THE HISTORY OF BUTTERFLY STUDY IN OHIO

Full text

2 . THE HISTORY
OF
BUTTERFLY
STUDY
IN
OHIO
The
study
of
Ohio butterflies and skippers is
not
a recent
endeavor. In fact, specimens collected
in
Ohio during
the
early 19th century still exist
in
the
British
Museum
(Natural
History)
in
London, England.
Our
present know ledge
of
these
insects is enriched by more
than
a century
of
work by
numerous individuals from
many
walks of life. Very few
of
these early naturalists were trained entomologists. Rather,
the
study
of
butterflies was, for most, an amateur interest,
pursued strictly during times
of
leisure. Possessing careers
as
diverse as school teacher, florist, and clergyman, they shared
a common interest and provided an invaluable legacy.
THE
PIONEERS
During
the
19th century,
when
an
interest in
the
natural
sciences was termed "natural philosophy," a few dedicated
individuals explored
the
largely
unknown
wilderness
of
Ohio. Many were medical doctors who studied natural histo-
ry only
when
their practices permitted a spare moment.
Birds, rocks, wildflowers, shells, and insects were collected
with
great enthusiasm and curiosity. Because travel was
difficult, either by horse or on foot, and often treacherous,
collecting excursions rarely took place far from their homes.
It
is
the
early work
of
these natural philosophers
that
served
as a foundation upon which future research on Ohio butter-
flies and skippers was based.
Two of
the
first individuals
known
to have collected
in
Ohio were
the
distinguished English entomologist
Edward
Doubleday (1810-1859) and his companion Robert Foster. In
the
autumn
of
1837, Doubleday visited several Ohio cities
including Portsmouth, Cincinnati, Huron, and Cleveland.
Foster temporarily travelled separately and collected near
Mt. Pleasant
in
eastern Ohio (Doubleday, 1838). Several
species of Ohio butterflies collected during their Ohio visit
were ultimately donated to
the
British Museum (Natural
History) (Gray and Doubleday, 1844).
Jared
P.
Kirtland (1793-1877) (Figure
2.1)
was
the
first
individual to
study
the
butterflies
of
Ohio seriously. Kirtland,
a physician, was an
eminent
pioneer naturalist and was well
acquainted
with
many
facets
of
natural history (Mayfield,
1965). He published some
of
his initial observations
of
butterflies
in
1851 (Kirtland, 1851a).
To
lepidopterists, Kirt-
land is best remembered for describing
the
snout
butterfly
(several times) from a specimen
he
collected
in
1836
at
Poland, Mahoning County, Ohio (Kirtland, 1851b; 1852a;
1874a). He also published
the
first list
of
butterflies
known
from Ohio,
which
included
53
species (Kirtland, 1854a;
1874b). Three additional publications contained remarks on
Ohio butterflies (Kirtland, 1852b; 1854b; 1874c). His collec-
tion was donated to theformer Cleveland Academy
of
Natural
Science,
but
was later destroyed (Bubna, 1897).
In
1864, a colleague
of
Kirtland and a naturalist
in
his
own right,
John
Kirkpatrick (1819-1869), a machinist by
trade, published a list
of
butterflies found around Cleveland.
This list contained 45 species, some
of
which were based on
Kirtland's earlier list (Kirtland, 1854a). Kirkpatrick's collec-
tion was donated to the former Kirtland Society
of
Natural
Science (Whittlesey, 1874)
but
was apparently destroyed.
In
1878, Charles Dury (1847-1931) (Figure 2.
2),
then
curator
of
Ornithology and Entomology
at
the
Cincinnati
Society
of
Natural
History, published an exhaustive list
of
Lepidoptera, including
58
species
of
butterflies, observed
in
the
vicinity
of
Cincinnati. Over
the
years
he
continued to
publish his remarks
on
butterflies
new
to Cincinnati and to
Ohio
(1898;
1900; 1910). His collection is deposited
at
the
Cincinnati
Museum
of
Natural History.
Although a brass machinist by trade, George
R.
