[Fwd: NOT Collecting again....

[wanda]

Mary Prismon wrote:

As far as collecting is concerned, perhaps I have mixed feelings
regarding Mark's suggestion of "hypocrisy". Sure, as a non-collector,
I'd object to wanton smashing of butterflies as compared with wanton
smashing of cockroaches,  but be real!  Are the butterflies trying to
take over my house, contaminating my food with microbes, or just going
about the business of living?

Personally, I escort most creepy-crawlies out the door, unharmed, but
would likely take a swat at a roach, if it were the common variety - no
fear of their imminent extinction !

And I am not greatly put off by collectors, who limit themselves to
taking  a sample of each species for their own personal satisfaction. 
But, hey, lets admit what's going on here,  an
indulgence of the human hunting instinct, right?, sometimes completely
out of hand!  When one is snatching as many as possible of a rarity,
often for sale, that is objectionable to me. The concept that, as
insects, butterflies can lay thousands of eggs and are in no danger of
extinction doesn't mean much if most of the available the egg layers are
posted on pins in a box. No need to site horrible examples like the
uncountable numbers of bison, Passenger Pigeons, plumed birds gone from
the hunting scene.  Avarice gets into the equation very easily. I don't
think those of us who are happy to satisfy our hunting instinct with our
binoculars are being too hypocritical. Yes,  the bugs may well claim the
world for their very own, in the long run; but I find them most
interesting to observe, flashing their wings in mating dances and
playing out their life cycles by the Darwinian rules, alive not dead by
human hands. Is this hypocrisy , Mark?.