|
Post by trehopr1 on Jan 9, 2017 19:35:34 GMT
Did Mr.Hyde exchange or trade specimens with others? I presumed upon bequeathing his collection to a local museum everything he had papered or otherwise all wound up in the same place. Do you know the status of his collection presently? It was mentioned that at least 5 drawers had some measure of infestation.
|
|
|
Post by nomad on Jan 10, 2017 7:00:28 GMT
George Hyde left his collection to Doncaster, where it was not looked after and pests moved in. Yes, he did exchange, I have seen his specimens in other peoples collections. Now Doncaster has got a curator, a Lepidopterist from Oxford, Miss Gina Allnat, so the pest problem will be solved. She will not let such a valuable collection go to dust.
Today, I will take Museum verso and recto images of Scottish and English specimens to detect any differences, the members can hopefully say what they think. The English populations were never assigned subspecies status .
|
|
|
Post by nomad on Jan 10, 2017 19:43:22 GMT
Well would you believe it, I looked at a number of Carterocephalis palaemon drawers today in a local museum and they were all English specimens, that is because the collections were mostly made before this little beauty was discovered in Scotland during 1942. A good job to or it would be another extinction . Thomas says (2010), It is claimed that English and Scottish Chequered Skippers belong to distinct races, with the former being slightly larger and lighter, and possessing underwings that are yellow-brown, with creamier yellow spots We depict specimens from both counties, but in truth this is a variable butterfly any regional differences is slight. Nevertheless with its disjunct distribution and regional differences in ecology as well, perhaps in appearance it has been suggested that British Chequered Skippers derive from two separate colonisations after the last Ice age, making the former English populations more closely related to colonies in northern France
There were some nice old historic specimens in the Museum from Lincolnshire . P.S. I put some images up when I have time
|
|
|
Post by nomad on Jan 11, 2017 7:29:35 GMT
For those that might be interested, - Chequered Skipper - Carterocephalus palaemon occurred in Mildland counties of England until the 1970s. Change in its woodland habitat was the cause of its extinction. Here are a few Museum English specimens with that all important data.
|
|
|
Post by bobw on Jan 11, 2017 13:38:50 GMT
I can't for the life of me remember where I read it now but one interesting theory I once read was that the reason that the Scottish populations were only relatively recently discovered is that they've only been there for a short while. The area where they're found had been fairly well explored entomologically but this species was only found in the mid-20th century.
As I remember it the theory was that the Scottish populations were introduced as pupae with timber imported from Canada in the 19th or early 20th century, and have since found conditions to their liking and spread considerably. There's no doubt that the extinct English populations were very similar to populations from continental Europe with their typical yellowish hindwing undersides, whereas the Scottish populations have an olive-green hindwing underside, exactly like the Canadian populations.
This makes sense to me. One thing that is for sure is that the English and Scottish races are so different that they must have very different origins.
Bob
|
|
|
Post by wollastoni on Jan 11, 2017 13:46:09 GMT
I can't for the life of me remember where I read it now but one interesting theory I once read was that the reason that the Scottish populations were only relatively recently discovered is that they've only been there for a short while. The area where they're found had been fairly well explored entomologically but this species was only found in the mid-20th century. As I remember it the theory was that the Scottish populations were introduced as pupae with timber imported from Canada in the 19th or early 20th century, and have since found conditions to their liking and spread considerably. There's no doubt that the extinct English populations were very similar to populations from continental Europe with their typical yellowish hindwing undersides, whereas the Scottish populations have an olive-green hindwing underside, exactly like the Canadian populations. This makes sense to me. One thing that is for sure is that the English and Scottish races are so different that they must have very different origins. Bob
Very interesting theory !
|
|
|
Post by nomad on Jan 11, 2017 15:46:19 GMT
I believe it was just overlooked, flying in hilly Oak Woods in May and early June, when most collectors went to Western Scotland to search for the rare Zygaena in late June and July. A good case is Zygaena viciae, thought Extinct in Britain, only to turn up again in a isolated colony in the same area during 1963.
|
|
|
Post by nomad on Jan 17, 2017 12:37:23 GMT
Now Doncaster has got a curator, a Lepidopterist from Oxford, Miss Gina Allnat, so the pest problem will be solved. Damn, I was given the wrong information, Gina Allnat is the curator of Sheffield Museum not Doncaster. So the Hyde collection may be doomed after all .
|
|