More hobbies

[torquill]

Today I realized I still had a half-dozen butterflies in the freezer from when I caught them a year ago -- they're not supposed to stay frozen that long, as they dessicate and become impossible to pin. But I had the itch again, so I figured I'd give it a try.

I started with the common ones, and though I shredded one skipper that was too dry, I managed to mount another skipper (I think it's a blue checkerspot of some kind) and spread two cabbage butterflies as well. I'm a little rusty, but that's why I try to practice at least once a year, so I don't lose the skill. Cabbage butterflies are great for practice because they're large enough to get a grip on, they're as common as dirt, and they're pests so I don't cry over killing a bunch just to hone my skills.

I still have a (tattered) sulfur butterfly and an unknown one which is subtly beautiful in pastels, which are thawing out now... I always wanted a sulfur butterfly in my collection. We'll see whether they're still hydrated enough to spread out properly. If they're brittle, I can try steaming them like I did with the others tonight, that seemed to help.

I don't know why I like this hobby so much, but I do. The killing part I'm not so fond of, but the mounting and display, that's fun. :)

Edit: Steaming worked, and I managed to mount both the sulfur butterfly and the stranger with minimal hassle. I was virtuous and even wrote out cards for them with the location and date they were caught. They should all be dry and ready to put in the case by Thanksgiving evening -- which means I can use them as an excuse to pull out my collection and bore the guests. ;)

Comments

[hopeforyou.livejournal.com]

I haven't tried it yet, and would like to watch you at work sometime, if you're up for it.

[luna-torquill.livejournal.com]

Certainly. I'm realizing now how satisfied I feel that I did that today -- it's partly because I cleared up an item on my to-do list that's been pending for a year, but I think the majority of that happiness is because this is a frivolity. Almost all of my other hobbies are practical in nature, and while I generally like that, this is one thing that I do simply because I enjoy doing it. There is no stake in whether I do it well or poorly, or which specimens I catch, just my own satisfaction in exercising a skill.

There aren't a lot of butterflies around in the winter months, but there are cabbage whites all during the cool season, and I could go looking out on Lime Ridge or something in the next couple of weeks to see whether there are any late skippers... if there's a good meadow-like area you know of where you'd like to walk around with me as I net things, let me know. I'll probably be busy when the Lepidopterans really start up in the spring.

[kitabare.livejournal.com]

Cabbage butterflies are still pretty even if they're pests. I like skippers for some reason, if they're the ones I'm thinking of.

Speaking of unknown flitters... I'm still trying to figure out what the large golden colored moths that I've spotted at Chaos are.