Thanks for your input Chuck
For you and others,
It definitely depends on exactly how rural. Most places should be fine and accessible to me, I'd have to see case-by-case. I've done high elevation collecting before so elevation isn't a drawback.

In terms of equipment, I have both MV and UV blacklight setups, as well as a new generator (i'd have to look for it) for the lights to run. I'd also have to check for the specific model/type. I also have basic collecting equipment.

My parents and I are paying for costs, so no worries for that part.
Again, thank you for your feedback, it is really appreciated especially because I don't have the best idea on how to go about this.

This is what makes Homo sapiens so sucessful. It's the will to try anything.

You can’t make this up.


https://13wham.com/news/offbeat/belgian ... in-2-weeks

First thing is to let everyone know where you can go (including elevation, remote areas, etc.) and then find an appropriate partner that could use your help. What equipment do you have? Who is paying your costs? Expanding on that here would be a start.

For example, I have a project in NY/PA/MA/NH that would work June 7-11, but I won't be able to accompany you, nor am I paying for any of it.

Join Lepidopterists Society, and you can also put in an ad looking for work there. Check with the LA museum entomology department.

Phou Samsoum is a 2,600-meter mountain in northeastern Laos on the border with Vietnam. It is very difficult to access (two days of terrible driving from Luang Prabang), but the forest is magnificent. There are several taxa endemic to this mountain. We found some beautiful things there. A herpetologist joined us and discovered a new species of frog. The weather, in the middle of the Annamite Range, is complicated, but we were lucky to have sunshine every morning.
A lot of interesting species including Delias lativitta, Delias belladonna, Limenitis rileyi ueharai. We were a bit early for Delias patrua.
The road between Luang Praband and Phônsavan, a real nightmare, with dead trucks blocking it.
-- The magnificent Phou Samsoum
--
A good spot for Delias at 2,200m
-- -- Another good spot for Delias at 2,200m
Delias belladonna yukaae
--
Cheirotonus gestroi
--
A wonderful forest !
--

Phou Samsoum is progressively transformed in a National Park. But wood traficking is still happening.

Hey all!
I am a HS student in (10th) who specializes in in lepids, having done quite a few mini-projects revolving around varying species of moths and butterflies.

My dream has always been to work/contribute on a lepidoptera research paper, even if i'm credited for a very small part in it. If there is anyone who wants a little help with any aspect of research, whether it be collecting, searching, reporting -- I would LOVE to be part of it and be credited for a part of actual research!!!

I am based in Los Angeles, California, but if you are based ANYWHERE within the US, I can travel freely from most of June 7 - August 11.
PLEASE let me know and we can exchange information!! Thank you
Ishaan

wollastoni wrote: Mon May 26, 2025 5:30 pm along with my colleague Ron, who specializes in Achillidae.

I assume this is Ron L. from Switzerland, and you mean Achillides, the 'gloss Papilios'.

Adam.

Nam Kat Yorla Pa is a protected forest near Oudoumxai (North Laos). It is a middle-mountain area around the river "Kat". We studied mainly the area near the tourist resort between 700 and 900m. It is easy to reach by the new train built by China between Luang Prabang and Kunming.
The river Nam Kat. Great spot to see a lot of common butterflies. Including Delias berinda yedanula, Delias acalis, Delias agostina & Delias pasithoe. A lot of common species Polyura, Kallima, Papilio...
--
Preparing a moth session at the bottom of the mountain

-- Papilio and Appias mud-puddling

-- The team

-- Polyura, Charaxes and Dysphania

-- On the last day, I took a very steep path to reach a ridge at around 1,500 meters. At the summit, the vegetation is lower, with conifers. Unfortunately, there were no rare Delias, but the view was beautiful.

-- Thauria lathyi

-- Kallima inachus

-- While in Nam Kat Yorla Pa, don't miss the Biodiversity Museum. The entomological part is curated by my friend Steeve.

-- Nam Kat Yorla Pa is a wonderful place, easy to reach, very good resort. Mainly common species as it is rather low in altitude. We did find some interesting Coleoptera which could be new for science. You need authorizations to collect there (PM me for details).

