Harry Borch The Butterfly Man of Rabaul.
Oct 3, 2018 6:28:48 GMT
deliasfanatic, mygos, and 5 more like this
Post by nomad on Oct 3, 2018 6:28:48 GMT
*This article was originally written in 2013, and posted on Insectnet, but as it is an interesting part of butterfly history, I decided to refresh the article and add it here.
Harry Borch (1941-1981) The Butterfly Man of Rabaul.
Harry Borch who was often affectionately known as the Butterfly Man of Rabaul was one of the great lepidopterists of Papua New Guinea in the 20th century and in his short life achieved much in the field. Harry studied many butterflies but is probably best known for his research on the Ornithoptera. The birdwing enthusiast the late Jan Pasternak who was a good friend of Harry Borch and his family, kindly provided much of the information for this article.
Harry was born in Victoria, Australia, from his childhood he had a keen interest in butterflies and in his youth in the late 1950s, Harry was already travelling and collecting extensively throughout Australia, from Tasmania in the south right up to the far north of tropical Queensland. Soon Papua New Guinea was calling, and in 1963 he left Australia and arrived in Rabaul, New Britain. He gets a job there as a carpenter/cabinet maker, then marries and settles in Rabaul. Most of his free time [weekends and holidays] he collects and researchers the butterflies of New Britain and New Ireland. He is later called by his friends and known by the locals as the ' Butterfly Man of Rabaul '. His main achievements in the butterfly field are in the 1960s and the early 1970s and come from his extensive travels, collecting on a number of remote Papuan Islands. He studies and describes the early stages of Ornithoptera priamus bornemanni in New Britain and the rare Ornithoptera priamus miokensis on Mioko Island in the Duke of York group. In late 1970 and during 1971 Harry travels with the Canadian entomologist Dr Fernard Schmid to the islands east of New Guinea where they study the life histories of Ornithoptera priamus demophanes in the Trobriand Islands, Ornithoptera priamus boisduvali on Woodlark Island and Ornithoptera priamus caelestis in the Louisiade Archipelago. Harry collects and breeds many fresh specimens of these O. priamus subspecies for the world collections which previously contained only a few old specimens. In 1973 Harry Borch and F. Schmid publish the paper, On Ornithoptera priamus caelestis Rothschild, demophanes Fruhstorfer and boisduvali Montrouzier (Papilionidae). Link below.
images.peabody.yale.edu/lepsoc/jls/1970s/1973/1973-27(3)196-Borch.pdf
In the early 1970s after a big eruption of the Rabaul Volcano which devastated much of the town, Harry Borch moved his family to Wewak on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. After about two years working in Wewak, Harry and his family move to Maprik, a small town some distance inland from the Coast in East Sepik Province. Here Harry starts to collect and explores the rainforest in the surrounding region and soon discovers Ornithoptera paradisea and Ornithoptera goliath supremus. He succeeds in breeding both species and produces many fine specimens. The O. paradisea here is found to be a new subspecies and named borchi by Jan Haugum in 1974. In 1975 Harry Borch and F. Schmid produce the paper The Life Cycle of Ornithoptera paradisea (Papilionidae) that was accompanied by fine colour photographs of the early stages. Here is a link to that paper.
images.peabody.yale.edu/lepsoc/jls/1970s/1975/1975-29(1)1-Borch.pdf
In 1972 Jan Pasternak discovered a strong population of Ornithoptera chimaera in the Bundi region in the Bismarck Range. One year earlier Jan had found the ova of O. chimaera [until then not known] in the Omeri Mountains in South Papua. However, O. chimaera was found to be scarce there and only occurring in very inaccessible terrain. In fact the terrain was so risky and perilous than Jan Pasternak almost met his death there while searching for the adult butterflies and early stages of O. chimaera. He vividly describes his accounts in his book Fluttering Encounters in the Amazing Archipelago and in his the CD ROM A Naturalist in Birdwing Paradise. The situation was different in the Bundi region where O. Chimaera was found in prolific numbers and in easy accessible terrain. Jan Pasternak told Ray Straatman about his discovery of this marvellous location, the word quickly spread around and it didn't take long for all the expatriate lepidopterists living at that time in PNG to rush to Bundi to get their share of O. chimaera, as this species was very scarce in collections and was highly prized by collectors in the early 1970s. Harry Borch made his first collecting expedition to Bundi in the Bismarck Range in 1973 and he and his native collectors procured many specimens of O. chimaera.
