A hobby of "small game hunting"....

[Trehopr1]

There once was simpler times when occasionally a
young man with an inordinate interest in nature
might take up a net and spend his summers small
game hunting....

Do you see yourself in this picture ?

[Paul K]

Good old days

[boghaunter1]

I also have that magazine issue & made a color copy of that cover that now hangs in my... errr... bathroom... indeed reminding me, each morning, of my youth, & of how much enjoyment this hobby has (& still continues to bring) all these years later.

John K.

[Chuck]

Simpler times, indeed. Good old days, yes.

When kids learned something about the outdoors rather than yootoobe rubbish, and everything wasn't illegal & enforcement wasn't an industry.

Largely a case of failed parenting, building on itself over generations. Keep the kid busy with an X box.

So speaking of small game hunting, a few weeks ago I went to my favorite Wildlife Management Area in KY. There were hunters with dogs after rabbits in the fields. One of the hunters remarked to me "It's tough out there in the field, lots of vines and thorns, tough slogging through" to which I wanted to laugh, and say: "Dude, you should try it in August!"

[Trehopr1]

Here we have another young and intrepid
adventurer/entomologist regaled in all his
field gear and fully involved in "small game
hunting" and exploration !

[kevinkk]

Some nice Norman Rockwell images, and there were good old days. My collection sure never looked as professional. It's difficult thing, today I was
looking up a word using my phone, it wasn't delivering results. The phone "overheard" my expletive, and told me, "please don't speak to me like that"
There are days certainly worth reminiscing about.

[livingplanet3]

Do you see yourself in this picture ?...

Many thanks for these posts, Trehopr1. Indeed, these images make me nostalgic for a time that was at least 20 years before my time! A simpler era, definitely. Better than the present? Well, perhaps in certain ways, but I'd certainly not want to give up all of the advances that we've made in various aspects of life over the past 70 years or so. After nearly 30 years on the internet, I really can't imagine life now without that, for one thing. The internet has fundamentally altered the past quarter-century in ways that I think we still don't yet fully comprehend; will be interesting to see how the world continues to change because of it.

[Trehopr1]

Absolutely agreed !
Nostalgic times are always worth reminiscing about but, the advances that we have made (as a civilization) are generally something that I would not necessarily care to give up.

Of course, there is a give and take to everything when you compare history with recent times.

It truly is a pity though that as Chuck mentioned in his post --- "failed parenting has been building on itself for generations".

Thus, outside of the sports (arena) few kids take up an honest hobby anymore and instead become mesmerized/conditioned with gaming and ridiculous (moments ) of video watching --- as tho' stupidity were a virtue !

It takes a strong involved parent (these days) to sway kids from the typical road that most travel down....

Once in awhile however, a child can grow in the appreciation of something that they may see others have an appreciation for. Naturalists may be rarer now (than ever before) but, I don't think we will ever go extinct.

[Chuck]

Hate to say it, but the lack of interest in outdoor activities means fewer people, and thus a more natural environment free of noise and crowds.

The first nice spring day following the advent of COVID we went to our favorite semi-remote state park. It was mortifying- there were hundreds of cars, where normally there would be a half dozen. The trails were swamped with people who clearly had never done any hiking, as they were inappropriately dressed with dress boots, leggings, etc. And, it turns out, there were over a short period numerous injuries. The state responded by building barricades along trails, building bridges over streams, etc., turning the rather pristine park into an attraction. Some may argue that it's now more accessible, but we prefer the relative natural environment and solitude. Did any of those city dwellers who visited the park and travelled the graded trails and bridges turn into naturalists? I doubt it.

[kevinkk]

Well, at least they get outside, I prefer solitude as well, the people with dogs are the worst at times, I like dogs just fine, but like people,
they are unpredictable. Unlike your dog, I am not "friendly"-
I live at the coast, and we have plenty of tourists, there is always someone falling into the ocean, presumably taking video all the way down.
The hikers that somehow get lost, who are barely prepared for a trip to the qwiky mart. It's survival of the fittest, or the better prepared.