Pilate
(1856-1934) avidly studied insects, and
in
1879 published a
list
of
52 species
of
butterflies
he
collected at Dayton. In 1882
he
revised
the
list to include
61
butterflies and a large
number
of
moths. Pilate also published two short notes about butter-

flies
in
1880
and
1906. His father, Eugene Pilate (1804-1890L
a physician, also collected Lepidoptera
and
was
a regular
correspondent
of
the
renowned
lepidopterist Ferdinand
H. H.
Strecker (Brown, 1967).
Many
of
George's specimens are
deposited
in
the
Dayton
Museum
of
Natural
History
and
the
Museum
of
Comparative Zoology, Harvard
University
.
In 1897, Edward
W.
Claypole (1835-1901) (Figure 2.3)
published a list of
the
butterflies
of
Summit
County
which
contained 48 species. Claypole was a geologist born
and
trained
in
England,
who
had
broad
natural
history
interests
(Osborn, 1937).
He
also published
two
short
entomological
notes (Claypole, 1880; 1882)
which
included
remarks
on
several species of Ohio butterflies. Efforts
to
locate his
collection have
been
unsuccessful
and
it
is
assumed
to
have
been
destroyed.
William N. Tallant (1856-1905) lived
in
Columbus,
where
he
worked
as a cle
rk
for
the
Pennsylvania Railway
Company.
During
this
time,
he
collected Lepidoptera
in
central Ohio
until
1900
when
he
moved
to
Richmond,
Indiana.
Among
his collecting companions
was
George R.
Pilate.
Tallant
published a brief
note
in
1881
on
his butterfly
observations. His large worldwide collection
was
donated to
The
Ohio State University
where
it
remains
today. While
he
was a
Columbus
resident,
Tallant
lived
in
what
is
now
the
former
home
of literary
humorist,
James Thurber.
In 1898,
the
first comprehensive listings of
Ohio
butter-
flies
were
published by James
S.
Hine ( 1866-1930) (Figure 2.4).
These
lists of 92
and
93 species, respectively,
were
primarily
based
upon
previously published lists
and
the
collection of
The
Ohio
State University,
where
he
was an entomologist
(Kennedy, 1931).
In
1899,
he
updated
his
earlier publications
and added seven species
new
to Ohio.
Several
other
individuals also
contributed
to
our
early
knowledge of
Ohio's
butterflies,
but
less so
than
those
discussed previously. William V. Andrews, a
New
York
businessman, published a
list
(
18
7
5)
of species
he
collected
in
Ohio
and
other
eastern states. John A. Bolton, a
Portsmouth
schoolteacher, collected
the
the
type
specimen
of Hesperia
nemoris
(W.
H. Edwards, 1864), a
synonym
of
Amblyscrite
s
began (Scudder, 1864).
John
F.
Isom (misspelled
in
literature
as
J.
T.
Ison), a Cleveland physician,
made
various observa-
tions of butterflies (Saunders
et
al, 1875; 1876). Francis M.
Webster (Figure 2.
5L
Entomologist
to
The
Ohio
Agriculture
Experiment
Station
in
Wooster, published several papers
(1892; 1893; 1900a;
190Gb;
1912).
Most
of
these
dealt
with
economic
entomology
but
included
some
information
on
butterflies. Mathias Bubna, a tailor, listed 42 species
that
he
collected during 1896
in
the
vicinity of Cleveland (Bubna,
1897). Rev. Albert
I.
Good collected
in
the
vicinity
of Wooster
and
published a
short
note
(1901)
on
his observations.
Ohio
was
also briefly visited by Sherman
F.
Denton
(1857-1937) of Massachusetts.
Denton
was a taxidermist
who
authored
Moths and Butterflies
of
the United States
...
( 1900L a publication
which
is
now
very rare.
This
exhaustive
work
is especially interesting because
the
plates depicting
the
species
were
partially
constructed
using
the
wing scales
of actual butterflies and
moths.