Harry Borch in the Bismarck Mountains 1973, in search of O. chimaera. Courtesy of Jan Pasternak.
However, Harry's days in Papua New Guinea were numbered and slowly coming to a end. The PNG Fishery and Wildlife Department knew about his activities collecting and trading with protected birdwings and the same fate befell Harry two years earlier as it did Ray Straatman in 1978. In 1976 Harry Borch was bought to court, convicted of illegal trade with protected birdwings and ordered to leave Paupa New Guinea. Jan Pasternak write per comm " Dealing with birdwings and other butterflies was the source of income for Ray & Harry (and myself too) some times the only source of income, as the money was in very short supply in PNG in those days."
In 1976, Harry Borch arrives and settles with his family in Cairns, North Queensland and the following year 1977, Harry is sponsored by a wealthy Japanese collector and sent to Bachan Island in the Moluccas, Indonesia to collect Ornithoptera croesus croesus. He is successful in not only getting fine specimens of the nominate O. croesus [ which unlike O. croesus lydius was poorly represented in collections at that time] but also he surveys most of the Island and maps the precise locations with the hostplants and early stages of O. croesus. He also trains some local people to protect the habitat and to farm this endangered birdwing.
When living in Cairns, Harry entertained himself by breeding Ornithoptera priamus euphorion in his house garden but would remark with some nostalgia that it was a far cry from his PNG days. Harry Borch health was not very good, as he suffered frequent Malaria relapses. In March 1981 Harry was working on a customer's order to make a number of furniture pieces. For several days he was breathing toxic fumes from paint and varnish chemicals sprayed on the furniture. His liver, already damaged from Malaria, was thus even more intoxicated by these spray fumes. Suddenly Harry collapsed and he was almost immediately taken to hospital where he died the same day, 19th March 1981. He was only several months short of his 40th birthday.
In Memoriam of Harry Borch 1941-1981
Harry Borch (1941-1981) The Butterfly Man of Rabaul.
Harry Borch who was often affectionately known as the Butterfly Man of Rabaul was one of the great lepidopterists of Papua New Guinea in the 20th century and in his short life achieved much in the field. Harry studied many butterflies but is probably best known for his research on the Ornithoptera. The birdwing enthusiast the late Jan Pasternak who was a good friend of Harry Borch and his family, kindly provided much of the information for this article.
Harry was born in Victoria, Australia, from his childhood he had a keen interest in butterflies and in his youth in the late 1950s, Harry was already travelling and collecting extensively throughout Australia, from Tasmania in the south right up to the far north of tropical Queensland. Soon Papua New Guinea was calling, and in 1963 he left Australia and arrived in Rabaul, New Britain. He gets a job there as a carpenter/cabinet maker, then marries and settles in Rabaul. Most of his free time [weekends and holidays] he collects and researchers the butterflies of New Britain and New Ireland. He is later called by his friends and known by the locals as the ' Butterfly Man of Rabaul '. His main achievements in the butterfly field are in the 1960s and the early 1970s and come from his extensive travels, collecting on a number of remote Papuan Islands. He studies and describes the early stages of Ornithoptera priamus bornemanni in New Britain and the rare Ornithoptera priamus miokensis on Mioko Island in the Duke of York group. In late 1970 and during 1971 Harry travels with the Canadian entomologist Dr Fernard Schmid to the islands east of New Guinea where they study the life histories of Ornithoptera priamus demophanes in the Trobriand Islands, Ornithoptera priamus boisduvali on Woodlark Island and Ornithoptera priamus caelestis in the Louisiade Archipelago. Harry collects and breeds many fresh specimens of these O. priamus subspecies for the world collections which previously contained only a few old specimens. In 1973 Harry Borch and F. Schmid publish the paper, On Ornithoptera priamus caelestis Rothschild, demophanes Fruhstorfer and boisduvali Montrouzier (Papilionidae). Link below.
