Abstract
The work of the butterfly field biologist typically involves travels with humans and larvae interspersed in the same vehicle, spontaneous interrogations from passing strangers or park rangers, and attempts to perform meaningful research in collaboration with disparate personalities at remote sites with no facilities. In the course of this work, I believe that I have learned a little about humans, butterflies, and human–butterfly interactions. This chapter aims to transmit some of this knowledge, mostly in the form of mistily recollected anecdotes that I hope will make soothing bedtime reading.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The car had been purchased from a very fast-talking prison guard whose friend explained to us, sotto voce, that he had bought the BMW to impress women and that it had worked TOO WELL, so he had to sell it for quick cash and buy a 2CV. We had the impression that he was married and his girlfriend was pregnant.
- 2.
The caravan had been purchased from a man in the throes of a nasty divorce; he had hidden it in a refrigerated fish warehouse to prevent his wife from selling it; we suffered a series of jokes about how well preserved it must be until Camille’s collaborator in Sweden, Nils Ryrholm, suggested that we park it in the multistory where he kept his car. He cheerfully waved us in, but the caravan was too high and the ventilator on top was chopped off, subsequently admitting rain to the wooden inner structure. After a winter in the UK, I attempted to drive the caravan to southern France, but inspection in the mirror soon revealed that, the faster I drove, the WIDER the caravan became. SIGH.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Singer, M. (2015). The Education of the Field Biologist. In: Dyer, L., Forister, M. (eds) The Lives of Lepidopterists. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20457-4_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20457-4_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-20456-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-20457-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)