Some of
the
specimens
used
for
this
purpose were collected
in
Ohio, especially
in
the
vicinity of Fort Ancient, Warren
County
.
Two
internationally-renowned entomologists
tempo
-
rarily resided
in
Ohio
during
the
nineteenth
century. William
J.
Holland (1848-1932) (Figure
2.6L
the
author
of The Butter-
fly Book (1898L lived as a child
in
Dover
and
Tuscarawas.
Here, Holland learned
to
appreciate
the
natural
world
through
his father's teachings.
Although
it
is
not
known
if
he
actively
collected
in
Ohio,
the
seed of his
interest
in
Lepidoptera was
undoubtedly
planted
during
this
time
(Mallis, 1971). Clar-
ence M. Weed (1864-1947) (Figure 2.7) was Entomologist
to
The
Ohio Agriculture Experiment
Station
prior
to
Francis M.
Webster.
Although
Weed's experience
with
Ohio
butterflies
was limited,
he
is
remembered
for
his
book
Butterflies Worth
Knowing (Weed, 1917).
2
NOTABLE SUCCESSORS
From
the
turn
of
the
century
through
the
1960's, there
were
many
individuals
who
contributed
to
our
understand-
ing of Ohio butterflies and skippers.
Many
of
their
specimens
are
still
extant
and
much
of
what
we
know
about
Ohio's
butterfly fauna is a direct
result
of
their
work.
Blenn
R.
Bales (1876-1946) (Figure 2.
8L
a Circleville
physician
who
was
interested
in
many
aspects of
natural
history, published a list of
the
Lepidoptera
of
Pickaway
County
in
1909.
This
list
included 50 species of butterflies
he
collected during 1907
and
1908.
He
also published a
short
note
concerning butterflies
in
1907. His collection was given
to
a young local collector during
the
1920's
and
is
presumed
to
have
been
destroyed (Blenn D. Bales, pers
comm,
1988).
One
of
the
most
exhaustive local lists of
Ohio
Lepidopt-
era was published
in
1910 by Rev. Walter
F.
Henninger
(1873-1929) (Figure 2.9) of
New
Bremen.
Although
he
was
interested primarily
in
birds, Henninger
accumulated
much
information
on
the
Lepidoptera
of
Seneca
County.
His
list,
which
included 82 species of butterflies,
was
based primarily
upon
material collected by Lewis Ullrich (?-1906). Ullrich, a
druggist
and
florist
who
lived
in
Tiffin, exchanged specimens
with
William
Tallantandprovidedinvaluableinformation
to
William H. Edwards for his description of
the
life history of
the
northern
pearly eye (Edwards, 1882b). A
portion
of Hen-
ninger's
collection,
which
included
many
of
Ullrich's
specimens,
was
donated to
the
Ohio State
Museum,
but
was
almost
completely
without
data and was badly damaged
by
dermestid beetles.
The
few specimens
that
still
remain
are
in
the
Ohio
Historical Society collection.
Henry Wormsbacher
(?
-1934 L a Lakewood
music
teach-
er, amassed a large worldwide collection of Lepidoptera
which
included
many
specimens from
northeastern
Ohio.
He
was
once
the
president (and apparently
the
founder) of
the
Cleveland Butterfly Association,
an
obscure organization of
approximately 25 members. A rare form of
the
bronze copper
was
named
in
honor
of
Wormsbacher
who
had
collected
the
type specimen, probably
near
Cleveland (Gunder, 1927). In
1918
he
published a
short
paper
about
Lepidoptera.
Many
of
his
specimens
remain
in
the
Cleveland
Museum
of
Natural
History.
John C. Pallister ( 1891-1980)
was
an
entomologist
at
the
Cleveland
Museum
of
Natural
History.
He
collected Lepi-
doptera
in
northeastern
Ohio
from 1924-1931 (Sonja E.
Teraguchi, pers
comm,
1987). His greatest
contribution
to
Ohio lepidopterology
was
the
discovery of
the
rare Mitchell's
satyr
in
Portage
County
(Pallister, 1927).
