Leroy's Drawers of Specimens.

[leptraps]

Everytime I show drawers of my specimens, I receive numerous Messages and emails wanting to buy, trade or to donate specimens from my collection.

This is my collection. I collected and/or reared the vast majority of specimens in my collection. At my age the vast majority of these specimen, I will never be able to collect them again.

I hope all of you will understand.

[luehdorf]

I think everybody understands. But what better compliment could you get for your collection? Than people wanting to have it.
The saddest thing would be ending up with a wonderful perfect collection and in the end there’s nobody there who appreciates it.

[leptraps]

When my life ends, my collection, all of it, will go to the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Bio Diversity.

I have 625 Cornell Drawer, roughly 100,000 prepared specimens.

It is a life's work. I want it used to advance our knowledge of North American Lepidoptera.

[exoticimports]

Donate it before you die. Too much risk that the last couple years are with mental and physical limitations that prevent proper care. I’ve seen it a few too many times.

And yes be appreciative not offended. You’ve done a marvelous job and many students of entomology would appreciate some of your reliably labeled and set specimens. I’ve already given away more than I’ve retained and you have a couple decades on me. Do what you like though you did the work and earned the right to enjoy the results.

I would like to see your reference collection photographed and posted online. Great way to share without loss.

[leptraps]

I managed to leave an important part of my collection out of Insectnet. Leptraps. I was married and had two sons, I owned a home, my two sons and a world of family obligations. However, when I saw a short article by the late Mo Neilsen in the News of the Lepidopterists Society on a Bait Traps and all the Catocala's moths that he collected. I had to have some Bait Traps. Mo's traps were made of Coat Hangers, Nylon Screen and some rope. Rather crude and primitive, but they worked. I knew I could do better. And I did. 15 inch Macrame Rings, Nylon Coated Fiberglass Screen, an access Zipper, and inverted funnel detachable from the top of the Top of the screen cylinder. I designed a detachable platform with a Bait container retainer ring. Once I began to use them, I had hundreds of Catocala moths, Sphingids, Nymphalids, Satyrids and many more.

A year or two later I attended a Lepidopterist Society Annual meeting at the University of Louisville and I brought several of my Bait Traps and set them out prior to the collecting trips that followed the meeting. When we arrived at my first Bait Trap, there were a dozen Catocala moths, lots of butterflies.

I was ask where I got those traps and told them I designed and made them, Leptraps was born. It is a long story and I will not bore you with it. But that is how I got my start.

My collection and Leptraps are tied closely together. My collection grew in part due to my traps.

Because of Leptraps I was able to travel and take collecting trips. It has kept me busy. So, now you have some idea how I have amassed my collection and how Leptraps came to be.

And I forgot to mention Ms Betty, my wife of 53 years. Ms Betty has supported my Collection, Leptraps and has made Leroy, Leroy.

[exoticimports]

That’s great Leroy! Glad you brought that to market. A the little lady must be quite a wonder.

[Deleted]

My wife has no interest whatsoever in entomology but she is tolerant of my obsession and I'm happy with that, she does however love being out with me in the countryside walking the dog while I merrily swing away. I would point out that she did discover the first record of Argynnis paphia in my area in 2017 which I duly swung at and missed.