Hi! I'm Cole. I'm a SoCal high school student.

I spend most of my free time collecting, making my own traps, and curating my personal collection. Although I am mainly self taught, I have also worked closely with many of the senior members of the Lorquin Entomological Society to learn collecting, pinning, and curating best practices. Whenever I can, I try to get out in nature and observe my findings.

I've been collecting and curating my own collection for quite some time now, with my current collection housing over 10k scientifically labeled and mounted specimens. Over the years, I have perfected my pointmounting skills. I mostly collect coleoptera but I do have one or two boards of leps(mostly hemileuca). Some families I have include cicindelidae(as well as carabids), staphylinidae, buprestidae, chrysomelidae, cerambycidae, curculionidae, cleridae, silphidae, meloidae, zopheridae, tenebrionidae, and elateridae. Please message me if you are in need of any specimens for research, I am happy to help. I am always interested in trading specimens.
I have been collaborating with many other Entomologists throughout Europe.

My main interests are Trechini, Leptotyphlinae, and Buprestidae. I love caving and exploring the unknown. My research focuses on resolving the evolutionary relationships among troglobitic and other subterranean arthropod taxa using integrative molecular phylogenetics.
I am currently in the process of authoring a manuscript, describing 7 new species of leptotyphlinae from California, including three new genera. If you have any specimens, please reach out, I would love to check them out.

I am the California collaborator for the Michigan Pathogen Biorepository. The Biorepository's goal is to better understand how to stop the transmission of decreases through vectors such as culicids and ixodids.

More recently, I participated in a subterranean sampling project led by Dr. Marek at Virginia Tech, aiming to survey soil-dwelling arthropods.

I'm an active member of the Lorquin Entomological Society here in Los Angeles, and I've even started a Youth Chapter, the Lorquin Scholars along with @connorhsu: https://www.instagram.com/lorquinsocietyscholars/

I have attended the UC Davis, Bohart Museum of Entomology Summer Program three years now.

I am a competitive trap shooter, competing at the national level. PB 199/200
Going for 2028 Olympics

In 2020, I started my business, Mantis Universe, where I breed and sell captive bred exotic mantids from around the world.

Check out my website here: https://www.mantisuniverse.com/

Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socal_entomologist/

Mantis Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mantisuniverse_/?hl=en

Feel free to email me at: [email protected]

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