Most
of
his
speci-
mens
are deposited
in
the
Cleveland
Museum
of
Natural
History.
One
of
the
most
influential collectors during
this
period
was
Clement
W.
Baker (1886-1958) (Figure 2.10). Baker,
an
accountant, studied
the
natural
history of
northeastern
Ohio,
especially
in
the
vicinity of Waynesburg,
where
he
resided.
For several years
he
wrote
a
nature
column
for
the
Waynes-
burg newspaper. From 1924
until
his
death,
he
collected
and
reared Lepidoptera extensively, amassing a worldwide col-
lection
of
about
60,000 specimens.
He
and
several
other
local
lepidopterists, including Ray
W.
Bracher ( 1908-1989), found-
ed
the
Northeastern
Ohio Lepidopterists Society.
Although
this
short-lived organization
had
a
small
membership,
it
later
evolved
into
the
Neo-Naturalists
Society
with
several
hun-
dred members. Baker
wrote
several
unpublished
manuscripts
concerning Lepidoptera,
and
distributed
them
among
the
members
of
these
societies (Ray
W.
Bracher, pers
comm,
1985).
An
aberration of
the
aphrodite fritillary
was
named
in
honor
of Baker
who
had
collected
the
type
specimen
in
Waynesburg (Clark, 1932 ).
The
bulk
of Baker's collection
was
donated
to
his
alma
mater, Mt.
Union
College, Alliance,
Ohio,
where
it
remains today, stored
in
an
attic
above
the
Dean's
office.
Two
of
the
most
important
collectors of
this
period,
and
the
first individuals
to
collect
throughout
the
State, were
JohnS.
Thomas (1910
-1
988) (Figure 2.11)
and
his brother,

EdwardS.
Thomas
(1891-1982) (Figure 2.12) of
Columbus.
John, a former staff
member
of
the
Ohio Historical Society,
specialized
in
butterflies and
was
the
more
active lepidopter-
ist
of
the
two. His
interest
in
butterflies
waned
when
he
left
the
Ohio Historical Society
in
the
late 1930's. Edward was
educated as a lawyer,
but
because of
his
incomparable
know
l-
edge of
Ohio
natural
history, became
the
Curator
of
Natural
History for
the
Ohio Archaeological
and
Historical Society
in
1931 (Thomas, 1981).
The
Thomases
and
several
student
companions including Joseph
W.
Enke (1915-
),
travelled
widely
in
Ohio
and amassed a large collection of insects,
mainly
Lepidoptera
and
Orthoptera, for
the
Ohio
State
Mu
-
seum.
The
Thomases
published several observations
on
Ohio butterflies (Thomas, 1952;
Potter
and
Thomas, 1970;
Rawson
and
Thomas, 1939).
Most
of
their
specimens are
now
in
the
Ohio
Historical Society collection.
AnnetteF.Braun(l884-l978)
(Figure2.13), a well
known
microlepidopterist and sister of
plant
ecologist
E.
Lucy Braun,
collected
many
butterflies
around
Cincinnati
.
Her
many
specimens are currently deposited
in
various
institutional
collections including
the
Cincinnati
Museum
of
Natural
History,
The
Ohio Historical Society, and
the
Academy of
Natural
Sciences, Philadelphia.
Also collecting
in
the
vicinity of
Cincinnati
were
Albert
E.
Wyss (190,
9-
) and
his
brother
Herbert
E.
Wyss (1910-
1985). While attending medical school
at
the
University of
Cincinnati,
they
authored
several·publications
about
the
butterflies
ofthearea
(A.
Wyss, 1930a; 1930b; 1931; 1932; and
H. Wyss, 1930; 1931). Both served as curators of
the
Junior
Society of
Natural
Sciences
which
was
affiliated
with
the
Cincinnati
Museum
of
Natural
History.
Many
of
the
Wyss'
specimens are
in
the
Cincinnati
Museum
of
Natural
History.
For nearly 40 years, Hazel T.
