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Post by dertodesking on Jan 31, 2019 13:18:07 GMT -8
Claude,
Really? Why you getting rid of them?
Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Sept 1, 2016 13:14:35 GMT -8
He is well-known and has been discussed a number of times on the Facebook "Blacklist..." group - 100% scammer who is to be avoided at ALL COSTS!
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Post by dertodesking on Sept 1, 2016 13:10:23 GMT -8
Use cellotape...the frass sticks to it and the plastazote comes up nice and clean with no damage. It may take several goes to clear up all evidence... Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Dec 19, 2015 13:29:14 GMT -8
Dear Manfred and Adam,
Thank you for your help with these.
I'll try and take some pictures of the Russian specimens and post over the next day or so...until then - thanks again.
Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Dec 17, 2015 12:03:39 GMT -8
Dear group members,
Can anyone confirm the subspecies of the following? Many thanks in advance...
Z. polyxena - Russia (Voronezh Region) Z. polyxena - Hungary Z. polyxena - Slovakia Z. polyxena - France (Vaucluse?)
Z. cerisy - Greece (Thessalonika) Z. cerisy - Russia (Krasnodarsky Kray) Z. cerisy - Macedonia Z. cerisy - Cyprus
Once again, many thanks...
Simon
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Post by dertodesking on May 27, 2015 8:19:39 GMT -8
Very sad news, passed away last week at home in London. He was a master piece if not THE master of African Butterflies. Thierry RIP Torben - a very sad loss indeed. Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Dec 2, 2014 4:15:34 GMT -8
I can recommend using gin (the normal kind you normally add tonic to and drink!) for relaxing stiff jaws. I've used it every time I've experienced a similar problem, with success, ever since Bill Garthe posted on here about it's relaxing properties... Simply "paint" undiluted gin liberally onto the stiff part of the beetle and wait and the part, in this case a mandible, should loosen enough to allow setting. You may have to re-do it a few times before the mandible loosens enough but in my experience it works. Difficult to say how long it will take to loosen up enough to be able to set the specimen but if you test the mandible by trying to move it you'll see if it's worked. I've also used gin, successfully, to loosen up butterfly specimens that were "stuck" on their pin when I wanted to change the setting height which did away with the need to fully relax and re-set the specimen...simply paint a small amount onto the thorax, where the pin goes in, wait a bit, and then with a pair of fine forceps move to the desired height and fix in place with a small amount of wood glue. I've also used gin, frequently, to relax a very weary collector after a long day in the field... (hic!) Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Oct 1, 2014 12:12:23 GMT -8
He sometimes sells some bugs on ebay to, mostly uncommen specimens that are out of my reatch right now he has a listing going on with Chilasa carolinensis female and male etc. Actually, isn't it Jens (Jakusch) rather than Bernd who is selling the Chilasa..? Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Sept 14, 2014 12:54:54 GMT -8
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G specimen Peter - thanks for sharing!
Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jun 30, 2014 13:24:48 GMT -8
Ian, An interesting video...thanks for sharing Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Jun 24, 2014 11:42:42 GMT -8
Which is a disgrace really...Suarez up to his old tricks again! I'll be supporting anyone but Uruguay from now on and hope that we don't see Suarez take any further part in the World Cup (or any other match for that matter - he deserves a lifetime ban). Simon
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Post by dertodesking on May 12, 2014 14:32:47 GMT -8
But I still see many pictures of paradisea with straight tails................. I'd be curious to see some of these pictures. Do you have links to them? Tom, Tony Nagypal's excellent website (at has a host of wonderful paradesia pictures (among others)...some have curved tails...some have straight tails... Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Apr 1, 2014 13:00:35 GMT -8
Jonathan, Congratulations on your 2nd birthday! Simon
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Post by dertodesking on Mar 27, 2014 12:04:00 GMT -8
A nice way to pass on your excess specimens. Thanks Peter - hopefully I'll get my reward in the next life! Seriously though...I wanted to give these to someone who would enjoy them and, I'm pleased to say, they're on their way to a couple of young collectors and will hopefully stay in their collections for years to come. Simon PS - Jens - I'm still waiting for your reply to my message...
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Post by dertodesking on Mar 26, 2014 13:24:49 GMT -8
Hi Lance, ...interesting technique! I've used gin since Bill Garthe first posted about his experiences of using it on the old forum but never like this. I've used it to relax beetle mandibles etc by "painting" it onto the beetle and allowing it to soak in and it's always worked very well for me. I've also used it if I want to alter the height a butterfly is set at on a pin - I have to admit to being a bit anal about that and like my specimens to be set at the same height on the pin. I've found that if I want to alter the height of a specimen on a pin, but don't want the hassle of relaxing and resetting a specimen, painting a small amount of gin onto the body of the insect, just where the pin enters/exits, loosens the pin up just enough that I can alter the height but pushing the specimen with a pair of fine forceps. Anyway - with regard to soaking in gin I have a couple of questions... - when I relax my specimens (which I do by placing onto damp paper towels in an airtight Tupperware box) I place the box into a warm area to create a humid environment within the relaxer - do you do the same when you stand the specimen in gin? - I notice that in your pictures only the body of the butterfly is immersed in gin - not the wings. Have you ever had the butterfly tip over and totally immerse in gin? If so did the specimen dry okay or did it stain? I still shudder thinking back to one of my first attempts at setting an O. victoriae specimen which I left in the relaxing box too long resulting in badly stained wings... Have you ever had any staining using your gin method? - Do you let the specimen dry out at all before setting or do you mount it straight from it's gin "bath"? I'd have thought the specimen would be too "wet" when straight out of the gin but would be most interested to hear your experiences... Thanks in advance, Simon
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