A chronological survey of Lepidoptera recording 



1830-1900 



The earliest records 



The first published account of butterflies and moths from Guernsey appeared in 1833 by the 

 Guernsey naturalist Frederick Corbin Lukis in the English journal The Magazine of Natural History ( 1 833: 

 222-223). It was a short article entitled 'Familiarities effected with Butterflies, Bombyces, and Sphinx 

 stellatarum' '. It amounted to little more than some casual observations on the adult feeding behaviour of 

 various species; however, these species formed the first Lepidoptera records for the island of Guernsey. 

 Lukis wrote that these observations had been made some years prior, but an exact date was not given; it is 

 therefore plausible that they could also constitute some of the earliest published records for the Channel 

 Islands. In the same journal the following year, E. Blyth (1834: 473-475) from Tooting in Surrey, published 

 a short account of his Lepidoptera sightings in Jersey, 'Remarks on the Clouded-yellow Butterfly (Colias 

 Edusa); and on other Lepidopterous Insects noticed in the Isle of Jersey', also made in 1833. Preceeding 

 these however, the first dated records are gleaned from another source. The Reverend F.A. Walker published 

 a work entitled Catalogue of the collection of insects presented to Highgate School [London] (1878: 1- 

 26). He wrote that many species were collected in the Channel Islands in 1830, being taken by the English 

 entomologist's John Curtis and Henry and Francis Walker, itemizing some species as coming from the 

 island of Jersey. Attempts have been made subsequently to trace these Curtis & Walker specimens, but 

 unfortunately without success. This involved inquiries carried out at the Highgate School (formerly known 

 as Sir Roger Cholmeley's School, Highgate) and collections searched through at The Natural History 

 Museum, London (formerly known as British Museum [Natural History]), where apparently some part of the 

 collection was later deposited. All the Channel Islands species, including those specifically from the island 

 of Jersey listed by Walker, apparently constitute the earliest known Lepidoptera records from the islands. 



Are insects from the Channel Islands British? 



From 1834 to 1860 a small range of articles concerning Channel Islands Lepidoptera appeared in 

 some British journals by various English authors. Apart from slightly increasing the growing list of species 

 for the islands, they also added the first serious entomological field observations, notably by E. Blyth (1834: 

 473-475), and importantly, the comment by H.T. Stainton (1856: 75) that the insects of the Channel Islands 

 are not considered British.The year 1856 also witnessed single articles by E. Newman, J.J. Reeve and F.O. 

 Morris, all centering upon the single species the Jersey Tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria) (then known as 

 Callimorpha hern) and continued the controversial theme raised by Stainton. This species had been recorded 

 in the Channel Islands since 1830, but was not recorded in England until 1855 from Sussex. The original 

 argument about whether the species should be considered British or not based entirely upon its occurrence in 

 the Channel Islands was inadvertently put aside by its capture in England in 1855. Nevertheless, it 

 culminated in some muddled reasoning on the issue by Morris (1856: 215-216) in his article, triumphantly 

 entitled, 'See the conquering hem comes!'. 



In 1862, Ansted & Latham included entomological lists, but where is the early voucher material! 



The year 1862 brought forth the first edition of a book that today is regarded still as a major work 

 on these Islands, entitled The Channel Islands. This historically valuable work was largely written and 

 edited by D.T. Ansted, who had resided in Guernsey for over four years, and R.G. Latham, both late 

 University Fellows from Cambridge. A second edition published in 1865 also contained the same 1862 

 extensive listings of the then known complete fauna and flora of the islands (insects: 221-230). Tine Jersey 

 Lepidoptera list was compiled by two Jerseymen, F.P. Johnson and F.G Piquet, while the Guernsey 

 butterfly list was similarly compiled by Dr. F.[C] Lukis from Guernsey and a certain Miss Wilkinson, 

 residency unknown, with the moths by Miss Wilkinson (: 229) (Lepidoptera: 226-229). Mentioned under the 

 list of contributors (: xi), the authors acknowledged Frederick] C[orbin] Lukis, Esq. and Dr Frederick] 

 Qollings] Lukis. The final total of Lepidoptera species listed for the Channel Islands amounted to 516, 

 among which were 42 butterfly species. 



It has unfortunately, never been made clear by the many subsequent Channel Islands Lepidoptera 

 recorders, how many, or if any, of the specimens dating from this or earlier periods were still available for 

 examination. Undoubtedly, either some collections of insects were maintained, or lists were being compiled 

 by entomologists from this period of the 19th century. However, published evidence concerning this material 

 is very slim. It has therefore never been made clear on what factual evidence the Lepidoptera compilers in 

 Ansted & Latham based their lists. The vast majority of the species listed for the Channel Islands in this 

 book have since been recorded in more recent times, and similarly, most of the listings for the individual 



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