Ah, Grasshopper...Part Dos
Back in February, when I was posting about my trip to Costa Rica, I lamented the relatively poor collecting that resulted from being there in the dry season. And while I both saw and collected a lot of cool stuff, almost nothing that I actually captured looked wildly exotic and tropical. The main exception to this was a single specimen of Tropidacris cristata dux. I caught it on my very last night in the country. Despite having (and using) all the requisite equipment for blacklighting, this critter was attracted to the porch light at our jungle cabana. I made Leon stay outside watching it while I rushed inside for my net. I'm delighted to have this little bit of the tropics in my collection. The quarter shows just how huge it is.
Labels: Collecting, Grasshoppers, Insects, Travel
posted by Doug Taron @ 08:57
11 Comments:
I think this huge grasshopper would give me nightmares- I like seeing it this way- the thought of it landing on me gives me the willies!!!
Damn...it that hit you in the head you've have a concussion.
chilmarkgirl,
You can try for semi-anonymity but it won't work here. My site meter shows somebody from Marblehead looking at many pages on my blog at about the time that you left your comments. Hmmm- would I know anyone with a connection to Chilmark? (Welcome to my blog, Kiki. Thanks for stopping by).
Although it is really sublime you let it live out it's full life, right? That's why it took so long to take it's picture because you had to wait for him to die, right?
Grasshoppers are suppose to be little and cute. He's got the cute part covered!
You had to tap him on the head with a BIC first, didn't you? Poor thing!
*L*
You caught me- I was trying to see if you would catch on that it was your little sister blogging in-I am amzazed-and have learned so much-(about you)uzkgo I love it- you have inspired me to start my own blog!
Big sucker!
What I like most about this one was the notion of Leon waiting on it while you got your things.
What a dear!
Urspo
What a beauty! I love the color of those wings. You must have quite a collection. How do you keep something like this grasshopper looking so vital?
Doug, I'd be interested in a blog entry on the ethics of insect collecting- how do you decide when/if to collect something, and the overall purpose of doing so.
Robin Andrea- Most insects can be preserved just by drying them (and protecting them from museum pests). Color sometimes is retained and sometimes fades quickly. The red on the wings was more vibrant when this specimen was fresh. We have one here at the Museum that is over 50 years old, and the wings are about the same color. So this species seems to experience a small amount of initial fading that happens quickly, followed by a prolonged period of reasonable color stability.
Homer- That's an excellent suggestion. I'll try to post something on the topic soon.
I hope you realized I was being silly? It is very cute, and big.
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