museeumchick Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 What do you think about collection of insects for private collections (i mean the dead pinned ones, not live pets)? I have a small collection of common some NZ bugs at home, but am lucky enough to be off to Cambodia in December and cant decide whether i agree with collecting exotic insects for my private collection. on the one hand i dont know their insect fauna very well so wouldnt be able to avoid things that are under threat. and it comse down to killing a healthy animal for a personal (and kind of wierd) collection but on the other hand, i could do my research on what to avoid, and maybe go for short lived and abundant species (so as to minimise impact on the population). And insect populations tend to be quite resiliant to harvest of a few individuals (not like i would take more than two of any sort, what difference could i make) but what if everyone took a couple!!! Ummmm? I dunno, tis a hard one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 Would you be able to get them back into NZ? If you are coming back that is 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 There are a lot of insects exported from Asia at the moment I think, particularly butterflies, big beetles and scorpians. You could probably buy them mounted in their markets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
museeumchick Posted September 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 I can get them back to NZ not as tricky as i thought actually (although potentially a little costly, we shall see) Am thinking of buying some but the ethics thought bit still applies somewhat, many are wild collected even if they say they were farmed for sale. And to be honest despite a mild gross factor, i'd like to collect and pin them myself (unless the other way was more enviro friendly). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 i can supply some in nz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
museeumchick Posted September 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 NZ bugs I can do myself, easy! Am now getting rather good at pinning them out too (started with an ento paper at massey and went from there, it's all about practice). I think i'm ok with collecting what i know are common NZ bugs, and not likely to be threatened at all by my collecting. It's the tropical things that i don't know so much about that are of interest at the mo spose i could start by buying a guide to tropical bugs? so what's you opinion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 is this collecting for a personal collection or for display? If it was me, I would feel a bit bad killing insects for a personal connection, unless I knew they were really common and that I would benefit in some way rather than just having them stuck away in some cupboard somewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindy500 Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 how many insects get squashed by little girls because there scary every day.... im sure you pinning a couple up isnt gonna make em extinct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Don't be sexist vindy500. A lot of us girls love bugs 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindy500 Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Don't be sexist vindy500. A lot of us girls love bugs 8) youre a little girl? you know what i mean.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 I was once and loved them then too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 I know I need to start learning my aquatic invertebrates better, and decided the way that would work for me is to start a specimen collection. I even have a whole bunch of tiny vials Thing is I feel bad about killing them. And it would probably be a horrible death in alcohol...... Somehow death by fish doesn't seem so mean. So yeah, Caryl, I'm with you on the "girls love bugs" front! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 for most inverts freezing is a good euthanasia method Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 ah thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 And it would probably be a horrible death in alcohol...... Many would disagree with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
museeumchick Posted September 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2008 Stella, you collecting aquatic inverts? Fun! there are some great big toebiters in the turitera stream (was supervising a lab where the students were fighting them (bench vz bench) although i thought this was a bit mean and made them stop, it just shows how impressive they look. BTW: toebiter = dobsonfly I have a great book on aquatic inverts you can borrow, if you dont have one already: "guide to the aquatic insects of New Zealand" (its the set text for the limnology paper at massey). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted September 19, 2008 Report Share Posted September 19, 2008 I sooooooooo want to see a dobsonfly adult! Am tempted to try and grow one up just to see it.... I have a copy of that book beside me (borrowed it off Mike Joy, teeheehee!) I haven't started collecting them yet, but I intend to soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 when i was doing freshwater ecology we did some MCI scoring in some rivers around here, was really awesome to see the little insects that you never knew were there... dobsonfly larvae are tough though, we put them in jars of meths to "dispatch" them so we could look at them undr the microscope, and those toebiters take a good 15 mins to die in pure meths, while they still try biting into the other larvae in the jar... haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
museeumchick Posted September 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Have been very tempted to grow up aquatic inverts to adult stages on various occasions but apparently its harder then it looks. although it sounds like you've pretty much got the fishtank equivilent of a NZ stream ecosystem sorted so if anyone can do it I cant see why it shouldnt be you. Neet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
museeumchick Posted October 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 Wow to stoneflies!!!! so I collected some gravel for my tank setup and along with it came various critters (dobsonfly, stonefly and mayfly larvae) which i choose to leave be as cycling the tank will give them an equivelant to quarantine (looking like it will be a while before I can go fish collecting) soooo lo and behold, one of the stoneflies produced wings (in the 3 hours since I filled the tank) i thought they might just up and die (they are supposedly rather sensitive afterall) Wow! and its so pretty with dappled wings now its in the freezer (mean, i know. But i need one for the study collection and there wasnt much else to be doing with it) Just wanted to say - waterbugs are neet! also any thoughts on snails? i'm thinking i have spotted a potamopyrgus snail. Should i eradicate, or are they ok in aguariums (i dont mind having a small colony, but they are a mega pest overseas) hmmm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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