Nest egg to science

Taupo Times, Volume 23, Issue 62, 6 August 1974, Page 1

Nest egg to science

A Taupo man has given a priceless collection of mounted insects to the Auckland War Memorial Museum and to the D.S.I.R. at Mt Albert. Dr J. S. Armstrong, whose grandfather's uncle started the collection in Britain in 1810, said he was sad to see it go, but grateful that the specimens would be preserved and protected. Some of the collection has been in his care fbr 60 years, and Dr Armstrong himself has added contributions from various parts of the world. All that remains to go to Auckland now is his English collection, which includes a valuable selection of British birds' eggs started in Yorkshire about 1860 by another relative. in iiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii,ii,ii,mii,iiiiiiiii

Among the eggs are a number of rare specimens, such as the greaf bustard and the hawks. "They did not have room for the English section when they came down from Auckland in a station-wagon to get the collection. It is in a very big case, which would take a week to unpack," Dr Armstrong said. Among the early specimens the relatives who started the collection obtained were two large copper butterflies, which became extinct in 1820. Dr t Armstrong's grandfather saw the great migration of butterflies from France in about 1872. "My father gathered specimens with his father and later Iooked after the collection, itiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiimimtimmi

though he did not add to it," he said. But Dr Armstrong added specimens in Mesopotamia and India during World War I. . f/ Later, in Darjeeling, he enlarged his collection and added imore in the Lucknow area. The Indian collection was held by the Bombay Historical Socity until the end of the war, A Samoan collection was made between 1921 and 1925 and later in , 1950 when Dr Armstrong was medical offi- . cer of health there. Many . of the specimens he collected ih Sainoa went to the British Museum. A larger collection, made in 1950, will be shared between the museum and the D.S.I.R. In 1930, while living in Taupo, Dr Armstrong llll III III III lllllllf II II,,, iii IH in || iiiu'iiinjn ,|||,| (||

wrote a "Handbook on j Birds of Samoa up to •! 1925". j The Iargest part of his : collection is in the New j Zealand section, which \ is of speciai interest to \ the D.S.I.R. entomology \ division. : The moths, flies and : insects were collected \ from the central plateau \ of the North Isiand, \ starting in 1925. : Butterflies and moths : have generally to be = dried quickly and thor- ] oughly if their exterria! 5 colours are to remain = true. i Among Dr Arm- \ strong's contributions to \ overseas collections are = 120 species of birds of \ Mesopotamia in the = Royal Edinburgh Mu- = seum, insects and birds = of Sanioa in the British = Museum and Samoan : beetles in the Paris : Museum. = tui ii in in in hihi in in ii i iii ii, mu niu, hihi m,ii