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Post by starlightcriminal on May 3, 2011 5:41:14 GMT -8
Why is that everyone shifty is from Cameroon in this market? I know there are desirable things there but Nigeria is right next door and has a lot of interaction therein, why always from Cameroon? I'm sure the Nigerian powerhouse can take advantage of the local insect populations as well but always we discover the scam is being run from Cameroon. It's much poorer, maybe this mode of survival is more culturally pervasive or this "trick" hasn't been spread around yet? I got a few "Nigerian princess needs your bank account number and personal identification information so she can deposit her treasure in your account" emails before but nothing specific and targeted at a certain community like we see with the Cameroonian insect scams here.
I have several friends who are native Cameroonian here in the US and in the UK and they are perfectly friendly and honest people as one would assume about the world's population at large. Why so many insect-specific scams being run out of Cameroon?
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Post by starlightcriminal on May 3, 2011 5:30:23 GMT -8
I like how the label is just laid on top of the photo of the beetles (you can see the shadow resting on the flat plane of the picture). The last "guy" from Cameroon that tried to sell me things acted very upset and offended that I would ask so many questions. He literally said: "Just a point of reminder that i accepted your trial Order as a sign of securing and establishing a long term Business relation. Moreover,I would like to let you know that for my 12 year experience in this field,no one has ever asked for references. So its some sort of a surprise that the one i opted giving a helping hand to is the one embarrassing me." He says he gives me a helping hand because I don't want to buy $500.00 USD worth of items from someone unknown so he said I can buy $100.00 instead. So the "helping hand" really amounts to him letting me pay him (by WesternUnion of course) for nothing but a string of rude emails (and yes, they get a little abusive further down the string after I said, "thanks anyway, but no thanks"). I told him I would offer a "helping hand" too and let him send me the specimens in advance with no payment . He didn't seem to see the parallel.
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Post by starlightcriminal on Apr 27, 2011 5:18:32 GMT -8
You know if you are willing to go through the hassle of permitting and of course to pay the fee you can basically buy anything you want. If you look carefully on the CITES permitting at FWS, etc. here in US there are even provisions for how many rhinos and big cats you can import for canned hunts and such. It's a matter of following the law, going through the permitting process and paying the customary fee per species. Just one more way the environment can lose to industry, even if it is government "wildlife protection" industry. The fee is surprisingly nominal given the scarcity of some of the animals. I wish we could import unscrupulous government officials for the same purpose and low fee.
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Post by starlightcriminal on Apr 27, 2011 5:08:11 GMT -8
Forgot, the actinic are compact fluorescent bulbs. They are available at places that service marine systems. Not too cheap for a lamp but nothing like halide or mv and run very cool relatively.
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Post by starlightcriminal on Apr 27, 2011 5:06:55 GMT -8
Lights are the first and obvious one. Mercury Vapor, Halide, Actinic and fluorescent (in that order) are the best. Not sure if MV or Halide is better, they're basically the same. Both get HOT. I use actinic because I had some spares laying around from my reef tank which has now converted to LED. Not sure if anyone has tried LED yet but they certainly are low cost, no heat, long life and with the correct Kelvin output for corals to reproduce so they obviously generate the correct nm range light.
As far as "sugaring" goes, most people use some type of fermented fruit/alcohol mixture or a variation on that like honey and yeast or something similar. Lots of different recipes available online. I use banana, brown sugar and beer. Only moderately successful with this, I have actually captured more Catacola at my actinic light (though I suppose they might be attracted to the smell and then distracted by the light but it also worked when I wasn't sugaring so who knows for certain).
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Post by starlightcriminal on Apr 25, 2011 10:28:25 GMT -8
I love the natural world and systematic collecting so what is more perfect than insects with such limitless possibilities? Also in the sciences by nurture and profession, though not insects. I could go crazy with sea shells or anything else natural and collectible if I would allow myself. I have a great collection of the world's durable and interesting seeds, also a work in progress. It's definitely a personality thing in my case. I take solace in the fact that my cell phone pics are things people often have never seen. Besides, what's more manly than hunting and taxidermy? Sure, they're tiger beetles not tigers, but still... you get to keep your soul after the kill, right? I'm pretty sure if you need a picture of a scantily clad woman on your cell phone to feel manly than you probably have some, shall we say "inadequacy" issues anyway. And who is more likely to get the girl- the one with trashy photos of other girls on the phone or the guy who can impress by unleashing a flourish of knowledge about the delicate and beautiful butterflies of the world? I'm just guessing at the mindset of the female population at large, but I think that women dig men who dig butterflies better than men who dig other women.
