Post by Rev. Redmond Farrier on Sept 11, 2011 14:30:43 GMT -8
I just posted a horrible photo of my cicadas over in the homoptera forum and was wishing that I had a decent camera when I remembered that I already had a photo of my favorite specimen.
This is my very first specimen. I found it long before I even began collecting. Several years ago I found him dead in the parking lot of my workplace. So I picked him up and put him in an empty caviar jar where he stayed for two or three years.
After those years, I was browsing the steampunk forums and got the idea to start a wunderkammer which reminded me that I had this guy stashed away. I dug him out and opened the jar to discover a horrible stench, so I though a good soak in alcohol would help. When I removed him from the alcohol, I discovered that the beetle that was totally black when I found him had changed color and that the legs were no longer frozen in place. (this was long before I had any idea about the concept of relaxing a specimen) A quick Google search led me to the BugGuide where I was able to i.d. him as a male Eastern Hercules Beetle. This piqued my interest and I began gathering other beetles for another box. After about a year of gathering beetles just for my wunderkammer I became interested in collecting as a hobby instead of just something to put in my cabinet of curiosities.
So all of that is just to say that this guy is not just my favorite because he is the coolest specimen in my collection, but also because he is the one that led me to the world of insect collecting.
Rev. R. Farrier
This is my very first specimen. I found it long before I even began collecting. Several years ago I found him dead in the parking lot of my workplace. So I picked him up and put him in an empty caviar jar where he stayed for two or three years.
After those years, I was browsing the steampunk forums and got the idea to start a wunderkammer which reminded me that I had this guy stashed away. I dug him out and opened the jar to discover a horrible stench, so I though a good soak in alcohol would help. When I removed him from the alcohol, I discovered that the beetle that was totally black when I found him had changed color and that the legs were no longer frozen in place. (this was long before I had any idea about the concept of relaxing a specimen) A quick Google search led me to the BugGuide where I was able to i.d. him as a male Eastern Hercules Beetle. This piqued my interest and I began gathering other beetles for another box. After about a year of gathering beetles just for my wunderkammer I became interested in collecting as a hobby instead of just something to put in my cabinet of curiosities.
So all of that is just to say that this guy is not just my favorite because he is the coolest specimen in my collection, but also because he is the one that led me to the world of insect collecting.
Rev. R. Farrier
