Thursday, May 28, 2009

Insect Nostalgia

I am really supposed to be working on an article about Internet tagging right now, according to my list of things to do today. But in the course of writing I made reference to my childhood ambition to be an entomologist. I was a serious insect collector. I had the long pins, the mounting boards (I made mine from cigar boxes with cork bottoms), the field guides, etc. The way I classified my poor dead subjects was by little rectangles of paper which were skewered high on a pin before the specimin was mounted. Upon these little slips I wrote in tiny print the common name, scientific name, and other information. Looking back at this I can make a couple of observations:
  • I was learning about any number of things at the same time.
  • I was using an early form of tagging, which today's online kids are much more likely to enjoy.
Following along with my distracting activities, I am waxing nostalgic about the beetles of my childhood. I used to see those big black bumbling beetles in my back yard all the time: rhinocerous beetles, stag beetles, and others of similar ilk. Where have they gone? I have not seen one in years, and fear they will never again be as common as they once were. I wonder if any readers have seen my long lost friends? Oh, and here is the website that got me started:
Goliathus.com: Beetle Gallery: http://www.goliathus.com/en/gallery.php
I found it by searcing tags at delicious. Oh! Tags! Gotta get back to work! But have you seen any wonderful beetles lately??

1 comment:

  1. What a cool link, on the beetles that is, hmmm never thought of it but taxonomy would be a form of tagging...We see lots of beetles in Cotulla, but it has been awhile since I have seen a rhinoceros beetle.

    I guess that you are getting ready for your travel/study. Have fun!! Wish I was there!

    ReplyDelete