Chase
(1895-1977) (Figure
2.14) collected
and
reared
the
Lepidoptera of
north
-central
Ohio. She
was
a
naturalist
of
many
interests,
and
wrote
a
nature
column
for
the
local
Galion
newspaper.
Among
her
field
companions
were
Clement
W. Baker
and
Edward
S.
Thomas. She and
JohnS.
Gill (1929-
),
a young local collec-
tor, amassed a large collection
which
is
now
deposited
in
the
Cleveland
Museum
of
Natural
History.
The
Lepidoptera
of
the
Oak
Openings of Lucas
County
first received serious
attention
during
the
1930's.
Three
individuals were especially active
in
the
area
at
this
time.
George
W.
Rawson (1890-1986)
was
an
English-born
chemist
who
collected
in
northwestern
Ohio
while
he
resided
in
Detroit, Michigan (Rawson
and
Thomas, 1939).
J.
Donald
Eff
(1914- ) (Figure 2.15), a postal employee,
and
Robert C.
Hollister (1915-
),
a teacher, explored Lucas
County
while
they
lived
in
Sylvania,
Ohio
. Rawson's
Ohio
specimens are
deposited
in
various
institutional
collections, including
the
Ohio
Historical Society
and
the
Carnegie
Museum
of
Natural
History.
Most
of Eff's specimens are deposited
in
the
Univer-
sity
of
Colorado collection. A portion of Hollister's collection
remains
in
his
possession.
Best
known
for
his
research
on
the
Hesperioidea,
Arthur
W. Lindsey (1894-1963) (Figure 2.
16)
collected
in
the
vicinity
of Granville, Ohio,
where
he
taught
at
Denison
University.
One
of
his
major
contributions
to
the
study
of Hesperiidae
was
published
while
he
was
at
the
University (Lindsey, Bell,
and
Williams, 1931
).
His specimens
were
deposited
in
the
collections of
Denison
University,
The
Ohio
Historical Soci-
ety,
and
the
Carnegie
Museum
of
Natural
History.
From 1940
to
1965,
Homer
F.
Price (1895-1987) (Figure
2.17) amassed
in
northwestern
Ohio
one of
the
most
imp
or-
tant
collections of butterflies
in
the
State.
In
1970, Price, a
farmer from Paulding County, published
the
results of
his
3
field
work
. A
true
naturalist,
he
collected
many
objects of
natural
history
including bird eggs,
land
snails,
and
many
types
of
insects.
Among
his
correspondents
and
companions
in
the
field
were
Clement
W.
Baker
and
Edward S.
Thomas.
His collection
of
15,000 insects was sold to
The
Ohio
State
University
where
it
remains today.
An
authority
on
the
natural
history of Lorain and
Huron
Counties
was Leland L.
Martin
(1912-1988) (Figure 2.
18).
A
foundry administrator,
he
studied
the
butterflies and skip-
pers of north-central
Ohio
for nearly 30 years.
Although
he
was
active
until
his death, a large portion of
his
collection
was
amassed during
the
1960's.
He
generously shared
his
knowl-
edge
with
others
and
published a short
note
about
the
American
copper (Martin, 1962).
Martin
discovered a large
population of
Duke's
skipper, Euphyes dukesi,
at
Findley
State
Park (Lorain County),
prompting
the
Ohio
De
partment
of
Natural
Resources to create
the
first butterfly preserve
in
Ohio. His collection is deposited
at
the
Cleveland
Museum
of
Natural
History.
Five
other
individuals
who
were active during
this
period
published
county
and
regional lists. William Kayser, a Wapa-
koneta
businessman, compiled a
list
of insects of Auglaize
County
which
included 50 species of butterflies (Williamson,
1905). James W. Porter,
then
a student, listed
61
species
( 1965) from Seneca County. Orville N. Studebaker, a printer,
and
his
student
son,
Dennis
J.
Studebaker
listed
49 species
(1967)
that
theycollectedandrearedinMiami
County. Louis
A. Hoying, a metallurgist, listed 56 species (1975)
that
he
found from 1964-1973
in
portions of Auglaize and Shelby
Counties
.
