PS. Tobacco and alcohol are both useful in entomology, but personally I do not imbibe either. At the same time, I believe everyone is free to choose what they want to do.

Adam.

Moderator's WARNING:
Smoking is bad for the health.

Just in case anyone reading this thinks that Insectnet promotes unhealthy habits.


Mind you, the smoke helps protect specimens from pest infestations!

Adam.

Jshuey wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 5:34 pm

bobw wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 4:22 pm

Jshuey wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 1:02 pm
More impactful, I left a zip lock bag full of cigars too close to a cabin window once in the Dominican Republic. Someone reached in and swiped 5 of the cigars (leaving about 10 probably thinking I wouldn't notice). In the frigg'in cigar capital of the world!

I beg to disagree John. Much as I like Dominican cigars, they're not a patch on Cuban, but I guess, as an American, you can't go there.

You can get anything you want here in the US - but it takes a bit of work. But the irony - was the stolen cigars were a mix of Nicaraguan and Honduran. So, I replaced them with Dominican sticks, which thanks to a hefty VAT - cost about twice as much there as I can buy them in the US...

j

I know the feeling. I used to import them from Switzerland and sometimes got away with it. Then they started picking them up at customs and charging duty, but it was still a lot cheaper. Now, the duty's so much that it's cheaper to buy them here. But I can go to Spain for a long weekend, buy my duty free allowance, have a great weekend away and still save a fair amount!

bobw wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 4:22 pm

Jshuey wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 1:02 pm
More impactful, I left a zip lock bag full of cigars too close to a cabin window once in the Dominican Republic. Someone reached in and swiped 5 of the cigars (leaving about 10 probably thinking I wouldn't notice). In the frigg'in cigar capital of the world!

I beg to disagree John. Much as I like Dominican cigars, they're not a patch on Cuban, but I guess, as an American, you can't go there.

You can get anything you want here in the US - but it takes a bit of work. But the irony - was the stolen cigars were a mix of Nicaraguan and Honduran. So, I replaced them with Dominican sticks, which thanks to a hefty VAT - cost about twice as much there as I can buy them in the US...

j

Jshuey wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 1:02 pm
More impactful, I left a zip lock bag full of cigars too close to a cabin window once in the Dominican Republic. Someone reached in and swiped 5 of the cigars (leaving about 10 probably thinking I wouldn't notice). In the frigg'in cigar capital of the world!

I beg to disagree John. Much as I like Dominican cigars, they're not a patch on Cuban, but I guess, as an American, you can't go there.

In all truth there's a lot of insanity that happens here too in the good 'ol US of A. Private property issues are hairy, since often we are forced into subpar areas to collect since the "best" and most trouble-free areas are public lands with off-limits designations (NPS, FWS, state parks/reserves, some BLM monuments, stupid county open spaces, etc).

One common one is an irate landowner claiming (very dubiously) that they own ALL the property, on both sides of the road, within 360 degrees of the edge of their little tiny lot that you got a bit too close to. You know they are full of crap, and don't have a leg to stand on (what methed-out old hermit has the $$$ to own acres and acres of prime forest real estate?), but they are willing to call the police to settle the score (and are quite possibly armed) and it's not like you can just whip out a county map of property boundaries then and there to shove in their face.

Another one is property owners whose land you accidentally fudged on not being convinced by you showing them the specimens, larvae, etc. that you found and *insisting* you must be there to rob them and this is all an elaborate ruse. I get that they didn't like that I was there without permission but this is just pathetic, folks. (On the flipside, one such ranch manager was in fact won-over by my specimens during a recent "oopsie" moment, and let me carry on.)

Yet another is when there is public or checkerboard land, but private property owners block the entire access road, and refuse to provide an easement for public access to land. I don't know how this is legal, but it is. It's a bigger thing in places like Texas than California or Arizona, but happens everywhere.

I haven't had kit stolen in the field yet, save for one stupid self-inflicted wound in the Huachucas of SE Arizona summer of 2009 when I stupidly left my car windows open (it was a scorching hot day) in the woods with my phone, digital camera, etc. in plain sight.

If anyone subscribed - but they hate skippers - let me know! I can buy them new - but I'm hoping for a better price than retail.

Butterflies of the World 49 Hesperiidae II. New World Pyrrhopyginae (Text) by Mielke, O.H.H.; Brockmann, E.; Mielke, C.G.C

Butterflies of the World 50: Hesperiidae III. New World Pyrrhopyginae (short text and plates). Brockmann, E.; Mielke, C.G.C.; Mielke, O.H.H.



