[Leica] Converting Trouble into Medicine

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

Hi Jim,
Thank you very much for a most interesting life and death story. And for
sure an interesting Sunday morning photo feature!
cheers,
ted 

-----Original Message-----
From: LUG [mailto:lug-bounces+tedgrant=shaw.ca at leica-users.org] On Behalf 
Of
Jim Nichols
Sent: October-02-16 10:31 AM
To: LUG at Leica-Users.org; Olympus Camera Discussion
Subject: [Leica] Converting Trouble into Medicine

Several weeks ago, I discovered a Yellow Jacket nest in my back yard.  I 
kept a wary eye on it, but worried that my lawn maintenance guy might 
get stung.

On Friday, the local newspaper, The Tullahoma News, ran an article on a 
Winchester, TN resident who traps Yellow Jackets, Hornets, and Guinea 
Wasps, and freezes them, eventually packing them in dry ice and shipping 
them to the lab of AKL Source Material in Pennsylvania.  There, the 
venom sacs are extracted by hand and used to create anti-venom.  I gave 
him a call and told him about my nest.  He arrived yesterday afternoon 
as I was watching a football game.

I decided to document the process.  The first photo shows the nest 
entrance as I found it, essentially a hole in the ground laid bare by 
the passage of many insects.

http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Yellow+Jacket+Nest.TIFF.html

Pete Waldenmaier's "BeeBusters" truck.

http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Bee+Busters+Truck.tif.html

The vacuum trap, essentially a tank vacuum cleaner with a special 
collector trap.

http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/The+Vacuum+Trap.tif.html

The trap in position at the nest hole.

http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Trap+in+Position.tif.html

Final adjustments.

http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Final+Adjustments.tif.html

After about an hour, the insect stream slows, so Pete hammers on the 
ground to disturb them, and more start flying out.  The vacuum captures 
most of them immediately.

http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Hammering+on+the+Ground.tif.htm
l

His truck is filled with support equipment, including a freezer and 
bottles of carbon dioxide.

http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Support+Equipment.tif.html

The final product is a bottle of Yellow Jackets.

http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Yellow+Jackets.tif.html

Pete stuns the insects with carbon dioxide before placing them in the 
freezer to die.  To be usable, the insects must remain frozen until the 
venom sacs are harvested at the lab.

http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Stunning+with+Carbon+Dioxide.ti
f.html

While he had this operation going on at my house, he had a parallel 
operation going on about 15 miles away.  I'm told there are only about 
40 of these collectors nationwide.

Comments and critiques welcomed and appreciated.

-- 
Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA


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