There
are a
number
of additional collectors
who
built
butterfly collections
of
local
interest
during
this
period.
Many
of
their
specimens
still
survive
in
institutional
collec-
tions. Some of
the
more
prominent
collectors
and
the
counties
in
which
they
primarily
worked
are James W. Amrine, Jr.
(Franklin), David F. Berringer (Seneca), Theodore Bock (Ham-
ilton), Frank W. Case (Hamilton),
Otto
E.
Ehrhart (Paulding),
John
F.
Fl
enniken
(Jefferson), Frank Hepp (Seneca), Josef N.
Knoll (Franklin), Gary Meszaros (Cuyahoga), Harry
F.
Mur-
phy
(Seneca), Charles
E.
Rhodes (Seneca), Raymond
F.
Romine
(Marion), Stephen B. Smalley (Hamilton), William C. Stehr
(Athens), William Thrasher(Portage),EdwardG. Voss(Lucas),
and Edward (Eduardo) C. Welling (Cuyahoga).
CONTEMPORARY TRENDS
Since
the
1960's,
our
understanding
of
Ohio's
butterfly
fauna has
continued
to increase
at
a dramatic pace. For
example, Albrecht ( 1982) provided
the
first updated State
list
since
Hine
( 1899)
and
included
the
first detailed data
on
the
flight periods and distribution
of
Ohio's
species.
Much
of
our
own
work
was
initiated
in
response
to
obvious gaps
in
knowledge highlighted by Albrecht
(eg
Shuey, 1983; Cal-
houn, 1985 [ 86]; Shuey, Iftner,
and
Calhoun, 1986). In addition,
research
on
endangered
and
threatened
butterflies
and
skip-
pers has
contributed
to
a heightened sense of awareness of
Ohio's
invertebrate fauna
and
its
conservation (Shuey
et
al,
1987; Shuey, Calhoun,
and
Iftner, 1987).
Butterfly research
in
Ohio
enjoys a rich history.
Many
individuals from
Ohio
and elsewhere are
continuing
to reveal
much
about
Ohio's
species. Nevertheless,
there
is still
much
to
learn.
No
collection is too
small
nor
is any observation
unimportant.
Both
amateurs
and professionals alike
can
continue
to
contribute
to
the
work
that
was begun over 150
years ago.

Fig. 2.1 Jared P. Kirtland
(1793-1877)
Fig. 2.4 James
S.
Hine
(1866-1930)
Fig. 2. 7
Clarence
M. Weed
(1864-1947)
Fig. 2.2
Charles
Dury
(1847-1931)
Fig. 2.5 Francis M. Webster
(?-1916)
Fig. 2.8 Blenn R. Bales
(1876-1946)
4
Fig. 2.3 Edward
W.
Claypole
(1835-1901)
Fig. 2.6
William
J.
Holland
(1848-1932)
Fig. 2.9
Walter
F.
Henninger
(1873-1929)

Fig. 2.10
Clement
W.
Baker
(1886-1958)
Fig. 2.13
Annette
F. Braun
(1884-1978)
Fig. 2.
11
JohnS.
Thomas
(1910-1988)
Fig. 2.14
Hazel
T.
Chase
(1895-1977)
Fig. 2.16
Arthur
W. Lindsey
(1894-1963)
5
Fig. 2.12
EdwardS.
Thomas
(1891-1982)
Fig. 2.15 J.
Donald
Eff
(1914- )

Fig. 2.17
Homer
F.
Price (1895-1987)
and
his
wife, Gladys,
at
home
in
1963.
Fig. 2.18 A
"collection"
of
Ohio
Lepidopterists, 1985. From
left
to right: Joseph
E.
Riddlebarger, Lela
nd
L.
Martin,
John
A. Shuey, John V.
Calhoun,
John
W.
Peacock,
David
C. Iftne
r,
Vincent
P. Lucas, Reed
A.
Wat
kins.
6