Butterflies for collections

[Mike Soukup]

Wow....where to start.  Lepidopterists study all facets of butterflies
and moths.  As for collecting....some do and some don't.  

As for this list....it is populated by lepidopterists that range in
stature from rank amateurs (myself for example) who just love bugs, to
hard-core academic specialists who study facets of lepidoptera so
obscure that even most of the rest of us aren't interested, and finally
to the well known publishers of of those "Field Guides" you see in your
bookstores. 

There are VERY few questions that can't be answered by SOMEONE on this
list.  However, sometimes it seems that most conversations digress into
ethics debates!!!


As for collecting and killing....it depends on the reasons.  Very few
folks on this list collect and sell for profit.  Many, however, do
collect and trade with other like minded individuals.  MAny don't
collect at all.  Some don't even think collecting should be allowed. 
Most collecting, however, does involve killing the insect at collection
time since, most bflies and moths will destroy themselves "in
captivity"....waiting for them to die.  And, even if "perfect specimens"
aren't your reason for collecting....one still needs to be able to ID
the critter and it needs to have all of it's "parts" to be of much
scientific use.
-- 
Mike Soukup
mikayak at ix.netcom.com
Web Page => http://pw1.netcom.com/~mikayak
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