Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2016/10/02

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Subject: [Leica] Converting Trouble into Medicine
From: jhnichols at lighttube.net (Jim Nichols)
Date: Sun, 2 Oct 2016 13:39:11 -0500
References: <6a57b7ba-307a-13f3-3b87-abffdcfc7314@lighttube.net> <3D64E532-B2FC-456B-84A4-1377883C3DEE@cartersxrd.net>

Thanks, Ric.

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA

On 10/2/2016 1:31 PM, RicCarter wrote:
> fascinating!
>
> ric
>
>
>> On Oct 2, 2016, at 1:31 PM, Jim Nichols <jhnichols at lighttube.net> 
>> wrote:
>>
>> 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.html
>>
>> 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.tif.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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>
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In reply to: Message from jhnichols at lighttube.net (Jim Nichols) ([Leica] Converting Trouble into Medicine)
Message from ric at cartersxrd.net (RicCarter) ([Leica] Converting Trouble into Medicine)