What're your limits on collecting?

[lucanidae25]

I've found my last trip to Tibet was really hard for my body to handle, my feet really suffered badly due to bed bugs staying in a small village for only 3 days and this is the result. It was so swollen, I've found it very hard to walk and carry 26kgs front and back. I've already had the strongest insect repellent with me but it wasn't doing anything. Mosquitoes and leeches don't normally border me but bed bugs and lack of oxygen really do affect me this time.

I think that was really pushing my limits on what my body can handled. Am I crazy doing all that inorder to find my beetles?

What are your limits on what you will do or won't inorder to collect what you want?

Attachments:

[prillbug4]

I simply won't go into poison ivy. I have had serious cases of blistering from this poisonous plant- which I call the Illinois State irritant. This year it's been out of control, and I've had to be very careful when near it. Many times, I've had to shower because I was paranoid about having the urushiol oil on my skin after being near it.

[wingedwishes]

I'm lucky I guess. Poison Ivy and other plants don't affect me. I absolutely follow the rules as closely as I can. I have collected right next to the border of a park where collecting is not allowed but I just won't enter and risk trouble.

[pittendrighinsects]

For me, I won't go into thornbushes (there are many of these when I collect in Spain), or protected areas, but most plants don't really affect me.

[africaone]

I reached my limits when being at the border of the front of the civil war in Angola. I feeled completely stupid to be there (especially when crossing some gun mans going in the fights a few kilometers farer, me with my net in the hands on road !) and I experienced what is the real scare during this trip.
When being in Gabela, rebels where around the town and gouvernemental troups used 'Stalin's Organ's, Katyusha 1 hundreds meters from us to defend the town.
African rebels (espacilaly Savimbi ones) were not recognised for their humanity and I can't imagine what had happened if we falled into their hands. ps ; I realised only being there otherwise i had never travelled there. When organising the trip, the war had stopped but restarted just a few days before we gone there.
Despite very good catchings, this was really out of limits.
ps ; the vehicule we used for this trip exploded (mine in the road) some weeks later (we returned back home) exactely in a place where we hunted two days (and discovered a new Euphaedra). the drivers was dramatically injured and all 6 passengers died.

[lucanidae25]

That is just CRAZY!!!!!!!!! The crazy things we collectors do to get what we want!!!!
The next Question is would anyone sell their specimens after all the expenses, efforts, risks and suffers...... especially if you have cost of overseas airfares.

I know I would never sell them knowing what I have to go through inorder to find them. I get supper annoyed with someone telling me they really want them but they think it only worth........ They just assumed everyone want to to sell........

Would you?

[lgk43120]

As Dirty Harry once said "A good man always knows his limitations."

Which is why I PAY people to "Make My Day!" (within my own financial limitations of course!)

[wollastoni]

Let's remember Bates' and Wallace's expeditions, in those times Amazonia and Indonesia were really dangerous and they left their family for years to collect bugs!

[wingedwishes]

Another part to the question would be: "At what point do you have enough of a species?" I understand those who collect to sell would take more than those who take solely for personal use. Do you stop collecting when you "feel" you have enough? Would you restrict yourself to mostly males so that females can continue on to lay eggs? For a species which has a very small range, would you take just a few or get as many as you can because they are "rare?" Would you keep a cites I if you caught it and you knew no one was looking?

My answers would be - I'd stck to males and maybe 1 or females. I'd not take or keep a threatened species. I would however, plant the larval host plants for a threatened species and attempt to cause there to be more of them. FYI I collect, raise, and sell them. I'd love to live in an area where the Schaus lives also. I would not collect them.

[lucanidae25]

lgk43120

There're lots of sp money can't buy because for lots of different reasons and this is why I have fly overseas to collect them, just to fill in those missing gaps in my collection.

wingedwishes

I only ever collect in the same location no more than 4 times, other wise I'll get bored. I don't see the point keep collecting the same sp again and again too. For me I like exploration to different countries and areas.
I think you are mainly talking about butterflies. Very few collectors would collect female Lucanidae, except for the Japanese buying them in pair alive for breeding but that would be only once or twice. Once they got live specimens in Japan they wouldn't have a need for that sp ever again.

[timoinsects]

i mostlly could not bear pruritus/itch(skin sensibility).any pain for me is just ok.i could bear.
there are many different sufferings on body when to go some places to collect.
i just finlished an pruritus(skin sensibility),all over body itch stronglly and looks very terrible about over a week ago because of moths from the light trap,the terrible itch ranged from at night till the tomorrow morning,i should go to hospotal but there was a remote county's main town,the doctor should not be in hospotal.and there's even no taxi!
i wear a short trousers and t-shirt,but at that night it was raining so there were plenty moth and i was too closed with them,the moths went into my wearings.it was just a neightmare for me.

did you had any portection wearings when you had night trap?

about day collecting,the long walk,hot sun,sweats,leechs,and spiny bushs etc.
normally we collect along with the road,did not went into the forest/bushes that without a road,because even do so,it's always poor harvests but have to pay too much on body.