I am very grateful to Carlos de Soto Molinari who has kindly allowed me to use some of his excellent pictures of Caribbean Hairstreak Nesiostrymon celida and Antillean Snout Libytheana terena. Carlos lives in the Dominican Republic and is a superb macro-photographer and so his pictures are taken there. Thank you Carlos.
So that leaves just one species for which there is no photo here yet although the page is there and the links are in. The one outstanding is Chamberlain's Yellow Pyrisitia chamberlaini. I knew little about this species so I contacted Rayner Núñez and he kindly sent me the paper describing its discovery in Cuba in 1995 just outside Baracoa. I do not know if it has been seen since but I don't think so. I wish I had asked him before as we drove past the exact site in June when we were there and were in the area for several days so could have gone and looked for it. Never mind, it gives us an excuse to go back.
I was intrigued to find out why it was given its name and it turns out it was named after the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain! He was born in Birmingham on 18 March 1869 and became keen on natural history. At the age of 21 he was sent by his father to the Bahamas to establish a sisal plantation that his father thought would revive the family fortunes. The plantation, established the following year on North Andros Island, failed in 1896 and he returned home. While there he had collected many butterflies and other insects and in 1898, Butler described a new Eurema endemic to the Bahamas and named it after its collector Neville Chamberlain. The species has subsequently been reassigned to a different genus and is called Pyrisitia chamberlaini. On his return to England Neville Chamberlain entered politics and went on to become the Chancellor of the Exchequer and then Prime Minister from 1937-1940.
And another big thank you goes to Frank Model who has kindly allowed me to use his lovely photo of Mexican Ruby-eye Carystoides mexicana which has been recorded just once in Cuba in 2002. Frank's photo was taken in NE Mexico. Thank you Frank.
I was intrigued to find out why it was given its name and it turns out it was named after the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain! He was born in Birmingham on 18 March 1869 and became keen on natural history. At the age of 21 he was sent by his father to the Bahamas to establish a sisal plantation that his father thought would revive the family fortunes. The plantation, established the following year on North Andros Island, failed in 1896 and he returned home. While there he had collected many butterflies and other insects and in 1898, Butler described a new Eurema endemic to the Bahamas and named it after its collector Neville Chamberlain. The species has subsequently been reassigned to a different genus and is called Pyrisitia chamberlaini. On his return to England Neville Chamberlain entered politics and went on to become the Chancellor of the Exchequer and then Prime Minister from 1937-1940.
And another big thank you goes to Frank Model who has kindly allowed me to use his lovely photo of Mexican Ruby-eye Carystoides mexicana which has been recorded just once in Cuba in 2002. Frank's photo was taken in NE Mexico. Thank you Frank.
Mexican Ruby-eye Carystoides mexicana 26 Oct 2008 NE MEXICO © Frank Model
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