Post by nomad on Jan 27, 2017 13:39:12 GMT
Charles Morris Woodford (1852–1927) was the first naturalist to do any serious collecting in the Solomon Islands. His two main collecting stations were at Alu (Shortland Island) in 1886 and the village of Aola, situated on the northern coast of Guadalcanal in 1887.
During his stay at Aola in 1886, Woodford made three attempts to penetrate into the interior of Guadalcanal, but made little headway due to hostile natives. The natives of Aola were constantly raiding the bush villages on head hunting raids and therefore made it very dangerous for Woodford to travel inland. On one occasion, Woodford escaped death by a hair's breath, the natives involved, later said they fully intended to kill him ; this incident occurred when he was travelling up a river by canoe, and had gone ashore to take a photograph, when a small group of natives tried to get behind him, as simultaneously a large war party with tomahawks raced along the sands of the river bank. Woodford calmly walked backwards to the canoe where his anxious collecting boys and the Aola guide were waiting. As the large party of howling natives joined the others, Woodford and his party managed to pull away in their canoe and rejoin the fast-flowing river.
In 1898, Woodford the Resident Commissioner, in spite of the previous attack on Baron's Norbeck's Austro-Hungarian exploration party to the mountains of Guadalcanal, in which the nobleman was killed, led a further expedition to reach the mountainous interior of that Island. Woodford succeeded in reaching the ridge known as the Lions Head, between Mt Makarakomburu and Mount Popomanaseu, he was less than 300 feet below the summit of the latter mountain. It is known that Woodford collected seeds and orchids during that expedition but his stay was brief and there was very little time for insect collecting. It was not until 1965 that a British Royal Society Expedition to Mount Popomanaseu was able to collect insect specimens.
In his book, A Naturalist among Headhunters, Woodford gives a fascinating account of his daily walk into the surrounding Jungles from Aola, to search of Natural History specimens. Exploring the jungle during his walk, Woodford visited the tall Kavika tree. He writes
"Round the Crimson blossoms of that tree, many-hued butterflies are flying in dozens. It is the Kavika of the Pacific Islanders (Eugenia sp of the botanist). At the present moment there are four or five Papilio hecataeus, a Papilio ptolychus, two or three Papilio Solon, and one that suspiciously like the rare insect Papilio mendana ; but the last two keep provokingly to the top of the tree, and when they do condescend to visit a flower, only hover over it for a second, and then soar away into the upper air, sometimes to such a height that the eye grows tired following them. These two species are such bold fliers that it is small wonder that it is very difficult to capture them in good condition, their wings being generally torn and broken".
"Besides the Papilio's, which are in the minority, though conspicuous from their large size, are dozens of Euploea, Hypolimnas and several handsome Cynithia sapor, while the little blue Lycaenidae are not going to miss their share of the banquet".
"I catch sight for an instant of a blue flash in the sunlight. I lose it behind a tree, but soon catch another glimpse of it. It is the beautiful blue Papilio orsippus, my friend of the sea shore, coming by a devious route to the tree. He will not come straight, but must explore every tree and bush on the way, now high in the air, and now flopping right down near the ground. I know the Kavika-tree is his point, and he has already visited half a dozern times this morning. Here he comes, but high over the top of the tree, Down he pounces among the topmost flowers, hovers for a second or two at a cluster, and then is off again to take a tour of inspection round the tree. Ah, my friend that time you came an inch too low. The net was waiting for you, and you have paid your last visit to the Kavika tree".
Woodford discovered Papilio ptolychus Godman & Salvin, 1888 at Aola, Guadalcanal in 1887. Some authors I believe, now regard this fine butterfly as a subspecies of Papilio woodfordi Godman & Salvin, 1888. Below are some of Woodford's specimen of Papilio ptolychus taken in 1887 at Aola. Ex Godman & Salvin collection. OUNHM Entomology collections.
As far as I can tell from Butterflies of the Australian Region by Bernard D'Abrera, both sexes of Papilio ptolychus are rather similar. Woodford sent Godman & Salvin four males collected in 1887, from which they described this species in The Annals and magazine of Natural History (Feb, 1888). It is reasonable to assume that some of these males shown here are the original syntypes. Other must have been sent later during the same year, with what looks to be several of the first females. Perhaps Adam Cotton can clarify that there are indeed females here and it would be interesting to hear his position regarding the true taxonomic status of this butterfly.
