A Peek Into My World

[JWRay]

Among my other hobbies (ok so I don't really have other hobbies....) I collect beetles. I also collect Hymenopterans, the occasional Hemipteran and Dipteran........ok so a LOT of different insects..........and spiders........ I dabble in captive breeding of a variety of inverts, but that is for another day. For now I thought I would share some pictures of my "office".

Here is where I perform most of my evil experiments.......

And here is a sample of the fruits of my labor.

Some of my personal favorites............Chlaenius.

And some Cicindelidae.

Misc. Carabidae including Calosoma, Galerita, Carabus, Dicaelus, etc.

Misc. Carabidae including Brachinus.

A few cool Hymenopterans.

And what else for today? A few scarabs I guess......

And some Carabinae from Germany, South America.....

And just a little light reading to pass the time........

 

[Amici Con Coleotteri]

Wow! What a setup! What a collection!!!

 

[Lucanus]

Wow, I thought this was a laboratory! Looks very professional

 

[JWRay]

Ha, thanks! Not a laboratory only a spare bedroom!

I wish my girlfriend agreed. Although over the years I will admit she went from barely tolerating my insanity to actually bringing me bugs from work and asking her colleagues if I can collect bugs on their land, so we are moving in the right direction>>>>>>!

 

[Alex]

Nice set-up and the insects are spread scientifically (compactly). I'm an amateur enthusiast and prefer spreading them in more showy way, so their legs and antennae can be clearly seen.

You might be using too much No-Pest strips. Those are very big pieces. In my experience they are very efficient and you can use much smaller pieces. It would be better for your health too.

 

[JWRay]

Thanks for the advice on the pest strips, they are a new method for me and I will give it a try with smaller chunks. I was just overly cautious after a previous dermestid problem. I typically used moth balls - but the smell is so unpleasant, I am trying this new approach. Glad to hear someone else has used them with good luck.

All the pest control chemicals are pretty crappy for health, so I actually store all the big bug cases in an outdoor - protected closet area. The big cases only come in on rare occasions - sorting or restocking, moving stuff around etc.

I have done the showier spreads in the past, but always end up losing a wing, leg, antennae, etc., and revert back to this method. I do know what you mean though, sometimes you just want the nice big display pose.

 

[pannaking22]

Great collection! Gotta love the variety of beetles

You are much more organized than I am right now lol. I have a couple boxes of pinned insects now but everything is a bit of a mess since I've been shifting many of the specimens around.

 

[Trailblazr80]

Impressive!

 

[LarvaHunter]

Nice work, really nice labeling.

I had a fan installed in the outside wall of my insect room giving constant negative air pressure. I deal with major poison and chemicals.

Your outdoor protected closet. Does that get hot? It is bad to store collections in heat or humidity.

 

[Peter Clausen]

The fabled carabid collection! I've only added two to your pile during this trip so far and today is the last (half) day. One is a Chlaenius from Leavenworth WA, but it's probably not going to blow your socks off. Hopefully you'll have another dozen or two species for your collection by the time your box gets there.

 

[JWRay]

LarvaHunter - the closet doesn't really get hot. Luckily, with the angle of the building and closet position it manages to stay pretty shaded and cool the vast majority of the time. And where I live there is pretty much no humidity, very arid. I think we get like 8 inches of rain a year. Although if I had the option, I would certainly still choose to store them in more ideal conditions - definitely next time I move I will find a place to live that has what I need.

Peter! Hope the trip is going well - yeah I thought I would provide a glimpse into the dark recesses of my obsession - although this is only a portion of my holdings......