JOHN ABBOT'S BUTTERFLY DRAWINGS FOR WILLIAM SWAINSON, INCLUDING GENERAL COMMENTS ABOUT ABBOT'S ARTISTIC METHODS AND WRITTEN OBSERVATIONS

摘要

Between 1816 and 1818, artist-naturalist John Abbot completed 103 drawings of insects for English naturalist William Swainson. The history of these illustrations is reviewed, leading up to their rediscovery in 1977 in the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, NewZealand. Four of these drawings are figured. The adults in the 21 butterfly drawings are identified and the figures of larvae and pupae are assessed for accuracy. The illustrated plants are also identified and their status as hosts is examined. Aspects of Abbot's life history notes are discussed, including his spelling, grammar, and use of Latin names. His notes for Swainson are transcribed and analyzed. A review of Abbot's artwork indicates that he duplicated many of his compositions for 20-25 years. He sometimes portrayed erroneous figures of larvae, pupae, andhostplants. Figures of immatures were sometimes fabricated using other species as models. He also applied duplicate figures of larvae to morethan one species. Abbot may have sent another set of insect drawings to Swainson in 1830. Ninety-nine smaller drawings at the Turnbull Library are attributed to both Abbot and Swainson. Six of these illustrations are figured. Abbot's notes for Swainson suggest that at least threebutterfly species are now more abundant than during the early nineteenth century, while three others are probably less widespread than formerly.