Subject: Begineer

From: [email-masked] ("Steve Knott")
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 1996 13:30:02 GMT

I have an interest in British Butterflies which stems from when i was a
schoolboy - too many years ago :-( - i would now like to start a
collection of British Butterflies and would welcome any advice on books,
monthly magazines, shows etc.

Also is it the norm nowadays to net or trade specimens? If trading is now
the most common way of obtaining specimens, what sort of prices do they
command?

With reference to any shows etc - i reside in Bristol, England

Thanks in anticipation

Steve

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From: [email-masked] (Chris Raper)
Date: Fri, 05 Jul 1996 17:06:33 GMT

On Fri, 5 Jul 1996 13:30:02 GMT, [email-masked] ("Steve

	
>Steve

Hi Steve,

Mmm. You are either going to get very few replies to this one - or
rather a lot!  :-)

The general feeling about collecting for enjoyment/decoration (as
opposed to scientific study etc) is becoming more and more hostile.
Butterfly populations have been suffering over the years with the
continued and increasing threats to the countryside and the butterfly
habitats. 

With this in mind it is far better to get yourself a camera and make
your collection using that. Instead of spending your cash on cabinets
etc you could invest in a good, cheep camera and get far more
satisfying results - safe in the knowledge that you are not going to
harm the populations of insects that you are obviously interested in.

There is nothing to stop you making a collection purely for the sake
of it - I used to collect when I was younger. But I now find that I
can get better results from my camera and a well framed photograph on
the wall is much nicer to look at that a case of dead butterflies.

That aside, I do occasionally have to take specimens of some moths and
other insect orders (the ones that are difficult to identify) for an
on-going species monitoring project on a local nature reserve.
Sometimes collecting can be justified on those grounds but I think
that, at least in the UK, collecting _butterflies_ should be
discouraged.

In the UK there are many clubs/societies that cater for amateur
entomologists:

- Butterfly Conservation
- The Amateur Entomologists Society
- The British Entomological Society

The AES has a trade fair/exhibition in October which is usually worth
a visit. There you can pick up books, livestock specimens from around
the world. If you are interested drop me an email and I will fish out
the contact addresses of the above groups.

Hope that helps
Chris R.

--
All views are my own and are not necessarily those of my employer.