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Post by starlightcriminal on Apr 22, 2011 10:06:17 GMT -8
Heck, any one remember the re-discovery of the Atala? I wouldn't put it on par with finding the Chupacabra at all. One we know is/was around and it is a distinct possibility that it could be still around, just obscure, the other is flat out unrealistic given the ecological needs of such large creatures (also, anyone ever notice that there isn't a mythical creature small enough to be possibly out there? always some giant monster mammalian thing or huge aquatic shadowy silhouette). I think that's the difference that Wiki fails to qualify. My favorite "cryptozooligical" re-discovery: the Cuban Selenodon. A creepy venomous possum-rat looking thing from way back in time. I hardly consider this cryptozoology though. There is not a "cryptobotany" for all these reasons- if a plant is thought to be extinct then it is written off with the knowledge it could easily be re-discovered in a remote enough location. If it's new, it isn't a mythological creature being discovered, it's just like insects- you get to describe a new species and give it a name and that's that. But somehow animals get to share a title with aliens and yeti if it decides to go incognito for a while. Seems like an artificial distinction. I think in order to be "cryptozooligical" you really have to be imaginary. Otherwise you are just unknown to science. Even the giant squid is not really that impressive relative to the stories and imagery associated with it. Can it pull a whole cargo ship under water? No way. The whaling boats these squid were purportedly sinking back in the day were actually successfully catching and killing its major predator, so much so that the whales almost became the stuff of "cryptozoological" myth themselves. If you're big and tough enough to take down a sperm whale then you aren't at risk of giant squid attack (that and who has ever seen one alive at the surface to date? no body). I don't buy it personally. vwman and anthony- you should relocate to my city, there are hives of female entomologist here
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Post by starlightcriminal on Apr 11, 2011 10:55:51 GMT -8
What's the best time to visit Steinhatchee? It's so close to where I am that I often think of making another quick excursion out there, but the first couple times I went it was completely fruitless so it fell on the priority list. I am sure I don't have the timing down right.
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Post by starlightcriminal on Apr 7, 2011 10:37:54 GMT -8
I'm in Gainesville. I don't know other collectors per say either although I have several friends who are associated with UF's Entomology Dept. and the McGuire Center for Lepidopteran research who are excellent help with ID and such. They don't collect privately though, just for research.
Clark- InsectNet Bugger's Convention? There's gotta be a geeky pun in there somewhere...
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Post by starlightcriminal on Apr 7, 2011 4:14:36 GMT -8
I'm in Florida and am a member of Southern Leps. So far I haven't heard of group collecting trips through them though (just joined recently though). I would love to attend any insectnet trips that could be arranged. Also, here in Florida it's nice to have some other folks to collect with casually. My great dane is not very good at relaying which type of snake bit me to emergency dispatchers.
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Post by starlightcriminal on Apr 6, 2011 8:35:07 GMT -8
Just wondering if anyone here has ever collected together? Seems like it would be fun to go on a trip somewhere or at least collect locally with members located nearby.
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Post by starlightcriminal on Apr 5, 2011 5:51:41 GMT -8
Ummm... six legs is one of the hallmarks of an insect. Bill is spot on- four legs for walking and two that are held close to the body (probably with sensory receptors for scent and such, though someone else may be able to correct or advance that thought). Think of N. antiopa.
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Post by starlightcriminal on Apr 4, 2011 11:17:19 GMT -8
It seems we have some confusion regarding "stiffness" and rigor. Rigor is a chemical reaction, "stiffness" can be either from actual rigor (crosslinking of myosin/actin resulting from Ca+ ions diffusing after death) and the stiffness that occurs from dessication. If you are worried about real rigor, it doesn't really matter which chemical you chose since both actin and myosin will denature over time regardless of what you short of extreme, permanent freezing. Dessication can be a whole other issue- not all molecules that once were "wet" will become "wet" again and often if they do it is with considerable loss of integrity.
I prefer freezer method myself but have used EA, KCl, a few ethers and various alcohols in a pinch. It's always worth experimenting a bit with something that isn't terribly valuable. I still prefer freezing. Killed and stored in one fell swoop.
Ammonia, like KCl, would be a native product so it too should be quite safe for specimens over the long term.
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Post by starlightcriminal on Mar 29, 2011 16:18:13 GMT -8
Only if you happen to go right into an important pathway that leads directly to the heart. In a moth, a few microliters is a high percentage of their body weight. In people, it's virtually unnoticeable. What size syringe are you using? Now if you main-lined the stuff, say "bye bye." But I suspect any other moth killing agent administered this way would have precisely the same affect (save maybe ethanol at a low enough volume). So an accidental finger prick is ok- a little bit uncomfortable, like salt water in a wound, but ok. Would I recommend carelessly euthanizing moths that are sitting on your femoral artery, no.
Also good to mention it doesn't explode or go bad over time, just gets more concentrated or forms crystals. Overall, probably the safest of the chemistry mentioned here. It is the only we naturally have at high levels in our bodies.
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Post by starlightcriminal on Mar 29, 2011 11:09:37 GMT -8
KCl (Potassium Chloride) is a very effective killing agent. It interrupts the Na+/K+ pump in cells which must be a very specific equilibrium to function. Water intoxication results in death due to the ion concentration in the blood being thinned, thus disrupting the equilibrium. The opposite, over saturation with KCl, also causes an imbalance. Water intoxication can lead to death as can too much Na+ or K+. A lethal injection, for example, is exactly this- the component in the so called "triple cocktail" that stops the heart is an injection of KCl. Hence it is a very effective killing agent, instantaneous more or less, for anything biologic. Shoot for a 3.3M (molar) stock of KCl, that is the saturation limit of this salt. Three tbsp. in 50mL is approximately correct although the molecular weight of potassium chloride varies depending on the source and intended application. It's really not important to be spot on however since the point is simply to undermine the ionic pump of the heart.
It will not destroy the specimens color and will be far more easily spread than something "fixed" with a non-native chemical. There is already K+ present in insects, you would just be adding a little more.
You are correct, this is an effective method of euthanisia and safe for specimens. It has the disadvantage of having to be directly injected though, where cyanide, ethyl acetate, etc. are volatile and can be used in a jar. For me, jar suffocation takes longer and runs a higher risk of damage than a quick injection.
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