The Phasmid Study Group SEPTEMBER 2005 NEWSLETTER No 103 PSG 25th Anniversary Year zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA ISSN 0268-3806 1980 - 2005 The PSG celebrates its 25th Anniversary year in style at the Summer Meeting. (Pictures and stories inside). Picture on left, by Mike Strick, shows the celebratory cake being cut by Judith Marshall (PSG Chairman), and Tony James (PSG Member No 1, and founder of the PSG). September 2005 Website: www.stickinsect.org.uk Newsletter 103.1 Diary Dates Newark Entomological Show Sunday, 11th September, 2005, 12am-4pm, Grove Leisure Centre, , London Rd., Balderton, Newark (off the Al). (Contact for tables or information: Paul Holt, 01636 674723 or 07901 577251). AES Exhibition Saturday, 1st October, 2005, 1 lam. Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road, Kempton Park, Sunbury-on Thames, Middlesex. Contact: AES, PO Box 8774, London, SW7; E-mail: [email protected]. Spring Entomological (formerly Kettering) Show 10.30 am, Sunday, 2 April 2006; Kettering Leisure Village, Kettering, Northants. (Contact Jack Harris, 01455 444792). IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON DIARY DATES: Please check with the organisers that the event is still on, & at times shown, before setting out - the PSG cannot be responsible for a wasted journey. (NB I will now list only those shows 1 have full details on, but please still check). If you attend these or other shows, please send in a review for the Newsletter. If you are aware of any additional shows, exhibitions, fairs, etc, however big or small, where stick insects are likely to be present, wherever the show may be, please pass the details on to the Editor. The Phasmid Study Group is invited to exhibit at many shows. If you would like to help run our stand, please contact the member named, or Paul Jennings, our Exhibitions and Meeting Officer: 89 Brackensdale Avenue, Derby, DE22 4AF, Tel: 01332 343477. REQUEST FOR ARTICLES. ETC. FOR THE PSG NEWSLETTER Please send me your articles, reviews on shows and meetings, wants & exchanges, drawings, photos, phasmid problems, answers to problems, crosswords, quizzes, puzzles, web site details, ideas or comments on the Newsletters, etc, etc. Providers of Newsletter submissions are likely to receive a full-colour Newsletter! My details are in each Newsletter. Many thanks, Editor. Members' Area of PSG WEBSITE (www.stickinsect.org.uk): The following User Name and Password gives access to the Member's Only area of the PSG Website. Among other privileges it allows the viewing, and downloading, of this PSG Newsletter in full colour. (Case sensitive) USER NAME: PSGmembers Password: Indian | INC Paqe Content Paqe Content 2 Diary Dates 12 Defensive Behaviour of Sipyloidea sp 3 Editorial 12 PSG Summer Meeting 4 Stick Talk 15 PSG Prize Draw 5 The Colour Page 16 Epidares nolimetangere 6 PSG Merchandise 18 Cartoon 7 New Additions to the PSG Culture List 19 PSG Committee 9 The Icing Sugar Fungus 19 Contributions to the Newsletter 10 Cameras & Photography 19 Wants & Exchanges 11 Using Invertebrates for Incubation of Ova 20 PSG Membership Application Form 12 Defensive Behaviour of Sipyloidea sp Last Sheet - PSG Questionnaire September 2005 Website: www.stickinsect.org.uk Newsletter 103.2 Editorial \ Welcome to the September PSG Newsletter. It is slightly shorter than recent issues, partly /^Sfc-i because I've had fewer contributions sent to me, but also as I've used a tighter format. I hope you r like the new format. I've used MS PowerPoint and, as I thought, I found there are some advantages over MS Word, but also disadvantages. But it makes a nice change from using Word all the time, so I will probably stick with PowerPoint for a while at least. (Thanks to Cameron DK for helping me with it). However, please send me your Newsletter contributions on MS Word if at all possible, it is the easiest option for me and my computer to cope with. I am still on a learning curve regarding using PowerPoint, and I'm still experimenting with what it can do, so if you have any comments or ideas for improvements on its use in this Newsletter, I'd be most grateful to hear from you. Contributions for the Newsletter. I really do not want to put off anyone from sending me contributions for the Newsletter (quite the reverse, I hope to receive lots for the December issue please!). However, I've had problems with my PC, so please may I make a small request that you try not to send me single e-mails bigger than 2 MB. Instead, please split the up contribution into more than one e-mail, or send it to me by post eg on a disk. (Send it to me by post as hard copy alone only as a last resort, please, because these take me ages to process as