Pyrgus centaureae wyandot

[Randy Emmitt]

Folks,

For the record I`m not against collecting entirely. I feel it`s a good thing for
museums, educational facilities and universities. I just don`t understand this
kind of concept:
 "  There is no substitute for voucher specimens; new records that are not
substantiated by
a good photograph, voucher specimen, or multiple qualified observers are
generally not accepted as new records."

A person that has seen a  rare or fairly common  bug either photographed  or
collected it numberous times should know and be qualified to take a record on a
good sighting in the field by himself without taking a voucher specimen or
photograph period! I find it appalling that in the year 2000 that a qualified
person can`t be taken for his word on a simple thing as a new county record.

As for " hand-wringing of the armchair doomsayers who spend little time in the
field." I personally found 125 species in NC last year and had  200+ new county
records including 29 species in one county in 1.5 hours with another qualified
person. Also thus far this year I`ve seen  nearly 90 species so far and had
perhaps a 100+ new county records. I get out in the field and take notes and
photographs 2-3 days a week. I also spend a lot of money with long trips, many
many rolls of film purchased and developed, photographic equipment and  a
massive educational butterfly website with over 100 species of butterflies with
live photos that educates people on how to ID  and find live butterflies. So you
see I`m not an armchair doomsayer by any means!

As for my house removing habitat that seems funny because the way my landscape
is set up it`s now actually improved habitat with 65 species of butterflies and
108 species of birds having been seen here there`s the proof.

Leroy noted that we kill way more bugs with our cars and development and I agree
with that it`s something we don`t have any control over. In the case of some of
these rarities a long walk into a meadow or forest to find the suitable and
fragmented habitat that is nowhere near cars or civilization a collection of a
few specimens could endanger the entire colony. Get mad at me and call me names
if you will, that`s just the way I see it.

Randy L Emmitt
Rougemont, NC
Butterflies found In NC Online!
http://www.rlephoto.com/butterflies/butterflies.html

"Kondla, Norbert FOR:EX" wrote:

> Leroy, many thanks for sharing your knowledge of this butterfly and also for
> caring enough to add to our collective knowledge of butterflies by spending
> your valuable time and money to do so.  I too have spent a small fortune
> exploring the wonders of the natural world and finding out what lives where.
> I have consistently found that the conventional wisdom as reflected in
> publications and databases is not so wise after all; most organisms seem to
> be more widespread than one would conclude from the hand-wringing of the
> armchair doomsayers who spend little time in the field.  It is sometimes
> depressing to find that in human society there are those who insist on
> criticizing people who add to our knowledge and would rather that we all
> live by their personal opinion of what is moral and ethical.  There is no
> substitute for voucher specimens; new records that are not substantiated by
> a good photograph, voucher specimen, or multiple qualified observers are
> generally not accepted as new records.  Despite the growing impediments to
> biodiversity data collection that are perpetrated by do-gooders with
> personal agendas; society needs more keen people out and about to see what
> is really going on.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Leptraps at aol.com [mailto:Leptraps at aol.com]
> Sent: Friday, May 12, 2000 9:46 PM
> To: LEPS-L at lists.yale.edu
> Subject: RE: Pyrgus centaureae wyandot
>
> Let me try another nickel worths:
>
> I can see that somebody does not like my collecting habits. I lived in the
> mountains of Virginia from 1974 to 1982. Our home in Augusta County was set
> deep in a heavily wooded area on 97 acres. Pyrgus centaureae wyandot would
> visit the Pussy Toe's that bloomed in openings in the woods. I loved to
> collect in the mountains of Virginia, especially in the spring. I never had
> a
> problem locating populations of Pyrgus centaureae wyandot. I only collect
> few
> specimens from each location for the record. I visited one area near
> Blacksburg, Virginia in 1992 and found Pyrgus centaureae wyandot still
> present and in good numbers. However, I was not looking for Pyrgus
> centaureae
> wyandot, I was searching for Erora laeta, which was also present.
>
> I spend lots of time in the field, and I take voucher specimens wherever I
> go, for the record. My specimens are a natural history record. I never
> understood the listing of Pyrgus centaureae wyandot, maybe some people need
> to go look for it like I did. Either with a net (MY CHOICE) or a camera.
> They
> would be surprised at what they might find.
>
> And Mr. Emmit, I did report the vast majority of my records in the News of
> the Southern Lepidopterists' Society and the Season Summary of the
> Lepidopterists Society. I also gave the majority of my records to Dr. Opler
> when he was working on the Butterflies East of the Great Plains. They were
> in
> the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina in the 1970s and 1980s, it was
> still in the mountains when I left Virginia in 1983, and they were still
> there in the 1990s, and I will bet they are still there now. I am not
> attempting to be a smart ass, but who is out in the mountains looking for it
>
> now? I am just curious.
>
> The small number of specimens that I remove from nature is nothing when
> compared to the number that a bulldozer blade will take out. A prime
> example,
> drive south down the Florida Turnpike from Palm Beach County, after you
> enter
> Broward County you will smell the Pompano Landfill before you see it. Look
> to
> the West, that was once 605 acres of Cypress Wetlands and Hard Wood Forest
> of
> sorts, a place where I collected and will soon be houses. How many
> butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, rabbits, birds, snakes, mosquitoes,
> cockroaches, etc., etc., were lost to this land clearing project. However,
> once the houses are built there will be a need for pest control people to
> get
> whatever manages to survive. Now there's a viscous cycle!
>
> I live in Florida now, you would be surprised by what I have found since I
> moved back hear in 1998! And yes, I still reported my collecting records in
> the news of the Southern Lepidopterists' Society.
>
> Leroy C. Koehn
> 6085 Wedgewood Village Circle
> Lake Worth, FL 33463-7371
> Hm: 561-966-1655
> Cell: 561-301-4215
> E-mail: Leptraps at aol.com