An account of the relevant application of vernacular names 



Demonstrated in the British literature and other documents through the centuries, an evident awareness 

 of the butterfly and moth fauna at large, has always aroused great interest. This interest inevitably resulted in an 

 increasing necessity for the relevance of acknowledging names, vernacular or scientific, for these insects. 

 Additions to our vocabulary, which could aid our ability to understand and recognise the species and enhance 

 communication concerning these insects is always welcomed. In some degree or other, this demanded a 

 reference to the insects by either name or description, in one form or another. As a possible early example of 

 this, as far as the Channel Islands are concerned, there is a somewhat bizarre reference to the apparent 

 importance of butterflies, brought to our attention by Le Sueur in his book from 1976 A Natural History of 

 Jersey, "In records of centuries ago there are occasionally mentions of most peculiar redevances [sic, 

 relevancies] or dues, apart from the usual wheat, hens, eggs, etc. For instance, a due to be paid on Midsummer 

 Day to the Seigneur of La Hougue Boete consisted of a bunch of roses, and in Guernsey a lawsuit was brought 

 in 1591 over a due of a dozen butterflies". One may wonder how this was resolved and if it involved any 

 particular - species and what they called it, apart from the significance of the whole matter. 



Today in the British Isles, it is taken for granted that a scientific name and, usually, a vernacular name 

 can be found for just about any butterfly or moth, as well for that matter, of any animal or plant found in the 

 Kingdom. This fortunate state of affairs however, took several centuries to accomplish and is of course a process 

 still occupying naturalists of every scientific discipline. An interest in British insects can be said to date from the 

 16th century, when during the reign of Henry VIII, his physician, Wooten, along with Penny, Gesner and 

 Mouffet, compiled an obscure Latin treatise on the subject, which was completed in 1585. The work was finally 

 published in 1634 under the authorship of Mouffet and the editorship of Sir Theodore de Mayerne, physician to 

 Charles I. Because of the popularity of this work, an English translation was finally produced in 1658 and 

 served as a major reference source until early in the 18th century. A further work was published by Christopher 

 Merrett in 1666 and as with Mouffet references to the species were made through obscure Latin descriptions, 

 without use of vernacular names. 



By the last part of the 17th century, the collecting of butterflies was recognised as a hobby, participated 

 in by at least 16 collectors. It became essential that the growing number of recognised species be given names, 

 so that in correspondence, general writings and in just conversations, information on the species could be more 

 easily communicated and exchanged. This endeavour was finally commenced by James Petiver, an original 

 collector, in his various writings that took the form of published annual lists of his acquisitions. In 1695 his 

 original folio publication appeared and it contained the first usage of applied vernacular names, with the very 

 first entry of an English name for a British butterfly going to the Brimstone. The most important work for 

 British Lepidoptera, the fourth folio which appeared in 1699, contained a considerable list of species. Further 

 works appeared in 1702 and 1704 and finally, by bringing together his earlier notes, Petiver published his major 

 work in 1717 and in an abbreviated form his works were reprinted in 1767. The naturalist John Ray was also 

 interested in insects and was a contemporary and close friend of Petiver. When Ray died in 1705, his major 

 contribution was left uncompleted, it was finally edited by his friend Samuel Dale and published in 1710 and is 

 commonly regarded as the earliest major work covering British butterflies. Contemporary workers of this period 

 like Madam Glanville, Vernon, and Dandridge also contributed for study, specimens and detailed information 

 on the British fauna. 



By now it was also becoming evident that there was some confusion expressed concerning the numbers 

 of species involved. In fact the numbers of vernacular names that were in circulation exceeded the actual 

 numbers of species. Somehow this accumulation of names needed to be correlated and some form of 

 standardization needed to be arrived at. In comparison to the standard vernacular names in use today, many were 

 decidedly long and therefore vague and cumbersome in their application, they were actually brief descriptions 

 rather than names. Undoubtedly much of this confusion was caused by the insufficient communication systems 

 that were available, including inadequate species descriptions and most of all, by the lack of adequate 

 illustrations of the species concerned. Following the death of Petiver in 1718, a number of works were published 

 which incorporated the talents of artists and engravers, this resulted in an increasing range of illustrations 

 covering a larger number of species. The year 1720 saw the important publication of Eleazer Albin's book on 

 British insects, and at a slightly later date, the illustrator Benjamin Wilkes contributed several publications from 

 1741 to 1749, culminating with his 120 copperplate illustrations of English moths and butterflies. The quality of 

 his work vastly impressed the ever growing influential patrons of natural history studies of his time. Some like 

 the gifted artist Moses Harris achieved a national and even an international reputation, especially after his major 

 work was completed in 1766. Up to this time, the various authors and artists involved with the ever increasing 

 numbers of works on English insects were adding new vernacular names to the growing list of known species. 

 Eager participation came from members of the world's first entomological society, The Society of Aurelians, 

 which was active in the 1740's and based in London. 



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