A Very British obsession, collecting the blue aberrations
Oct 11, 2015 14:40:19 GMT
wollastoni, deliasfanatic, and 4 more like this
Post by nomad on Oct 11, 2015 14:40:19 GMT
It has been mentioned before that Britain has a small but varied butterfly fauna. It did not take long for the comitted collector to form a good comprehensive butterfly collection of these islands. This did not prevent collectors enjoying the pursuit of butterflies in the field throughout their lifetime. Many started to enrich their collection by the search for varieties or sports as they called them. All British butterflies produced aberration's but these varieties were most frequent in two species of blue butterflies, Lysandra coridon and to a lesser degree Lysandra bellargus. Some now place these two species in the genus Polyommatus.
So much were these Lycaenidae aberrations valued that certain places became famous collecting grounds. Royston Heath in Cambridgeshire was once the most well known collecting ground for rare aberrations for L. coridon and another was the chalk Downs near Folkstone in Kent for L. bellargus. There were many others places that produced good aberrations for these butterflies. Many collectors would holiday near Worth Matravers on the limestone coast of Dorset to search for rare blue aberrations and then meet in the Square and Compass pub and discuss the day's captures over a well earned beer.
The famous British collector the Baron Charles de Worms ( 1903-1979) who was related to the Rothschilds was also very keen on aberrations. In his reminisces of his' Memories of collecting in Britain during the past fifty years' published in the journal of the ' British Entomological and Natural History Society he gives us a brief history of Royston Heath.
The Baron Charles de Worms.
The Baron de Worms mentions that in August Royston Heath was a mecca for collectors that reached its peak during the 1920s. A host of collectors would visit each hoping to add a rare L. coridon aberration to his collecton. When he was at University in Cambridge, during his vacation the Baron made frequent visits to the heath but although major aberrations were taken during his visits, he only ever took away the female form semi-syngrapha. On the heath the young de Worms met the famed butterfly farmer and dealer L.W. Newman who told him that each season bought him 300 pounds which would be worth 14,000 pounds = 18,900 euros in today's money!! Newman had phenomenal luck.
These aberration specialists were great rivals in the field, each wanting to have the best varieties in their collection, so if you found a good new collecting ground you kept it to yourself or to your close friends.
In 1928 , de Worms and a few of his friends had the good fortune to discover a neglected piece of downland near Worthing in Sussex that had good colonies of both L. coridon and L. bellargus. This locality in de Worms words was vertiable goldmine. Some of the most remarkable L. coridon abs that were ever taken in Britain were found in this locality which was later known as Shoreham Banks. When de Worms and his friends exhibited these aberrations at their Annual Society's Entomological Exhibition they were the envy of the collector fraternity. de Worms wrote that " unfortunately our secret eventually leaked out and for the next 15-20 years, it virtually replaced Royston as the major source of L. coridon aberrations. I wonder who ' spilled the beans ' as the British say?. Then the strain died out but as de Worms mentions not through over-collecting. Perhaps as these L. coridon aberrations were genetic, a dimishing colony by habitat change saw a reduction of these aberrations that limited the gene-pool.
To accommodate collectors two well known enthusiasts P.M. Bright and H.A Leeds produced 'A Monograph of the British Aberrations of the Chalk-Hill Blue Butterfly ( 1938). Today this is a fairly rare book especially in good condition and following are a few images of my copy.
Today most of the major aberrations of both L. coridon and L. bellargus caught by those collectors of old , have found there way to the BMNH in London where they are kept safe and sound . The museums L . coridon collection is truly a wonder to behold containing many unique specimens.
So much were these Lycaenidae aberrations valued that certain places became famous collecting grounds. Royston Heath in Cambridgeshire was once the most well known collecting ground for rare aberrations for L. coridon and another was the chalk Downs near Folkstone in Kent for L. bellargus. There were many others places that produced good aberrations for these butterflies. Many collectors would holiday near Worth Matravers on the limestone coast of Dorset to search for rare blue aberrations and then meet in the Square and Compass pub and discuss the day's captures over a well earned beer.
The famous British collector the Baron Charles de Worms ( 1903-1979) who was related to the Rothschilds was also very keen on aberrations. In his reminisces of his' Memories of collecting in Britain during the past fifty years' published in the journal of the ' British Entomological and Natural History Society he gives us a brief history of Royston Heath.
The Baron Charles de Worms.
The Baron de Worms mentions that in August Royston Heath was a mecca for collectors that reached its peak during the 1920s. A host of collectors would visit each hoping to add a rare L. coridon aberration to his collecton. When he was at University in Cambridge, during his vacation the Baron made frequent visits to the heath but although major aberrations were taken during his visits, he only ever took away the female form semi-syngrapha. On the heath the young de Worms met the famed butterfly farmer and dealer L.W. Newman who told him that each season bought him 300 pounds which would be worth 14,000 pounds = 18,900 euros in today's money!! Newman had phenomenal luck.
These aberration specialists were great rivals in the field, each wanting to have the best varieties in their collection, so if you found a good new collecting ground you kept it to yourself or to your close friends.
In 1928 , de Worms and a few of his friends had the good fortune to discover a neglected piece of downland near Worthing in Sussex that had good colonies of both L. coridon and L. bellargus. This locality in de Worms words was vertiable goldmine. Some of the most remarkable L. coridon abs that were ever taken in Britain were found in this locality which was later known as Shoreham Banks. When de Worms and his friends exhibited these aberrations at their Annual Society's Entomological Exhibition they were the envy of the collector fraternity. de Worms wrote that " unfortunately our secret eventually leaked out and for the next 15-20 years, it virtually replaced Royston as the major source of L. coridon aberrations. I wonder who ' spilled the beans ' as the British say?. Then the strain died out but as de Worms mentions not through over-collecting. Perhaps as these L. coridon aberrations were genetic, a dimishing colony by habitat change saw a reduction of these aberrations that limited the gene-pool.
To accommodate collectors two well known enthusiasts P.M. Bright and H.A Leeds produced 'A Monograph of the British Aberrations of the Chalk-Hill Blue Butterfly ( 1938). Today this is a fairly rare book especially in good condition and following are a few images of my copy.
Today most of the major aberrations of both L. coridon and L. bellargus caught by those collectors of old , have found there way to the BMNH in London where they are kept safe and sound . The museums L . coridon collection is truly a wonder to behold containing many unique specimens.