No access to the British Museum National Collections.

[nomad]

Hello fellow collectors, as some of you will know I specialize in collecting various groups of butterflies as many members do because of the enormous field of lepidoptera available to them. Some will also know that I am especially interested in Ornithoptera and have also have had a long fascination with the Delias butterflies of the mountains of New Guinea and its Islands and have recently started to collect these stunning butterflies. I also collect other Papilionidae of the Indo-Australian region. I certainly do find all butterflies interesting and in my own country I find it better to collect with a camera, although I certainly formed a British butterfly collection as a young person and was an avid Moth collector, spending many nights [ often with my reluctant dad in tow] patrolling my sugaring patch in local woodland. I have long held a desire to visit the lepidoptera collections at the British Museum and because of my obsession with Birdwings and Delias I wanted to see some of the types and perhaps take a few photographs of those species collected by heroes such as Meek, The Pratts, Eichhorn and Wollaston who daily risked their lives in New Guinea and other places to collect these butterflies. For me collecting butterflies is an absorbing hobby but would be pointless without a good knowledge of their Natural History and the collectors who first found them. I believe we have much to thank Walter Rothschild for, unlike many of the very wealthy, I believe he spent his money wisely and sent these brave collectors not only to New Guinea but to all parts of the world in search of butterflies, moths and other insects.

I had been told that unless I was a professional Entomologist, worked as a scientist in the museum or produced lavish volumes on butterflies, I would not get in to view the butterflies that held a major interest for me. One person who works in the museum wished me luck but thought I had no chance. He did mention the groups I wished to view were only for specialists only. But hang on I thought, I do specialize in these groups but do not produce lavish volumes on them. I first contacted the collections manager by e-mail who did not even have the courtesy to reply. I next tried the person in charge of the lepidoptera collection who did reply but completely ignored my request and referred me to the museums picture library where I would find all the historical types of the butterflies I was interested in because they have all been photographed by museum workers. In fact this picture library did not have a single photograph of a Delias butterfly let alone a image of a type specimen. The Library suggested I contact them if I did not find what I was looking for and an automated message said I would be contacted within 48 hours but guess what, no reply. The idea was that if my image could be found I what purchase a copy. I contacted the curator of the museum's lepidoptera about this state of affairs and would they find the images of the types specimens but again no reply.

The specimens I wished to view are held in the large bequest of Walter Rothschilds collection to the museum and I know he held the Birdwings and Delias butterflies in high esteem and left them to the museum because he knew they would be properly cared for. As he left his extensive world collection to the nation I believe the great man would have wanted those with a genuine interest to have access to them. It is clear that the people in charge of the insect collection operate a class system which continues to be a unfortunate part of the British Society in general.

[rjb]

That's really disgusting but typical.
In contrast, I visited the LA County Museum of Natural History and wanted to inspect some beetle types. I have no entomology credentials, just a hobbyist. The curator at the time was Chuck Bellamy, the Buprestid expert and he said come on in. He gave me access to the collections and a microscope to use. He took time to show me some of his new Buprestid acquisitions. I don't know if the museum encourages its staff to be friendly and helpful to the non-experts, but it really impressed me favorably. I'm considering leaving my collection with an endowment to that museum.
Rick

[nomad]

Hi Rick

I am pleased to hear of your worthwhile and pleasant experience at the L.A museum of Natural History. The museum collection staff there were really helpful and help to promote a further study of the insects they care for. The BMNH policy of refusing entry to our national collection of insects except to a select few, really does beggar belief. Peter.

[wollastoni]

It´s indeed a shame.

Adam Cotton has some contacts there, he may be able to help you.

[lepidofrance]

If you want to visit the French Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in Paris, Lepidoptera collections, tell me. It would be easy to organize a visit !

Sorry, I never visit the Ornithoptera and Delias collection. But I spent time there looking (and photographying) at the Parides and Morphos. Great time !

[nomad]

It is certainly is a shame wollastoni to live in a country that does not allow access to their national collection, I bet their are other disappointed butterfly and insect enthusiasts out there who have experienced the same problems. Thank-you for your offer of help lepidofrance, its very kind of you and if I get a chance to visit the French Museum of Natural History in Paris, I shallow certainly contact you, I am sure it would be a fantastic experience.

[Deleted]

Alas its not just the national collections Peter, its local ones as well, I have been trying for 12 months to visit Doncaster museum to finish off my pictures of the George E Hyde collection, but since Martin Limbert retired it has been taken over by a girl, I think she is about 12 years old with all the social graces of a pig who is the least helpful/most disinterested/ignorant person on the whole of planet earth or so I thought until I recently visited Dorset county museum and requested to see their collection and was met with the same apathetic demenour of another 12 year old girl who said it would take 28 days to organise a "guide" to show me the collections, when I explained that I was only on holiday for another 3 days, she said with all the emotion of an android that there was no chance, its not as if there is a stampede to see these collections, the lifes work of talented and knowledgable entomologists, they are stuck away in a room somewhere, left to rot by ignorant nobodies who have no idea of their worth.

