Pyrgus centaureae wyandot

[Kenelm Philip]

> For the record I`m not against collecting entirely. I feel it`s a good
> thing for museums, educational facilities and universities.

Not entirely? That's uncommonly kind of you...  :-)

	But have you considered that the major source of input for museums
and other institutions, especially in these days of diminishing funding,
is the acquisition of private collections? That does mean that private
collectors should take steps to donate their collections to major insti-
tutions, rather than leaving them to be munched on by dermestids--but
many collectors are already doing this, so that their work can live on
and be of benefit to others.

	Note also that, as Eric Metzler has pointed out on this list,
the state of Ohio has decided to allow the Ohio Lepidopterists to collect
those species declared endangered  by Ohio--because the information
obtained is more valuable than the impact on those species.

	For various reasons (some of which are a mystery to me, and others
of which I can guess at but disagree with) a number of people consider
_collecting_ as a major threat to butterflies. (One hears less about moths,
and even less about most other insects). Yet the number of documented cases
where collecting per se has impacted species of butterflies (or moths)
is very small indeed--and involves behavior on the part of the collector
that all collectors I know would consider aberrant and unethical. The
major threats to butterflies are habitat destruction (which nearly all
of us contribute to one way or another), habitat degradation (global
warming, pollution, etc.), and competition from introduced species.

	It is already illegal to collect endangered species. There are
a number of reasons why collecting of those species that are legal to
collect should be done. Butterfly taxonomy is not yet completed! It is
now possible to obtain DNA from older specimens, which means that museum
specimens have acquired added value. And so on...

	As I have mentioned many times before, some people object to
collecting on moral grounds. Fine--then they need not collect. But the
missionary spirit, attempting to spread one's version of morality to the
entomological community, does not help matters. I do not feel threatened
by butterfly watchers or photographers--in fact I have done both myself.
But when someone tells me that I should not be collecting butterflies,
when I am doing it legally (with stacks of permits) for what I consider
valid reasons, I become uncooperative in the extreme. Has anyone yet
changed their views pro or con on collecting from all the comments on
Leps-L and Entomo-L? All I can see is people becoming more set in their
ways, rather than less. Maybe if there were fewer attempts to convert
the heathen, and more discussion of how both collectors and non-collectors
can help obtain the information we need to understand butterfly
taxonomy and butterfly conservation--we could accomplish more and
generate less heat...

							Ken Philip
fnkwp at uaf.edu