[58chevy]

Those pictures show how it was when I was growing up. Brings back great memories. Too bad outdoor hobbies like insect collecting have been replaced by video games. I'm encouraged that my 6-year-old grandson likes collecting bugs, but I don't know how long it will last.

[Chuck]

So where are the young entomologists?

Surely, out of 325 million Americans, and a worldwide population of 7 billion, there must be some. And, academic institutions seem to have plenty of incoming students- in fact, three years ago I compiled a business case for a uni showing that entomology was a growing field of study.

So where do they "hang out"? They don't seem to join LepSoc. Are they on FB? Why aren't they here?

[livingplanet3]

...So where do they "hang out"? They don't seem to join LepSoc. Are they on FB? Why aren't they here?

YouTube and Instagram.

[Chuck]

...So where do they "hang out"? They don't seem to join LepSoc. Are they on FB? Why aren't they here?

YouTube and Instagram.

I think that's not accurate, unless they are twits.

I picked a representative topic, Speyeria idalia. Not much on YT, and few comments. Even FB is just a lot of one-post generic stuff with a few likes each, not much commenting. I can't search Instagram w/o an account.

[58chevy]

I think most young entomologists are enrolled at agricultural colleges, at least in the USA. Maybe they're too busy doing field work & lab work to hang out on social media or bug websites.

[Trehopr1]

Indeed, agriculture related jobs and the pest control industry gobble up the majority of any entomology students.

Very few take up the branch of taxonomy as they learn quickly (as I did) that the job base is very restricted; and that after all your schooling you may very well be nothing more than a biology teacher at some high school !

Not exactly what a PhD should get you for the amount of money, time, and effort expended.

[Chuck]

Indeed, agriculture related jobs and the pest control industry gobble up the majority of any entomology students.

Very few take up the branch of taxonomy as they learn quickly (as I did) that the job base is very restricted; and that after all your schooling you may very well be nothing more than a biology teacher at some high school !

Not exactly what a PhD should get you for the amount of money, time, and effort expended.

That's why I didn't go into entomology. And admittedly, some of those PhDs and PhD students who made an incredible impression on me 20 or 30 years ago now teach subjects other than entomology, with one even writing me recently that there just were no jobs and no money in entomology.

That said, there are plenty of new students who do go into entomology each year. I doubt any say "I want to study corn parasites!", no rather they have a passion for entomology and that's what they want to study. So they must be somewhere; maybe they're all coleopterists right now and hang out on those forums. You can't tell me there aren't at least fifty kids in North America alone who don't raise larvae, catch butterflies, or collect them retail...so how do they make connections? How to they share info & stories?

[livingplanet3]

...So they must be somewhere; maybe they're all coleopterists right now and hang out on those forums. You can't tell me there aren't at least fifty kids in North America alone who don't raise larvae, catch butterflies, or collect them retail...so how do they make connections? How to they share info & stories?

Here -

https://beetleforum.net/

https://www.roachforum.com/

https://mantidforum.net/

[Papilio_indra]

The original painting of "The Collector" shown at the top of this thread is available for purchase if you have some excess funds: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/stevan-do ... post-cover.

[kevinkk]

When I first discovered The Lepidopterist's Society, it was a godsend, even though many of the offerings were gone by the time I got my copy of the News, still I made a lot of contacts through networking, I lost my way for a few years, and when I rejoined the society, it seemed all they could do
on time was send out bills, So I quit.
I don't like facebook at all, and I'm making a concession not misspelling their name,
I don't know why more people don't use our wonderful site, what I do see are people trying to make their own insect sites, and not realizing it takes
traffic, interest, it takes gifted and inspired moderators who are always coming up with new topics. Youtube is too much of a mixed bag for me,
I'm glad it's there, I watch movies and documentary programs all the time. I found this site easy enough, simply by looking for moth livestock,
and that was nearly 13 years ago. There's nothing wrong with Insectnet, and if people need facebunk to have a life, I am so sorry for you.