images.peabody.yale.edu/lepsoc/jls/1970s/1973/1973-27(3)196-Borch.pdf
In the early 1970s after a big eruption of the Rabaul Volcano which devastated much of the town, Harry Borch moved his family to Wewak on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. After about two years working in Wewak, Harry and his family move to Maprik, a small town some distance inland from the Coast in East Sepik Province. Here Harry starts to collect and explores the rainforest in the surrounding region and soon discovers Ornithoptera paradisea and Ornithoptera goliath supremus. He succeeds in breeding both species and produces many fine specimens. The O. paradisea here is found to be a new subspecies and named borchi by Jan Haugum in 1974. In 1975 Harry Borch and F. Schmid produce the paper The Life Cycle of Ornithoptera paradisea (Papilionidae) that was accompanied by fine colour photographs of the early stages. Here is a link to that paper.
images.peabody.yale.edu/lepsoc/jls/1970s/1975/1975-29(1)1-Borch.pdf
In 1972 Jan Pasternak discovered a strong population of Ornithoptera chimaera in the Bundi region in the Bismarck Range. One year earlier Jan had found the ova of O. chimaera [until then not known] in the Omeri Mountains in South Papua. However, O. chimaera was found to be scarce there and only occurring in very inaccessible terrain. In fact the terrain was so risky and perilous than Jan Pasternak almost met his death there while searching for the adult butterflies and early stages of O. chimaera. He vividly describes his accounts in his book Fluttering Encounters in the Amazing Archipelago and in his the CD ROM A Naturalist in Birdwing Paradise. The situation was different in the Bundi region where O. Chimaera was found in prolific numbers and in easy accessible terrain. Jan Pasternak told Ray Straatman about his discovery of this marvellous location, the word quickly spread around and it didn't take long for all the expatriate lepidopterists living at that time in PNG to rush to Bundi to get their share of O. chimaera, as this species was very scarce in collections and was highly prized by collectors in the early 1970s. Harry Borch made his first collecting expedition to Bundi in the Bismarck Range in 1973 and he and his native collectors procured many specimens of O. chimaera.
Harry Borch in the Bismarck Mountains 1973, in search of O. chimaera. Courtesy of Jan Pasternak.
However, Harry's days in Papua New Guinea were numbered and slowly coming to a end. The PNG Fishery and Wildlife Department knew about his activities collecting and trading with protected birdwings and the same fate befell Harry two years earlier as it did Ray Straatman in 1978. In 1976 Harry Borch was bought to court, convicted of illegal trade with protected birdwings and ordered to leave Paupa New Guinea. Jan Pasternak write per comm " Dealing with birdwings and other butterflies was the source of income for Ray & Harry (and myself too) some times the only source of income, as the money was in very short supply in PNG in those days."
In 1976, Harry Borch arrives and settles with his family in Cairns, North Queensland and the following year 1977, Harry is sponsored by a wealthy Japanese collector and sent to Bachan Island in the Moluccas, Indonesia to collect Ornithoptera croesus croesus. He is successful in not only getting fine specimens of the nominate O. croesus [ which unlike O. croesus lydius was poorly represented in collections at that time] but also he surveys most of the Island and maps the precise locations with the hostplants and early stages of O. croesus. He also trains some local people to protect the habitat and to farm this endangered birdwing.
When living in Cairns, Harry entertained himself by breeding Ornithoptera priamus euphorion in his house garden but would remark with some nostalgia that it was a far cry from his PNG days. Harry Borch health was not very good, as he suffered frequent Malaria relapses. In March 1981 Harry was working on a customer's order to make a number of furniture pieces. For several days he was breathing toxic fumes from paint and varnish chemicals sprayed on the furniture. His liver, already damaged from Malaria, was thus even more intoxicated by these spray fumes. Suddenly Harry collapsed and he was almost immediately taken to hospital where he died the same day, 19th March 1981. He was only several months short of his 40th birthday.
In Memoriam of Harry Borch 1941-1981
