Where to buy: Bioquip folding net "National Park Special"

[Chuck]

All,

I've found that the convenience of my old Bioquip folding net has made it my daily/ go-to net. Since my state permit says to be discreet while collecting, and because it's just so convenient to have a net in a fanny pack (fits anywhere too), it's the perfect net.

That means I'd better have a backup.

These are the spring steel net hoops that bend inside themselves to collapse the hoop. Not the collapsible handles. This is model was also called by some the National Park Special because it is so easily hidden. I don't condone that, just adding clarity to which net.

Does anyone know who might be making these now that Bioquip is closed?

Thanks.

[daveuk]

https://www.watdon.co.uk/acatalog/Pocke ... l-net.html

Watkins & Doncaster here in the U.K. sell these Chuck.

[Paul K]

Roppon-Ashi has for sale those. I have one and its much more flexible than Bioquip one. It is much easier to fold and unfold.
They also sell amazing net bags which are very soft.
I never personally ordered from them but I've got my set from Yutaka Inayoshi while I lived in Chiang Mai.

The one you want is the Shiga brand:
http://kawamo.co.jp/roppon-ashi/sub175e.htm#sasi

[Chuck]

Thanks guys! I can't imagine these are hard to make, just a springsteel hoop.

[Jshuey]

https://store.raisingbutterflies.org/ca ... s/1853.htm - is a direct copy of the BioQuip net rim.

[Chuck]

John you are the best! I so owe you...again.

I had been calculating the cost to make them. To be anywhere efficiently priced I'd have to build ten, and they'd cost me more than that store sells.

Despite the insidious monikker "National Park Special" I find these nets invaluable. They satisfy state permit requirements "be discrete", avoid too many inquiries that eat up my time, and pack down into a fanny pack that I carry everywhere, and take up so little space in aircraft carry-on.


You made my day...now I hope they actually deliver! I'll let you know.

[alandmor]

The link won't display for some reason but a search for "collapsible pocket insect net" on Amazon has one for $16.99. Another option is below.



https://ecologysupplies.com/products/co ... ocket-net/

[Chuck]

A quick Google search found a couple of other sources, including one for only $16.99 on Amazon:



https://ecologysupplies.com/products/co ... ocket-net/

Thanks, those are only a 12" diameter, too small. The one John pointed out is 18". That's one problem I had when I was searching, 12" rings.

[Chuck]

https://store.raisingbutterflies.org/ca ... s/1853.htm - is a direct copy of the BioQuip net rim.

I ordered two of the nets from the link above "Raising Butterflies.org" Took the risk despite never having heard of them.

Very professional: online ordering worked, received a notice of order acceptance, received a notice of shipment, and a week later two nets.

They also included in a bag labeled "FREE SAMPLE" an extra, fine mesh net bag!!

The nets look like a copy of the Bioquip NPS. Each came with 36" bag (black, that's what I ordered), the ring assembly, two extensions, and a handle. It seems very nicely made.

The regular mesh seems a bit large in size; unfortunately right now I can't find my BQNPS to compare. It is easy to see through, even despite being black. The finer mesh (that they sent free) net bag feels very nice and already flexible.

The nets are $22 each, $24 with the fine mesh. Choice of white or black bags.

I am very pleased. Raising Butterflies did it right- everything. In my life, dealing with bureaucrats and fools, nobody can do anything right. These guys (gals?) did. Zero problems, good communications, nice looking product. ETA: I looked on the website, it's Todd Stout of Utah Leps...apparently he knows what he's doing, and he's not a neophyte.

Thanks John for finding this. And to you other guys for discussions on the net bag colors and weave.

[Jshuey]

Yes - it's Todd Stout who is doing this. He has been very aggressive about getting kids in Utah out with a net in their hands as part of the Lep Soc's "OuterNet" program. I think he started making them because he needed them for the new kids he tries to get excited about collecting.

John

[livingplanet3]

Yes - it's Todd Stout who is doing this. He has been very aggressive about getting kids in Utah out with a net in their hands as part of the Lep Soc's "OuterNet" program. I think he started making them because he needed them for the new kids he tries to get excited about collecting.

It's good to hear that there is still some effort to instill an interest in insect collecting in the younger generations. Over the past couple of decades, I've become concerned that the hobby will largely die out and just fade away, as we get further into the 21st century. It seems as though there is more of a push to criticize and discourage collecting, than to promote it (at least, in the US).

[bobw]

Over the past couple of decades, I've become concerned that the hobby will largely die out and just fade away, as we get further into the 21st century. It seems as though there is more of a push to criticize and discourage collecting, than to promote it (at least, in the US).