John

Same for me. I nearly had zero troubles during my collecting trips. Those I can remember :
- we had to leave a village in the Baliem Valley (New Guinea) because we were "not welcome". But our guide understood fastly it was safer to leave the village.
- my backpack with all butterflies and a net were stolen in my car in Greece (I was on the beach swimming).
- I have been blackmailed few dollars by Indonesian authorities (but that's part of the tourist fee).

Then of course, from time to time, you will be charged more than locals... but well, in the tropics, life is not expensive at all and you won't notice it.

This said, except West Papua, I have never been to "dangerous" countries where civil war is close but it's another topic.

Of course, I won't recommend a trip to North Kivu or Iran as a first collecting trip abroad !

But I am sure that when I will be old, my collecting trips abroad will be in the top list of my great souvenirs.

Chuck wrote: ↑Sat Apr 13, 2024 12:53 pm

kevinkk wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 11:55 pm Although I've "lost" a kayak and other equipment, it was sneak thieves that saw an opportunity.

Ah yes, the opportunistic petty thieves. Overall, I would say that petty theft (particularly from foreigners) has a level of cultural acceptance in many places. Certainly in parts of, or most of, Latin America.

In my travels, I've had exactly two "petty" experiences. In one case, I guy pumping gas in Merida Mexico, took my 200 pesos, and then pulled out 20 pesos and claimed that's what I gave him. I simply reached into his pocket and pulled my two one hundred peso notes out, and told him what for. That pretty much settled that! (note that they wear lab-coat like jackets at some service stations - so easy to reach in in a retrieve my money).

More impactful, I left a zip lock bag full of cigars too close to a cabin window once in the Dominican Republic. Someone reached in and swiped 5 of the cigars (leaving about 10 probably thinking I wouldn't notice). In the frigg'in cigar capital of the world!

Compare that to life in a small Indiana town, where once every couple of years people swipe something or other off the back patio - most recently a butane lighter my son gave me as a gift. But more typically, those little solar-powered lights you stick in flower pots.

Petty crime is everywhere,
John

AFAIK no post have been deleted. The "Agrias butterflies" topic have been split in two : one about Agrias, one about Global travel collecting, as the latter topic deserved its own topic.

The Agrias topic is here : viewtopic.php?p=9851#p9851

Who deleted a ton of posts in this thread and why??

As I'm not completely sure it is him, I'd rather not post his info on a public forum. It's just his e-mail account and personal website are very new (1 month and 4 months old respectively), his address in Linares, Jaen looks so much like Javiercarp11's, and the company associated with the website isn't in the Spanish company register. I've won a few of his auctions, so am awaiting if something arrives with his name on or I'll be fed the same barrage of excuses I got from Javiercarp11.

I can share in a DM though.

Yep, Larry told me that he's been working on it for a lomg time, but things keep changing. I don't think it's imminent.

I think Larry Gall has been working on it for a long-time and it does not yet appear to be finished (not yet listed on Wedge's site). Maybe you know all of this.

http://www.wedgefoundation.org/order.asp

If you are on Facebook, contact "Nic Lepido Asia". He is a French entomologist based in Kuala Lumpur for the last 15 years. He will be able to inform you about the local rules.
If you are not, I can give you his email in private message.

Tom, Could you send us a link towards his new ebay shop so that we all know his new name.
Thank you

kevinkk wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 11:55 pm Although I've "lost" a kayak and other equipment, it was sneak thieves that saw an opportunity.

Ah yes, the opportunistic petty thieves. Overall, I would say that petty theft (particularly from foreigners) has a level of cultural acceptance in many places. Certainly in parts of, or most of, Latin America.

Sometimes it's not viewed as theft, at least culturally. In Polynesia, there exists a cultural concept of communal property. It's a constant problem for some, as if your brother needs a chainsaw and you have one he'll just come and take it. There is no real "bring it back when you're done" you have to first figure out who has your chainsaw, and then go get it. Same goes for food- if your cousin is hungry and you're not home, he just helps himself. This is not theft.

It's worse in Melanesia because what we might call theft or even graft is culturally enforced. Typically, an extended family might have one working professional. If a brother or cousin asks for money, they have to give them money! If the money earner is sitting at the pub, a family member can "demand" that he buy him a few beers too. This is very strongly culturally enforced, despite being a huge divide between Melanesian and western culture. The "victims" shrug their shoulders and say there's nothing they can do but fork over the money or goods- the only way to avoid it is to physically avoid certain family members...they would NEVER EVER dare to refuse even the worst family members.

In Solomon Islands, a bunch of American Habitat for Humanity guys arrived to build houses. Free, of course. Like any good people who had been culturally briefed, they knew you NEVER wear shoes into a house. So after their first day at work building a house for the community, they returned to the guest house and removed their work boots, leaving them on the porch. The next morning all of their boots were gone. In a similar conundrum, you cannot wear shoes inside the Hagia Sofia mosque in Istanbul...but if you put them in the rack outside, they're likely to be stolen.

