killing butterflies

[Chris Raper]

On 24 Sep 1998 18:06:17 -0700, lday at iquest.net (Liz Day) wrote:

>Britain is surely a different case from America.  I envy you over there
>because people seem to be SO much more into mice, birds, wildflowers,
>bees, salamanders and of course butterflies.  

Hi Liz,

In general, I think that people in the UK are more enlightened about
the need to conserve wildlife - compared to many other countries. But
unfortunately there are plenty of very ignorant and unscrupulous
people over here too - as Neil has said.

Just a thought but: America also has a much stronger tradition of
'hunting', wheras over here, with most of our land in private
ownership, hunting is often considered a 'sport' for the gentry. Over
in the US hunting, either for game or butterflies is probably viewed
as a bit more 'normal' than over here.

>People seem very keen on seeing or growing or recording
>or harboring this or that rare plant or critter - at least this is my
>impression.  

There are certainly less 'stamp-type collectors'. The entomologists I
know in my area all contribute to recording schemes and many run local
groups that orgaise field trips to local sites of interest -
specifically to record what is there. There are quite a lot of
wildlife/countryside related NGOs and a lot of these own and protect
sites. 

When I started to get interested in entomology (as a kid) I used to
collect anything that moved (butterflies, wasps, flies, moths...). Now
I use my camera more but I still collect things where I need the
specimen to confirm an ID back home. This _never_ includes UK
butterflies, though I do _catch_ plenty to double check my on-the-wing
IDs. No matter how many times I hear it, I refuse to believe that
anyone can be 100% sure of IDing every UK butterfly while it is on the
wing.

I think the sadest thing about the whole anti-collecting movement is
that, more and more now, I am getting stoped in the countryside and
asked why I am carrying a net. Very often these enqueries are just
from interested walkers but there is a growing number of people who
feel that I am a major threat to wildlife and that they have a duty to
police what I do in the countryside. 

I would like to see more butterfly enthusiasts/recorders carrying nets
and showing 'Joe Public' that a net is an essential tool. Too often I
have seen people recording species for local projects without the aid
of a net and getting the ID wrong. This totally invalidates their
reords and gives a false impression to the recording scheme. 

BTW, sorry about the rant - had to get it off my chest! :-)

>Over here, if something is small, people are too macho to
>look at it, they have more important things to do. 

Shame. There I think you have to start with the kids. Get them hooked
and let old attitudes die out with the older generations.

>So what works over there may not work so well here.

Very true. 

Best wishes,
Chris R.