Even more so here in England!

[wollastoni]

As long as entomological authorities remain "silent" on that topic, the future of our hobby is indeed at risk. Museum authorities of the world should launch a "give kids a net" campaign.
+ they need to defend the insect trade as Wang, Pierce, Lohman & al did in July 2023 :

"The prodigious reproductive capacity of r-selected insects means that collecting or ranching butterflies from the wild is sustainable if natural habitats are preserved (Bayliss-Smith, 2006; Matiku et al., 2013; Gordon and Ayiemba, 2003; Slone et al., 1997). Sustainable economic profitability might be the most parsimonious explanation for why most traded butterflies are wild-caught. However, this should be examined with an ecosystem service cost-effectiveness analysis. Selling wildlife to preserve wildlife might seem counter-intuitive, but careful analyses that consider local stakeholders in conservation strategies have arrived at similar conclusions involving vertebrates (Di Minin et al., 2016). Unlike their 19th century counterparts, modern collectors for the butterfly trade are stakeholders who depend on pristine habitats for their livelihood, and therefore have a vested interest in habitat conservation. We suggest that the scale and extent of global butterfly trade is best seen as a practice of sustainable, targeted resource extraction that has considerable potential in promoting the conservation of insect habitats."

[Chuck]

I can see where this got sidetracked, and we've had this conversation before. I applaud Todd for his youth outreach, but face it, field collecting is headed downhill. That said, so long as there are nets and drawers available and not illegal, there will be some few who will continue to enjoy this centuries-old activity.

[Chuck]

Mr. Stout said he was going to send ANOTHER free net bag, I said no need at all, but indeed he did.


I wonder how many nets I have to order to get a free Porsche.

[Chuck]

COMPARISON: BQNPS and Stout/Raising Butterflies collapsible nets

SHORT VERSION:
1. The connecting handle sections are shorter on the Stout net (good)
2. The BQNPS net connection will fit the Stout handle sections, but not vice versa
3. Net bags are the same dimensions, but new nets are stiff!


LONG VERSION:

I'd like to say I learned this by trial and error, but really it was all error.

Due to the length of the BQNPS handle sections, if I was travelling I had to take an oversized bag that would only fit some airline overhead bins. This was a pain.

So I got smart, and cut down one of the BQNPS sections by about 3" so it would fit in a small carry-on.

In doing so I was able to fit the ring and one handle extension in a small carry on. Then, in the field, I frustratingly discovered that one section provides insufficient power and speed.

So I cut down a second BQNPS section, and drilled the connecting hole.

That's when I discovered that the Stout/ Raising Butterflies handle is comprised of shorter extension sections. Arrrrgghhh! These make it SO much easier to travel.

So today I grabbed "some stuff" and headed out to the field. When I got there, with the Stout ring and first extension, I discovered that it does not latch into the BQNPS handle extensions. "Fortunately" I only took a shot at one butterfly, and the assembly did not come apart.

Then I tried the various combinations, and determined that the BQNPS and Stout net-end and handle extensions are not compatible. So keep them separate; that said, it would be easy enough to modify with a file or dremel.

SUMMARY: Stout/ Raising Butterflies net is better for travel than the old BQNPS.

[papiliotheona]

As long as entomological authorities remain "silent" on that topic, the future of our hobby is indeed at risk. Museum authorities of the world should launch a "give kids a net" campaign.
+ they need to defend the insect trade as Wang, Pierce, Lohman & al did in July 2023 :

"The prodigious reproductive capacity of r-selected insects means that collecting or ranching butterflies from the wild is sustainable if natural habitats are preserved (Bayliss-Smith, 2006; Matiku et al., 2013; Gordon and Ayiemba, 2003; Slone et al., 1997). Sustainable economic profitability might be the most parsimonious explanation for why most traded butterflies are wild-caught. However, this should be examined with an ecosystem service cost-effectiveness analysis. Selling wildlife to preserve wildlife might seem counter-intuitive, but careful analyses that consider local stakeholders in conservation strategies have arrived at similar conclusions involving vertebrates (Di Minin et al., 2016). Unlike their 19th century counterparts, modern collectors for the butterfly trade are stakeholders who depend on pristine habitats for their livelihood, and therefore have a vested interest in habitat conservation. We suggest that the scale and extent of global butterfly trade is best seen as a practice of sustainable, targeted resource extraction that has considerable potential in promoting the conservation of insect habitats."

Can you please give the link for this?

[adamcotton]

Can you please give the link for this?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 0723001933

[Chuck]

Make sure you get the looser weave bag. The tighter weave is too hard to see through and slows the net. You may have to ask for this via messaging or email.