Any insect collectors amongst us?

[bgarthe47 65]

Ok, gotta know if there are any other butterfly/moth/insect collectors out there.
I’ve been doing the insects since 1965 or so. To say I have a few is a BIG understatement.

 

[Back in the fold3]

Holy Wow ! I’ve heard of bug collectors but never saw one until now . That’s awesome Man ! I like bugs but just the ones I happen to encounter wherever I find them . The little iridescent flies that frequent my garden are fun to watch and I like Box Elder Bugs and lately , just in the last few years , Preying Mantises have been appearing here along the banks of The Yellowstone River . I’ve lived in this town since 1963 and never saw them until the last few years . Beetles are fun to watch and some are very colorful . The newest thing is roly poly bugs and keeping them in special little habitats and even our illustrious @WhistlingBadger keeps them in their own island . I might have to look into that .
Don’t even get me started on spiders . I like spiders , especially the cow faced spiders and big colorful garden spiders and black widows . I look but I don’t touch !

 

[bgarthe47 65]

I have also really enjoyed rearing insects. Doing the rearing accomplishes two things. It provides a source of perfect specimens without actually over collecting an area and (if, and ONLY if, they are indigenous to the region being reared) can be released into the wild to bolster the local population.

 

[CassCats21 3]

I collect live ant colonies, myself. Most native to my area, but im always looking for exotics in fruit at the store lol

Dolichoderus bispinosis (exotic from Columbia, in fruit)

cardiocondyla sp (exotic from Columbia, in fruit)

 

[gimme30]

I collect bugs whenever I get on the bike. Couldn't tell you what kind since one black splat looks pretty much the same as the rest. The bigger ones are gooey.

 

[GaryE8 6]

You guys would like Central African hotel rooms.

I have a great love of ants and all their diversity, but I've never kept them as pets.

I was offered some exotic mantises a couple of weeks ago, and actually thought about it, but I'll stick with fish.

In the summer when the window fans in the garage fishroom are off, bugs get in and end up as fishfood. In the morning, things are flying around. I take a live and let live attitude, largely because the spiders, pitcher plants and Epiplatys killies don't.

When I was a kid, I commandeered a backyard doghouse and would catch, keep for a day and release a lot of backyard bugs, grasshoppers, caterpillars and the like, just to be able to watch them and take a good long look at them.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford47 162]

I raise some insects....for food.

I caught this one getting ready to moult this morning. Next POTM winner.

 

[bgarthe47 65]

I remember going to the wilds of AZ late at night with light set ups for moths and beetles when one of these, but all black, crawled right up onto the same rock I was sitting on. It was SO cool. Btw….yhe insects at our lights were so thick/dense that going near the lights to collect got me covered in all kinds of bugs. Had to wear loose clothing so after getting the specimen, one could shake out the ones that got inside the shirt. And we had to carry UVb lights to check wear we sit/grab things for Scorpions. Scorpions glow bright purple when exposed to UVb light.


Below are just a few of the moths we were after called Saturniids and Automeris.

 

[Back in the fold3]

Interesting that there’s so many bug aficionados here on The Great TFF Forum . I like spiders but , like snakes , I give tarantulas a very wide berth . Couple days ago I saw a garter snake out when I was on my run . I don’t run all that fast but it’s amazing what a snake will do for your speed !