In a large part of the world, if an item is unattended it's fair game.

The next level up is threats and demands. For example, claiming to be the chief and demanding that the foreigner pay money for being on his land. This is so common it's laughable. The real problem is that the pansies pay up, creating a problem for everyone else.

One cannot avoid being a tourist, per se. It's not uncommon that I've been the only white guy for 200 miles- it's pretty hard to hide that I'm Palagi. I prefer foreigner over tourist, because that is what one is- foreign. As such, opportunists and criminals have a head start because they've readily identified someone who might be an easy target. But what they're really hoping for is a fool, a pushover. Being a foreigner doesn't mean one has to be a victim, but some are just inclined to be that way.

In most of the world, although petty crime is rampant, violent crime is not. This is particularly true for rural areas, just like USA. The people are friendly and kind. If the foreigner is also kind, and expresses interest in the locals and their culture, it opens a whole new world of opportunities. People will come out in droves to be your guide, to find things you need, to bring you food. And over time, once integrated into these societies you can leave your boots outside at night.

I've just come across this thread again, as I'm worried I've come across Javier (new seller in Spain, Lineares, Jaen) on ebay again selling butterflies under a different name.

The reason his ebay account is gone is in his last rounds of auctions (in my case, I bid in the december 2022 auctions) he took the money and ran. I lost only 60 euros in butterflies which were never sent, but there were more victims I've come across in FaceBook groups where entomology scammers and scams are discussed.

Very nicely put Billg.

Chuck was a long time friend of mine for 27 years.

I have much to admire, appreciate, and forever treasure (in my lifetime) through his efforts. He was a purveyor of Natural History artifacts for at least 43 years !

In my prepared eulogy at his funeral I remarked at its end that: "I will miss my friend but, his kindness, generosity, and genuine Goodwill towards others will always follow me ---- wherever I go".

Hello Tim,,

Well, now that you have heard from both "sides of the aisle" on this topic you will find your path somewhere in the middle ---- I hope.

There has been some good suggestions made here of how NOT TO LOOK LIKE A TOURIST and of how to stay "below the radar" of general attention. It has been said that it TAKES PATIENCE waiting likely (months) to get those approval permits. This is all common sense reasoning and yet it's still worth mentioning.

If you should someday find yourself ready for adventure I will always say make that first or second trip using a service/travel company OR seasoned collector/guide to see to all the arrangements of air flights, ground transportation, lodging, and period of stay. Maybe pricier this way but, YOU WILL GAIN experience yourself in the process and other trips can be finessed to your liking and at lesser expense.

I traveled in the early 1990s on two different group trips sponsored by the eminent lepidopterist Tom Emmel. Both of my trips (Ecuador, Bolivia) were absolutely wonderful in every respect; and totally carefree as Dr Emmel saw to it that everything ran smoothly. I took a third trip to the Dominican Republic with a seasoned collector and things also went smoothly and carefree. On all three trips I could focus my entire self just on being there and collecting.

A certain "devil may care" attitude seems to be easily embraced by experienced collectors OR those who are more the leader type than followers.... Many more of us are followers and we naturally want things easy and relatively trouble-free for the courtesy of us paying for the privilege !

Nothing wrong with that. We cannot all be leaders....

Should you decide on a place to go research the subject thoroughly. Weigh your options. I will still say that VERY LITTLE comes cheaply these days when traveling. If you are going to Central or South America it will likely require both a domestic flight and an international flight ($$).The rental of vehicles does not come cheaply anywhere ($) --- and the vehicle had better be a relatively new one or you may be driving a "lemon" which could break down on you.

You will want decent lodging so you are not sleeping with bed bugs or fleas (by going the frugal route). You don't want to wind up sleeping in your car or reading a road map to find your way anywhere because internet service is not very good in most places down there unless you are in the city.

Am I cautious/skeptical about international travel ?

You bet I am when going to places "UNUSUAL" for typical travel are what the intentions are.

Not everyone will necessarily agree (always) about topics brought up here. However, it does make for lively conversations and hopefully those most interested will learn something from ALL concerned.

✓ I just don't much appreciate individuals who summarily "brush off", scoff at, or belittle the wise thoughtful remarks put forth by some of us. An ALL KNOWING attitude is elitist, rude, and insulting !

You're also not "gaining any friends" when you place emojis like this alongside members posts as if laughing heartily at what they have to say....

Agree to disagree.... and move on WITHOUT YOUR attitude !

Very best Tim in whatever endeavors you choose to follow.