Butterfly Questions

[Mark Walker]

John,

Actually, I already knew all of this (regarding your position, etc.).  Your
arguments really do work well - whether we're talking about a camera or a
net.  I guess I just couldn't resist the opportunity to make a "dig" of my
own.  And also, to clarify (if necessary) that the remark about photographs
being technically eco-unfriendly was not really a slam against insect
photography.  Only a reminder that things are not always as they seem.

I really don't get a kick out of putting you on the defensive - but I am
enjoying the fact that the defensive argument sounds so familiar...  

Take care, and thanks - I am familiar with and appreciate your work in
southern New England.

Mark Walker

-----Original Message-----
From: jhimmel at CONNIX.COM [mailto:jhimmel at CONNIX.COM]
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 1999 2:00 PM
To: leps-l at lists.yale.edu
Subject: RE: Butterfly Questions


>But it is the ecology of the whole population, after all, that
>is under scrutiny when questions of environmental impact on a species are
>raised.  Such questions are always raised when someone discusses the ethics
>of collecting.

Mark - But that's not what I was talking about in my message.  And I wasn't 
getting into the ethics of collecting.  I've been signed onto this listserve

too long to be foolish enough to get such a circular thread going!!

This started with a single person asking if people are still collecting.  It

turned into a shot(actually, more of a little dig) being taken at those who 
choose not to.  People who choose not to kill butterflies, but instead 
photograph them, are not going to bring about the demise of their subject.  
Photography is a perfectly acceptable way of enjoying the outdoors!  The 
photographs are a way to share the interest with others and to encourage
them to 
open their eyes and see what is out there.  When I leave a place where I
have 
photographed butterflies, the place is not harmed and all of the plants and 
animals are intact (save a few mosquitoes). 
 
>I'm not convinced of the eco-friendly nature of an eco-tour of 25
>photographers into ecologically sensitive areas.

Neither am I.  But that is not the norm.  Most go out either on their own,
or in 
small groups.  They respect the ecologically sensitive areas they wish to 
document.  Just as the responsible collectors do.  To counter the 25 
photographers in the field example, I could take a worse case scenario of 
collecting blitzes I've heard of - but I won't.  That would be getting off
the 
subject and would most surely start a new ugly thread.

We really are talking about the same people here - people who enjoy their 
"quarry", want them protected, and enjoy the pursuit of new and interesting 
species.  If this is just a hobby, the only difference between collectors
and 
non collectors lie in how the butterflies and moths are documented in our 
collections; photographic or specimens.  *I'm talking about the PASTIME end
of 
this vocation - NOT science where you might need the actual specimen(please 
refer to this sentence if you feel the need to defend collecting for
science)!  
The difference in technique in the pursuit of butterflies and moths lies in
one 
little "governor" inside us that either stops us short of killing the 
butterfly(making us photographer/artist/observer-only enthusiasts) or allows
us 
to dismiss the significance of the individual insect's life while wanting
some 
kind of a record of its find(making us collectors).

And it has not escaped me that you collectors are getting a kick out of
putting 
a non-collector on the defensive;)  It might be sweeter if I was someone who

spoke out against collecting as a hobby.  But I never have - and I've done a
lot 
of butterfly/moth lectures where I could have - I just don't do it myself
(Hey, 
some of my best friends...)

*Please refer to this again if you want to follow up.  It could save a lot
of 
unnecessary responses. 

John  

BTW - I'm done with this thread.  I'll read follow-ups, but won't respond.
Too 
many butterflies to photograph...
  
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John Himmelman
Killingworth, CT USA
jhimmel at connix.com
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