All the specimens below have the same data. Aola, Guadalcanar, Solomon Islands. Captured March 30 - September 25 1887 by C.M. Woodford. Ex Godman-Salvin Coll, presented 1896.
During his stay at Aola in 1886, Woodford made three attempts to penetrate into the interior of Guadalcanal, but made little headway due to hostile natives. The natives of Aola were constantly raiding the bush villages on head hunting raids and therefore made it very dangerous for Woodford to travel inland. On one occasion, Woodford escaped death by a hair's breath, the natives involved, later said they fully intended to kill him ; this incident occurred when he was travelling up a river by canoe, and had gone ashore to take a photograph, when a small group of natives tried to get behind him, as simultaneously a large war party with tomahawks raced along the sands of the river bank. Woodford calmly walked backwards to the canoe where his anxious collecting boys and the Aola guide were waiting. As the large party of howling natives joined the others, Woodford and his party managed to pull away in their canoe and rejoin the fast-flowing river.
In 1898, Woodford the Resident Commissioner, in spite of the previous attack on Baron's Norbeck's Austro-Hungarian exploration party to the mountains of Guadalcanal, in which the nobleman was killed, led a further expedition to reach the mountainous interior of that Island. Woodford succeeded in reaching the ridge known as the Lions Head, between Mt Makarakomburu and Mount Popomanaseu, he was less than 300 feet below the summit of the latter mountain. It is known that Woodford collected seeds and orchids during that expedition but his stay was brief and there was very little time for insect collecting. It was not until 1965 that a British Royal Society Expedition to Mount Popomanaseu was able to collect insect specimens.
In his book, A Naturalist among Headhunters, Woodford gives a fascinating account of his daily walk into the surrounding Jungles from Aola, to search of Natural History specimens. Exploring the jungle during his walk, Woodford visited the tall Kavika tree. He writes
"Round the Crimson blossoms of that tree, many-hued butterflies are flying in dozens. It is the Kavika of the Pacific Islanders (Eugenia sp of the botanist). At the present moment there are four or five Papilio hecataeus, a Papilio ptolychus, two or three Papilio Solon, and one that suspiciously like the rare insect Papilio mendana ; but the last two keep provokingly to the top of the tree, and when they do condescend to visit a flower, only hover over it for a second, and then soar away into the upper air, sometimes to such a height that the eye grows tired following them. These two species are such bold fliers that it is small wonder that it is very difficult to capture them in good condition, their wings being generally torn and broken".
"Besides the Papilio's, which are in the minority, though conspicuous from their large size, are dozens of Euploea, Hypolimnas and several handsome Cynithia sapor, while the little blue Lycaenidae are not going to miss their share of the banquet".
"I catch sight for an instant of a blue flash in the sunlight. I lose it behind a tree, but soon catch another glimpse of it. It is the beautiful blue Papilio orsippus, my friend of the sea shore, coming by a devious route to the tree. He will not come straight, but must explore every tree and bush on the way, now high in the air, and now flopping right down near the ground. I know the Kavika-tree is his point, and he has already visited half a dozern times this morning. Here he comes, but high over the top of the tree, Down he pounces among the topmost flowers, hovers for a second or two at a cluster, and then is off again to take a tour of inspection round the tree. Ah, my friend that time you came an inch too low. The net was waiting for you, and you have paid your last visit to the Kavika tree".
Woodford discovered Papilio ptolychus Godman & Salvin, 1888 at Aola, Guadalcanal in 1887. Some authors I believe, now regard this fine butterfly as a subspecies of Papilio woodfordi Godman & Salvin, 1888. Below are some of Woodford's specimen of Papilio ptolychus taken in 1887 at Aola. Ex Godman & Salvin collection. OUNHM Entomology collections.
As far as I can tell from Butterflies of the Australian Region by Bernard D'Abrera, both sexes of Papilio ptolychus are rather similar. Woodford sent Godman & Salvin four males collected in 1887, from which they described this species in The Annals and magazine of Natural History (Feb, 1888). It is reasonable to assume that some of these males shown here are the original syntypes. Other must have been sent later during the same year, with what looks to be several of the first females. Perhaps Adam Cotton can clarify that there are indeed females here and it would be interesting to hear his position regarding the true taxonomic status of this butterfly.
All the specimens below have the same data. Aola, Guadalcanar, Solomon Islands. Captured March 30 - September 25 1887 by C.M. Woodford. Ex Godman-Salvin Coll, presented 1896.