[nomad]

Hi dunc

Sorry to hear of your access problems especially at the Doncaster museum, what a shambles. I sure those that left these collections to the museums would be appalled by this state of affairs. The situation is just maddening. Trouble is, people they put in charge of the museums often come straight out of university and straight into these cushy jobs and know much less than the person who is trying to access these collections and no or care little of what it means to that person. You are just another butterfly person with no authority to be ignored. I cannot see why these butterfly collections need to remain under lock and key to be guarded like the crown jewels. What was the point in collecting them in the first place, so they could be described and hidden away to remain closed to visitors except for a lucky few. I cannot imagine these specimens have a flood of visitors and if I were the curator in charge I would be very pleased with the interest shown but this does not appear to be the case. Hope you had a good holiday in Dorset, my fave county apart from Wiltshire.

[wolf]

I was in London last year, and visited the museum. I hadn't asked beforehand so i didn't expect at all to be able to go see the collection, but i asked some of the staff there anyway. They told me it was not possible, as only professionals were allowed there. They kindly showed me the way to the public insect exhibition though

[nomad]

Serious insect enthusiasts should be allowed to visit their National collections whether they are professional or amateurs. There have been at least one theft from the BMNH in the past but I believe the specimen were recovered following police action. Why should one unfortunate occurrence spoil everyone's chances of visiting, I certainly do not believe this is the reason for the BMNH strange policy of not allowing entry. A genuine worker could supply a list of specimens he wished to see and the drawer then could be presented and checked afterwards, they would also have your full details, ID showing address etc.

[Adam Cotton]

I cannot speak in any way on behalf of the NHM, as I am not employed or officially affiliated with them, but I am sure that one part of the problem is indeed the previous instances (more than one for certain) of people being light fingered on visits to the old building. Another problem (probably the main one) is that the employees have to justify their time to the bean counters, and their job is scientific research and collection management, not assisting enquiries from the public.

The public part of the NHM is financed for public use, and the scientific part has to justify any interaction with the public by ensuring it is cost effective. This includes charging for identifications, copies of papers and photographs of specimens. The financial situation at the NHM is so tight that they have to try to raise as much funding from external sources as possible just to continue their normal work. Any request from the public takes away some of the time of the employees from their normal paid duties, thus they have to charge for such services.

Then there is the other problem of people taking advantage of the NHM for their own commercial purposes, which is not allowed now, of course. The major issue with D'Abrera was that he was selling his books for profit without really producing anything that was of major scientific value, and not contributing to the finances of the NHM.

As well as all that I think they are tied by government regulations, which may well be part of the problem in other local museums. I don't actually know the definitive situation there or the regulations, but my impressions of the situation leads to the above explanations. I do know that if they hadn't tightened up considerably on expenses and staff regulations the whole place may have had to be shut down some years ago. I remember one of my friends working there told me that everyone was afraid for their jobs maybe 15 years ago.

Adam.

[nomad]

You make some interesting points Adam. However I have had no problem visiting the BMNH National collections of plants in their herbarium in the past and all the botanists in charge were really helpful even photocopying rare biographies of plant collectors. The British Museum operates a really excellent bug identification service which has many members and is staffed by an excellent team of the most helpful Entomologists. This bug identification service was precisely set up to help the public. The museum employs several hundred research scientists and funds many research workers in different parts of the world, so is the lepidoptera sections high handed approach really to do with money, I think not. I had been told there were photographs of the type specimens I wished to see and as I have said I would be quite willing to pay for copies which many people do when they purchase images from their photo library. I would have also have been willing to contribute to their time for access to the collections, even though I do not think this should be necessary when visiting your national collection. As to the theft of specimens this would not be possible, if they followed the British Library rules, no jacket, no bag and only pen and paper and perhaps a camera, really easy to apply. I afraid I must refer back to a old saying, its not what you know but who you know!

[colin12303]

I visited the NHM in about 2000,and had access to the archives.
The guy in charge of the butterflies was a grasshopper expert.
You asked him what you wanted to see and he would go and get the drawer for you.
The trick is go with someone who is or has donated type specimens to the museum.
When you go in they do check your store boxes for any signs of pests,and the same on the way out as they did have some insects go missing.

[nomad]

Colin, I am glad that you managed to get in to see the insect collections. I afraid the grasshopper expert is long gone and so is easy access to their lepidoptera collections . I afraid the people who donated their types to the museum that I wished to see have all long since departed. I afraid I do not have friends who have been lucky enough to discover new butterflies, most of mine could not afford to be able to visit remote jungles, Islands or mountains to find new species to donate to the BMNH.

[nomad]

alueThe major issue with D, Abrera was that he was selling books for profit without producing anything that was of major scientific value and not contributing to the finances of the NHM . I would just like to reply to a comment made by Adam in his post. I find this an interesting but strange statement. Although I must admit I am not a great fan of Bernard d ' Abrera and I would say whatever you think of the Nomenclature and the text in his books their is nothing quite like them for the butterfly enthusiast whatever his credentials. Many of the butterfly species in his books were shown here for the first time. The series of books that he produced are indeed lavish volumes and in the later editions the plates are of extremely high quality. Another bonus and one that makes them worth having and therefore of scientific value is the fact that many of the types that are held in the BMNH collections are shown in his plates, which with the present policy of the BMNH make them more desirable than ever. As to Mr D' Abrera not contributing to the finances of the museum, he was and still is producing books at the BMNH and has probably spent more time there than most of the lepidopterists put together that have managed to get in. It is the Museum authorities who made the arrangement with Mr D, Abrera, they have only themselves to blame if they were not getting their just rewards from his books.