I had the pleasure of spending two weeks in Laos with my French entomologist friends Steeve and Adrien, whom some of you may know, along with my colleague Ron, who specializes in Achillides. My main goal was to study the country's Delias populations. The trip was a great success. Laos is still a very wild country, with relatively little deforestation compared to neighboring Thailand. The people are very welcoming, the food is delicious, and the roads are terrible.

To share the beauty of the country, I will share a few photos. These are iPhone photos, so the quality is not great, but they will give you an idea. I will make a post for each location I studied.

Please post a photo after reading https://forum.insectnet.com/viewtopic.php?t=4 about adding photos. Basically you can upload a photo as long as it is smaller than 800kb. You will need to resize a full photo.

Adam.

There are many of these on the wall and windowsill. Some have wings and some are wingless and smaller. Houston Texas. Please advise.

Trehopr1 wrote: Sun May 25, 2025 12:52 am Funny, how some insects shown in common insect guides turn out to be so infrequently encountered in life...

Exactly.
So many cool bugs I looked at pictures of, and probably won't see alive, I just found my first waterscorpion in 2022, and a person might think Mole crickets are everywhere. Maybe it's the "wow" factor to entice interest.

Here is a better picture, a little refrigeration slowed it down.

That is indeed a very "cool" find kevin. I have certainly never seen one. I have only encountered a couple of mantid flies in all my years of personal collecting. Funny, how some insects shown in common insect guides turn out to be so infrequently encountered in life...

Interesting! I'm confident I've never seen a snakefly of any kind; plenty of mantidflies, but I've only ever seen snakeflies from photos. I've not yet seen a scorpionfly, either.

I haven't seen one of these for quite some time, so long in fact, that this one is going into a glass case.
Apparently in the USA, only found in the "western" states. The common name for this is "snake fly"
If I hadn't been worried about losing it, I'd have tried for a better picture.

wollastoni wrote: Thu May 22, 2025 3:24 pm vabrou : What's the point of digging up a six-month-old post? None of your posts have been moderated recently. I'm sick of this ridiculous victimization.
We have fairly simple rules to follow. Everyone can make a mistake, the post is edited, there's no need to whine about it for months like a child.

I believe that some things are best handled with PMs or emails. Calling names does not help any situation, certainly not participation.

vabrou : What's the point of digging up a six-month-old post? None of your posts have been moderated recently. I'm sick of this ridiculous victimization.
We have fairly simple rules to follow. Everyone can make a mistake, the post is edited, there's no need to whine about it for months like a child.

kevinkk wrote: Wed May 21, 2025 11:49 pm That was weird. I kind of expected this a long time ago. Apparently there is some issue the rest of us, or at least I am unaware of.
Vernon made at least one post after the November scolding, which was nice of him to make,I guess it didn't last.

The discussions on what gets edited, and personal opinions of post content and such, really should be moved to a different thread.

That a thread is edited is at the whim of the moderators. It is well documented here and elsewhere that contributors do not like their content to be altered or deleted, no matter the why or purported reasoning, or whatever. It's human nature.

That it was edited and marked as such is proper moderation; never should content be edited without noting that it has been done. I had one post edited in a manner that changed the message in an inappropriate manner, and of course appeared to look like I had written it. This is unacceptable, and only by knowing that it was edited post facto, and who edited it, was I able to get it properly edited in a mutually agreeable form.

Now, I will chastise my esteemed colleagues here. There is no need to "pile on" and add insult to injury. This only further frustrates the contributing party. We also say this happen to Leroy- a bad situation made worse by his purported friends and colleagues- which didn't need to happen. His final days after a storied history of Lepidoptery ending in a gang-attack and ostracization. What a way to finish out.

Too, I have to point out that the membership and contribution here has dwindled to next to nothing. While there are a variety of factors, attacking [inclusive of alteration of content] members, for whatever reason, has been a primary contributor. There's what, five of us left here? Last one out turn off the server while claiming righteous superiority.

That was weird. I kind of expected this a long time ago. Apparently there is some issue the rest of us, or at least I am unaware of.
Vernon made at least one post after the November scolding, which was nice of him to make,I guess it didn't last.

vabrou wrote: Mon Nov 11, 2024 11:23 pm edited by admin

"BYE"