Post by cabintom on Jan 4, 2016 5:18:07 GMT
African Butterfly Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya : August 2015
Well, my last bunch of butterflies from Lubowa are currently either on the setting boards or in the humidifier, so I'll take this opportunity for an interlude.
After a very busy and work-filled July (with 4 weeks worth of trainings and orientations held first in Nakuru and then in Nairobi, Kenya) I managed to delay our return to Bunia, DRC by a day and a half, which allowed my wife and I to drop in on Steve Collins and his African Butterfly Research Institute (ABRI). Before hand, I had had very little contact with Steve (and then only via email) so I wasn't at all sure what to expect. What I did know was that it wasn't an opportunity to be missed.
It turns out that Steve is an incredibly kind and generous host, and that the ABRI collection is incomparable. Apparently, it is the largest privately owned butterfly collection in the world, with hundreds of thousands (if not more) of set specimens and, Steve estimates, several times more than that still papered in storage (he's looking for volunteers to help set specimens). The property is inspiring, as Steve spent years crafting a garden specifically catering to the local fauna. As such, native wildlife of all sorts can be found on the grounds, but more importantly several hundred species of butterflies. So, while I had maybe 10 waking hours (1 evening & the following morning) to cram as much research and study in as possible, my wife was able to relax on the veranda, wander around the garden watching birds and butterflies, or even curl up on the couch and read the latest Economist by the fireplace... for a couple accustomed to living in... well, let's say, far humbler circumstances, the place was practically paradise.
The building in which the collection is housed.
It's not air conditioned, and in fact most of the windows were left open. I asked Steve if he worried about humidity affecting the collection and he
said the only time they had a problem it was quickly fixed by cutting back the vegetation growing around the building.
A number of Euphaedra remained on my "uncertain" list, though I was told they can be quite a difficult group... and even Hecq's various revisions and publications proved unhelpful. The other group I wanted to get a better handle on were the "Black" or "Demon" Charaxes... incidentally, demon is an apt nickname for that group of species; they're a nightmare to identify. And finally, I wanted to find the key to differentiating between Papilio mechowi and Papilio gallienus; a problem for which Steve didn't readily have an answer, beyond "take a look at the specimens!"
So the following morning, after a wonderful breakfast, I decided I should get a better bearing on those particular groups...
Boxes of P. mechowi and P. gallienus at my assigned workstation. To my dismay one of these boxes had yet to be properly organized and contained
a mixture of the 2 species. In the end, I think I've got it sorted out.
A box of Charaxes cf. cedreatis.
A box of E. hewitsoni and similar species.
EDIT: And stupidly, I somehow forgot to get a photo of/with Steve Collins...
Well, my last bunch of butterflies from Lubowa are currently either on the setting boards or in the humidifier, so I'll take this opportunity for an interlude.
After a very busy and work-filled July (with 4 weeks worth of trainings and orientations held first in Nakuru and then in Nairobi, Kenya) I managed to delay our return to Bunia, DRC by a day and a half, which allowed my wife and I to drop in on Steve Collins and his African Butterfly Research Institute (ABRI). Before hand, I had had very little contact with Steve (and then only via email) so I wasn't at all sure what to expect. What I did know was that it wasn't an opportunity to be missed.
It turns out that Steve is an incredibly kind and generous host, and that the ABRI collection is incomparable. Apparently, it is the largest privately owned butterfly collection in the world, with hundreds of thousands (if not more) of set specimens and, Steve estimates, several times more than that still papered in storage (he's looking for volunteers to help set specimens). The property is inspiring, as Steve spent years crafting a garden specifically catering to the local fauna. As such, native wildlife of all sorts can be found on the grounds, but more importantly several hundred species of butterflies. So, while I had maybe 10 waking hours (1 evening & the following morning) to cram as much research and study in as possible, my wife was able to relax on the veranda, wander around the garden watching birds and butterflies, or even curl up on the couch and read the latest Economist by the fireplace... for a couple accustomed to living in... well, let's say, far humbler circumstances, the place was practically paradise.
The building in which the collection is housed.
It's not air conditioned, and in fact most of the windows were left open. I asked Steve if he worried about humidity affecting the collection and he
said the only time they had a problem it was quickly fixed by cutting back the vegetation growing around the building.
Some of the collection... it's chaotic, but that's because it's in daily use. Steve had no hesitations about letting me (an amateur) pull out boxes and
manipulate specimens. I asked if there were any rules or guidelines while in the building; "No smoking," he said. You can find more than 98% of all
African butterfly species in the collection, and quite a number of newly described species have been found from within the collection.
My main regret is that I had arrived ill prepared to really get the most out of the 10 hours I had. There were a significant number of specimens that I wanted to identify, but in reality they were unidentified because of a lack of personal resources and experience. So, with Steve's personal help (it's amazing how many different species he can identify from memory), and the help from a fair number of different books and publications (especially Papillons du Zaire) I was able to whittle down my list of unidentified species by about half (most of those that remain unidentified/uncertain are in groups that are in need of a good revision, ie. Neptis). I guess it wasn't a bad way to spend the evening.manipulate specimens. I asked if there were any rules or guidelines while in the building; "No smoking," he said. You can find more than 98% of all
African butterfly species in the collection, and quite a number of newly described species have been found from within the collection.
A number of Euphaedra remained on my "uncertain" list, though I was told they can be quite a difficult group... and even Hecq's various revisions and publications proved unhelpful. The other group I wanted to get a better handle on were the "Black" or "Demon" Charaxes... incidentally, demon is an apt nickname for that group of species; they're a nightmare to identify. And finally, I wanted to find the key to differentiating between Papilio mechowi and Papilio gallienus; a problem for which Steve didn't readily have an answer, beyond "take a look at the specimens!"
So the following morning, after a wonderful breakfast, I decided I should get a better bearing on those particular groups...
Boxes of P. mechowi and P. gallienus at my assigned workstation. To my dismay one of these boxes had yet to be properly organized and contained
a mixture of the 2 species. In the end, I think I've got it sorted out.
A box of Charaxes cf. cedreatis.
A box of E. hewitsoni and similar species.
E. viridicaerulea and similar species.
A box of what is one of my favourite species in the genus: Euphaedra imitans. On my computer is a photo of
what turned out to be a male E. ueleana.
E. imperialis
Boxes & boxes of Cymothoe. These will be familiar to at least one of our forum members.
A box of what is one of my favourite species in the genus: Euphaedra imitans. On my computer is a photo of
what turned out to be a male E. ueleana.
E. imperialis
Boxes & boxes of Cymothoe. These will be familiar to at least one of our forum members.
I guess my other regret is not having the time to photograph more of the boxes to share with you folk... there were some incredible specimens to be seen!
Steve also generously took the time to teach me about gardening, larval foodplants and breeding methods, bait trapping, how to find Crematogastor ant nests and therefore certain species of Lycinidae... I probably should have carried a notebook around with me the whole time.
A couple of photos of Steve's current breeding project.
Me at work/playSteve also generously took the time to teach me about gardening, larval foodplants and breeding methods, bait trapping, how to find Crematogastor ant nests and therefore certain species of Lycinidae... I probably should have carried a notebook around with me the whole time.
A couple of photos of Steve's current breeding project.
So, to wrap it up, it was a great visit and I hope to be able to stop in every time I pass through Nairobi. I also feel that it's probably the most appropriate place to deposit my more significant material, which answers a question many have asked me in the past.