Obituaray, Dr. D. E. Gaskin

[John Grehan]

I don't know how well-known Gaskin's Lepidotpera work is in
the northern hemisphere, but I thought I would mention that in New Zealand
his 1966 publication of Butterflies and Common Moths of New Zealand
provided one of the very few popular or generally accessible publications
on Lepidotpera available to the public and to beginners such as myself.

There were some very comprehensive books by G.V. Hudson, but these were
already in the rare (expensive) book category at the time I started my
interests
(I did obtain them many years later), so Gaskin made a very important
contribution
by writing his book and providing plates for a range of moths that would
otherwise have been difficult to identify without going to a specialist.

Needless to say, his contributions to lepidopterology in NZ was of tremendous
value to me, although I never had the fortune to meet him.

Sincerely, John Grehan