I do not "touch type"). Apologies for any inconvenience. Please do send in contributions, and by 1sl November 2005. for December Newsletter - thanks. Questionnaire. I'm sure you can think of better things to do than complete the enclosed questionnaire and return it to me by 14th November 2005, especially on one of those few days we have glorious sunshine. But the questionnaire is quite short, and with easy multiple choice questions, so it should be far from taxing or time consuming, and it is also anonymous (unless you particularly want us to know who it is from, or you want a reply, in which case you are welcome to add your details). So - PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN THE QUESTIONNAIRE, and make your preferences known. The future direction of the PSG is in your hands. Many thanks! (See box at bottom of this page). PSG Committee Member Roles. Finally, there has been some confusion within the committee over what the roles of the various posts consist of. We also have the problem of prospective volunteers to join the committee wanting to know what they are letting themselves in for. Therefore, the committee are producing a set of "Role Profiles", generally these are duty notes summarising the role of each committee member. These should be agreed by the committee and put to the members by the time of the PSG AGM. Regards to all, Mike Smith NB Janine reminds all members to please phone her before kindly sending her your spare nymphs, so appropriate arrangements can be made for their arrival, and send her nothing 1 to 14 October (see page 19 for full details). Thanks. VACANCY FOR POST OF HONORARY SECRETARY TO THE PSG After many years of service, Phil Bragg has decided to retire from his post of Secretary to the PSG (he will remain editor of Phasmid Studies). Many thanks Phil for looking after the pest for all those years. We now seek volunteers to take over the role, and the final decision will be taken at the PSG AGM in January. If you are interested in taking on this post, please send your details to Judith Marshall, PSG Chairman, Dept. of Entomology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD. (Tel: 0207 942 5610; Fax 020 7942 5229); E-mail: chairman @ stickinsect.orq.uk. The post of Secretary is quite an important one with a number of responsibilities. If you want to discuss these, please contact Judith Marshall for further information. Generally, the Secretary's role (as with any other committee), principally entails arranging agendas, writing minutes, and chasing action points of PSG meetings. There may also be some administrative aspects to the role on an ad hoc basis. QUESTIONNAIRE It would be very much appreciated if you would please take the time to complete the questionnaire that accompanies this Newsletter, and return it to: PSG Questionnaire, do Mike Smith, 13 Runnacles Street, Silver End, witham, Essex, CMS 3QN., England. The questionnaire asks only 8 questions, and the answers need only a tick against multiple choice answers. It is that simple. Of course, you do need to put your own postage stamp on the envelope when you reply, please. If you want to discuss any of the questions, you are welcome to contact Mike Smith by phone or e-mail (01376 584388, [email protected]). If you want to qualify any of your answers, or draw attention to something that is not covered by the questionnaire, you are welcome to fill in the "comments" box at the bottom of the questionnaire - and to continue on a separate sheet if there is insufficient space in the comments box. The provision of the questionnaire, and the possibly pointed questions, do not necessarily imply any particular problems or any intended remedies that are being actively considered, so do not read too much into them. The purpose of it is to seek clarification (if possible) on the accuracy of anecdotal evidence on what it is thought our members like and dislike. If and when the Committee need to make decisions, or make recommendations to the membership, it obviously is best if it is not based on hearsay evidence. For this reason: We need as big a reply base as possible. So please do return your completed questionnaire, as soon as you can, and by 14lh November 2005 at the very latest. Many thanks. September 2005 Website: www.stickinsect.org.uk Newsletter 103.3 The Stick Talk list is totally independent of the PSG, though many Stick Talk list members are also members of the PSG. If you want to join the list, e-mail: [email protected] It's totally free of charge; and if you do not like it, just send an e-mail asking to be taken off the list. It is also moderated by hard-working moderators, so it's secure, safe from abusive language, and there will be no spam.