Why does one simple posting that two collectors in Sri Lanka were busted by the government and fined for collecting insects in national park areas cause you "personally" so much bother and unrest ?


Probably because it will very soon be the cause of the demise, not perhaps of entomology as a ...

Now you just wait a minute. Politics is banned here buddy. Drop it.
I could see this topic was going political. This needs removed asap.
This really burns my ass. It's immature, it's uncalled for and you need to
stick to the hobby.
Looks like you probably offended some Germans as well. Good job ...

Your responses typify the attitudes that get entomologists into trouble around the world.



Sorry John, but I lived in a "socialist camp" (a socialist country in the middle of Europe under the rule of the all-powerful Soviet Union) :) You in the US live in a "different reality" (something ...

Having travelled the world, I see little difference between the "civilized" and "uncivilized" countries. Some may have more infrastructure, some may hide corruption better, but overall, I don't believe it anymore.


Maybe I just worded it wrong. The word "civilized" is wrong. The word "developed ...

Two young Germans arrived into NYC carrying automatic pocket knives. They didn't know it was illegal, so the "proportionality of punishment" to them was zero, right? But they found out otherwise. They tried common sense appeals "But you people have GUNS!" which meant nothing to the NYC cops who ...

If an offending adventurer/collector disregards the details that they should be well aware of (which means disrespecting present laws) of a country you don't live in then if you are caught you deserve what they slap on you.


Really? And why don't they measure with the same meter? Or is it ...

Plus, in Brasil at least - it's hard to imagine that "tourists" like me really add much when they have people who are aggressively sampling across the country and house university collections of South American bugs that put the holdings in the Northern hemisphere to shame. And - they fight the ...

It's worth noting that when you go into a country and break its laws and get caught - you should expect to be prosecuted. In my opinion - it's nice that they allowed them to get away with playing a fine. Entomologists have always had problems with the concept of "rule of law" - but perhaps it is ...

180k Euros - wonder whose pocket that went into. Third world cesspit countries who learned bureaucracy from the Brits.


Plus, now the fuc**rs know that the "white man" can be blackmailed more and more! Opportunity for another fine increase :) Next time the hapless entomologist will need to be ...

It's unbelievable that nowadays some entomologists still don't know that there are total crooks and extortionists in Sri Lanka and that it's really impossible to catch insects there!

Chuck wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2024 12:52 pm
If you don't take the time to respect the landowners,

Landowners are fine (usually). But the worst are the officials They are often difficult (even impossible) to deal with.

I know export from Vietnam isn't banned. I purchase insects from private dealers all the time over there and they always show up


How it is in Vietnam I can't publish here :) The only positive thing about Vietnam (as far as insect exports are concerned) is that the law enforcement associated ...

, and can help step you through AUS export regulations.



I'm afraid no one "outside" can help the Australians. Their "legal jungle" and export obstruction is so terrible that they should sort it out once and for all.

By the way - every Ornithoptera specimen must have a CITES permit for export!

livingplanet3 wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2024 8:22 pm The following probably isn't applicable to the described plan, but it's an interesting video on catching Morpho hecuba with a lure -

Nice video. Saint Elie, right?

is it safe to just send the speciems I collect back to the U.S in the mail? Instead of going through the hassle of bringing them in luggage and dealing with customs


Officially, the export of insects from Vietnam is banned.

-edited by admin- "Be careful with what you write on a public forum".

I will give you an example from my country :
- a stupid law has been voted with a ban to collect more than 100 insects per year per person in French Guiana
- the French Lepidopterist Association and other important association made some meetings and wrote to FG authorities
- this law has been ...

Again back: "Error 500 - Internal Server Error", "An error was encountered while processing your request. Typically this is a temporary condition. Please contact the web site owner for further assistance."

Down again? "The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to the site owner reaching his/her bandwidth limit. Please try again later."

Oh, yeah. But I was only referring to disinfecting the collections. Just some alternative to paradichlorobenzene.

On another note - how are specimens usually organised? By country or family? Or just a random mix of things?


Again, it's hard to say. Both ways have their importance and their supporters! :) Most people probably logically prefer sorting by family. But especially when it comes to sales, sorting ...