I don't see how this is worth it unless you get a collecting permit while you are under their employment, and CR is one of the toughest countries around. I just got back two days ago from a 5 month collecting trip in Costa Rica. Permits are very easy to get and they take about a month from start to...

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/...

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

Form "ariadne" (the early/late season form) of C. eurytheme and philodice is a real treat. Smaller size, paler dorsal color, reduced orange if applicable, narrower borders, and green/dark ventral sides.

Chuck wrote: ↑Tue Jan 23, 2024 1:06 pmAfter they "sprayed" for Gypsy Moths a few years ago the Saturnids have virtually disappeared.

The same people demanding "spongy moth" sprayings (to boost property values) are those who scream bloody murder at the thought of collecting...

Most multivoltine U.S. papilionids feature the first flight of the year smaller and more delicate than subsequent broods.

Jerri and his wife used to pretty regularly pop into Bioquip. They were at the last BQ Christmas party, before the pandemic. Then again, it's been gone for two years now... gee whiz, how the time flies.

Brent Karner, who used to run BioQuipBugs before Royce bought it, is a top tier guy.

I don't see how this is worth it unless you get a collecting permit while you are under their employment, and CR is one of the toughest countries around.

I've had numerous butterfly dreams; probably about 20% involve them in some fashion.

Two standout dreams were 3' wingspan males of Phoebis philea mud-puddling (each FW 18" in length) and an 8" wingspan female of Chlosyne leanira.

The first dream was pretty intimidating.

iNat is a great tool that puts a lot of power in the hands of Joe Public, BUT most of that Joe Public has zero entomological education!

Chuck, I think it is only the province of Ontario that protects pretty, showy butterflies (all Papilionidae, as well as monarchs) but I am sure that will spread in social-justice Canada. At least in Ontario, there is a workaround for citizens to get limited permits to collect these if they pay to jo...

I manually feed everything--hold the butterfly by closed wings with your left hand, with your right unfurl the proboscis w/insect pin into the solution. I use one part honey, three parts punch flavor (the original, not low-cal or zero sugar) Gatorade. For tiny things like lycaenids that you can't sa...

RIP! One of very few collectors that managed to reach an extreme age. It seems most of us die in our fifties or sixties.

Such a shame. For one reason or another it seems very few of us reach a truly ripe old age doing what we love.

Agree with jshuey, etc. who argued that natural pyrethrins are "not that bad". When one has to use pesticides, those are what to use. They rapidly break down and leave no residue or cumulative toxicity. Foxfarm's "Don't Bug Me" is 100% natural pyrethrin for domestic garden applic...

Evra, The monsoons of 2021 and 2022 were fantastic, near-record. The monsoon of 2020 was a near-record for being awful, and 2023's, while not the worst, took place in a record summer heat situation, so what rain did fall had no chance to take hold. Winter of 2022-23 was great for both AZ and CA, but...

One more note--a whole lot of countries have stricter collecting laws, than the US, on paper. Examples: most of Europe where all Papilionidae are blanket-listed; Mexico where all citizens need a SEMARNAT permit to collect even in their own backyards. The difference is that enforcement is taken much ...

I could say a lot, but: (1) What Mr. Limmer *allegedly* did is foolhardy in the extreme. It's common knowledge FWS has a hard-on for Ornithoptera in particular. (2) The simple fact of the matter is that there is no way for an honest, law-abiding person to win here. Cites II theoretically provides a ...

A few celebrities coming aboard our cause would help our profile A LOT. Where are the modern-day Winston Churchills? I suspect that there are a few that do, but keep their mouths shut out of not wanting to be canceled--a very real danger in this day and age. Imagine what would happen to anyone with ...