Hello agmoore, I'm glad to read you again on my blog, you ask a good question and I'll give you my opinion about it. I agree about the entomological boxes and at the same time I disagree haha, when it is done at the level of universities or research institutions it is intended to serve as a database that helps to know different aspects related to the insects that are collected and have been put in the boxes, it is very useful especially for the generations of professionals who are being trained. Now, the issue is that many people are practicing it as if it were a game and clearly here it no longer has a valid "utility", with the latter I am not in favor and it also bothers me because it is done more for fun, since living beings are used as objects.
In my case, I have never had arthropod collections of any kind, but when I was studying at university and had to see entomology if I had to make a box with different insects from the area where I live for research purposes, this box I made with other colleagues is still in the university laboratories and is used to help train the new generations who are studying the profession. What I did on my own many years later was to elaborate ant hills to study behaviors and other things of ants of the genus Odontomachus, but this practice is something different because it does not require the death of any animal, I have a post where I talk a little about these homemade ant hills here: https://hive.blog/steemstem/@abneagro/odontomachus-avances-1568762836. Thank you very much for your visit :).
You and I are in agreement on this. It can never be 'fun' to kill an animal. And to capture a butterfly, because it is beautiful--that is cruel punishment for being beautiful.
Thank you for that expansive answer. I look forward to reading your next blog.