Robert Perkins and his Extinct Hawaiian Moths.
May 2, 2016 8:36:34 GMT
deliasfanatic, mygos, and 4 more like this
Post by nomad on May 2, 2016 8:36:34 GMT
Like so many entomologists 'Robert Cyril Layton Perkins' (1866-1955) started collecting butterflies at a very early age. Later the study of Bees and wasps of the Hymenoptera became his favourite study, closely followed by Coleoptera. After graduating from Oxford, Perkins took up a teaching post for a year. He was then chosen by the British Association for the Advancement of Science to go to the Hawaiian Islands to study the Fauna. Between the years 1892-1901 Perkins discovered many species of Hawaiian insects and made large collections (100,000 specimens) with the bulk going to the BMNH. A few of Perkins specimens were presented to the Oxford University Museum. Much of Perkin's work on the Hawaiian insects was published in Fauna Hawaiiensis (edited by David Sharp). Perkins also studied the British Hymenoptera in great detail and discovered a number of new species. For more biography details see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cyril_Layton_Perkins
Robert Perkins was short and slightly built but he endured many hardships during his fieldwork on Hawaii. Hugh Scott in his 1956 biography/obituary of Perkins for the Royal Society Journal, wrote of his collecting expeditions in Hawaii " Members of highly equipped modern expeditions may well contrast the arduous conditions under which Perkins worked. Most of his time was spent in the zone of continuous forest extending upwards from the cleared lower slopes. He could usually get a mule to carry his tent, provisions and other equipment to the edge of the forest at altitudes of 1200-3000 feet. Beyond that point he climbed on foot into the untrodden rain-soaked forest, carrying everything packed on his back including sometimes a stove and a supply of oil."
"The continous heavy rain often made it difficult to start a fire after a long day's collecting. He was generally unaccompanied. Native Islanders in those days feared to pass the night in the forest. Sometimes he saw no human beings for weeks on end. His tent was small and low that the birds that had to be skinned, and the more delicate insects pinned as he lay on the ground. Many of the smaller and most fragile moths, collected in wet windy weather places, since they could not be carried back to camp without damaging themselves, had to be killed and pinned on the spot often under an umbrella. His hardships, particularly the frequent impossibility of changing damp clothing, may have permanently impaired his health, for he suffered many illnesses in later years".
As Robert Perkins worked alone in those Primeval moss forests he collected a number of insects and birds that would later become extinct on the Hawaiian Islands. Below are specimens and notes of three extinct moth species from the Oxford University collections that Perkins left in a bequest to that museum.
Kona Giant looper Moth Scotorythra megalophylla Meyrick 1899.
The extinct moth Scotorythra megalophylla was one of the largest of the world's Geometridae and the second largest of the Hawaiian moth species and few specimens are known. It was was discovered by Perkins in the Ola'a Forest on the slopes of Kilauea south-east of Big Island in 1900 and was also found at Kona in the west of the island. There are three of Perkins specimens of this species in the Oxford collection, showing two colour forms. Writing in the Entomologist's Magazine for 1901, Perkins stated that the male was unknown. However, there seems to be a mystery here that has not been explained, because among Perkins specimens of Scotorythra megalophylla there seems to be a male which has feathered antennae, unlike the females which had simple antennae. Unfortunately one of Perkin's female specimens has its head missing.
Scotorythra megalophylla.
Agrotis photophila Butler 1879. A noctuid moth endemic to Oahu. It was last seen in 1900 by which time it had become very rare. Two specimens are also in the BMNH collections.
Agrotis photophila
Agrotis crinigera Butler 1881. This noctuid that was abundant in the 19th century and found on Maui, Hawaii and Oahu islands. It was said to be sometimes very common in the 19th century, occurring in thousands and mostly found close to the sea-level. The larvae of this moth was known as the Large Hawaiian Cutworm. This species was last seen in the mid-1920s. The specimen donated by Perkins appears to have come from the collection of the entomologist Reverend Thomas Blackburn who was a senior priest and chaplain to the bishop of the Church of Hawaii in Honolulu. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Blackburn_(entomologist)
Agrotis crinigera.
Robert Perkins was short and slightly built but he endured many hardships during his fieldwork on Hawaii. Hugh Scott in his 1956 biography/obituary of Perkins for the Royal Society Journal, wrote of his collecting expeditions in Hawaii " Members of highly equipped modern expeditions may well contrast the arduous conditions under which Perkins worked. Most of his time was spent in the zone of continuous forest extending upwards from the cleared lower slopes. He could usually get a mule to carry his tent, provisions and other equipment to the edge of the forest at altitudes of 1200-3000 feet. Beyond that point he climbed on foot into the untrodden rain-soaked forest, carrying everything packed on his back including sometimes a stove and a supply of oil."
"The continous heavy rain often made it difficult to start a fire after a long day's collecting. He was generally unaccompanied. Native Islanders in those days feared to pass the night in the forest. Sometimes he saw no human beings for weeks on end. His tent was small and low that the birds that had to be skinned, and the more delicate insects pinned as he lay on the ground. Many of the smaller and most fragile moths, collected in wet windy weather places, since they could not be carried back to camp without damaging themselves, had to be killed and pinned on the spot often under an umbrella. His hardships, particularly the frequent impossibility of changing damp clothing, may have permanently impaired his health, for he suffered many illnesses in later years".
As Robert Perkins worked alone in those Primeval moss forests he collected a number of insects and birds that would later become extinct on the Hawaiian Islands. Below are specimens and notes of three extinct moth species from the Oxford University collections that Perkins left in a bequest to that museum.
Kona Giant looper Moth Scotorythra megalophylla Meyrick 1899.
The extinct moth Scotorythra megalophylla was one of the largest of the world's Geometridae and the second largest of the Hawaiian moth species and few specimens are known. It was was discovered by Perkins in the Ola'a Forest on the slopes of Kilauea south-east of Big Island in 1900 and was also found at Kona in the west of the island. There are three of Perkins specimens of this species in the Oxford collection, showing two colour forms. Writing in the Entomologist's Magazine for 1901, Perkins stated that the male was unknown. However, there seems to be a mystery here that has not been explained, because among Perkins specimens of Scotorythra megalophylla there seems to be a male which has feathered antennae, unlike the females which had simple antennae. Unfortunately one of Perkin's female specimens has its head missing.
Scotorythra megalophylla.
Agrotis photophila Butler 1879. A noctuid moth endemic to Oahu. It was last seen in 1900 by which time it had become very rare. Two specimens are also in the BMNH collections.
Agrotis photophila
Agrotis crinigera Butler 1881. This noctuid that was abundant in the 19th century and found on Maui, Hawaii and Oahu islands. It was said to be sometimes very common in the 19th century, occurring in thousands and mostly found close to the sea-level. The larvae of this moth was known as the Large Hawaiian Cutworm. This species was last seen in the mid-1920s. The specimen donated by Perkins appears to have come from the collection of the entomologist Reverend Thomas Blackburn who was a senior priest and chaplain to the bishop of the Church of Hawaii in Honolulu. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Blackburn_(entomologist)
Agrotis crinigera.