak about their treasure, others are making making investment ... At a certain level, it can be a pathology (if not all levels ) Most of the records are known because the hunter showed it not because the owner showed it.
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Post by cabintom on Jun 6, 2015 11:22:03 GMT
My question is: how does one dispatch a beetle this big?
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Post by mikelock34 on Jun 6, 2015 14:34:30 GMT
I have personally seen Titanus giganteus over 16.7 cm after having been dried for several years. As with many items, you will never see the largest or "best" because they were collected by people who do not announce everything they collect for their personal collections. The person that showed the huge Titanus to me does not even care that is has any monetary value for being so large, he just has it because he collects beetles and that is it to him.
Collecting Titanus giganteus is very fun though. Michael Hudson and I went to French Guiana for a month to do some collecting years ago. We were told how to collect Titanus, but did not fully understand what we were told. They start flying around 0100 or so typically. After a week of collecting with no Titanus captured yet, we ran into a friend who lives in Cayenne. He could not believe we had not taken any yet as it was the season for them. He reviewed the collecting method which we had misunderstood and after that we started catching them almost nightly. One of my favorite visual memories is a 13.5 cm Titanus that was between me and our collecting lights climbing up a branch on a small bush with its' wings fully extended. Awesome sight. I did a flying leap and knocked him over before he could fly again. Ended up with several holes in my net trying to that thing out of it.
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Post by wollastoni on Jun 6, 2015 14:46:00 GMT
Great story Mike ! Must be very impressive indeed to see live Titanus giganteus during the night in the Guyanan forest !
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Post by mygos on Jun 6, 2015 18:31:31 GMT
My question is: how does one dispatch a beetle this big? Just by using a larger box Tom A+, Michel
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Post by mikelock34 on Jun 6, 2015 20:58:11 GMT
Killing them is a tough one. We started with injecting them with ethyl acetate. That only slowed them down. We tried soaking them in ethyl acetate after injecting them by locking them in a killing jar with ethyl acetate sloshing around inside. That killed them after a day or night. Made the mistake of putting two that had been injected in the same jar once. The larger of the two took a few bites from the smaller and we had to put them in separate jars.
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Post by deliasfanatic on Jun 6, 2015 21:28:47 GMT
I've heard that one injects alcohol into one of the leg sockets.
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Post by africaone on Jun 6, 2015 22:00:54 GMT
I kill big prionid (+ other big ceramby) and goliathini (and other big beetles) with injection of ammoniac in the mouth. Sometimes I stock them in big stocking jar with acetate d'ethyle, sometimes directly papered (depending of the situation and avaibility).
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Post by mikelock34 on Jun 7, 2015 0:27:43 GMT
We pumped it in from between their mandibles and into their abdomens then soaked them in the jars.
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Post by Paul K on Jun 7, 2015 3:21:09 GMT
It is far more easy to kill Titanus. When I collected one in Kaw Mountains - Franch Guiana I had no idea how and where to inject ammonia to kill it. Then my personal assistant ( local guy with expiriance hired by Fred ) took from there and just simply inject the poison right to its mouth . Titanus was dead instantly . I spend there 2 weeks in February and collected only one specimant . The best period for those huge Beatles is the month of January .
Paul
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Post by africaone on Jun 7, 2015 7:35:28 GMT
We pumped it in from between their mandibles and into their abdomens then soaked them in the jars. not necessar to go into abdomen, the aim being to kill it asap and the to join the central system nervous in the head. A small serynge is enough to reach the area between the eyes. the same for big moths. If you inject ammoniac in the abdomen or in the thorax far from the head you will not kill it properly and quickly. And one of the aim with moth or big butterflies (sometimes it necessar fpr Charaxes that are not killed without damages by pinching) being tu use a minimum of ammoniac to avoid it to to invade the body and wings, it necessar to find the right place for the injection (near the head)
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Post by mikelock34 on Jun 7, 2015 9:58:43 GMT
From personal experience, the best time for Titanus is the last two weeks of December/first two weeks of January. Variable of course, but they were out every night during that time. Once we learned how to catch them, it was easy. The females are only out during the day from what we were told. They catch them crossing the road when they see them.
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Post by africaone on Jun 7, 2015 10:52:13 GMT
From personal experience, the best time for Titanus is the last two weeks of December/first two weeks of January. Variable of course, but they were out every night during that time. Once we learned how to catch them, it was easy. The females are only out during the day from what we were told. They catch them crossing the road when they see them. does one of the "secret" not being the high power of light ? I have heard that a long time ago ....
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