The Life of William Prest, York Entomologist (1824-1884)

摘要

William Prest was one of the most influential Nineteenth Century entomologists from the York area. He was a skilled and energetic collector of Lepidoptera and an enthusiastic communicator and compiler of natural history information. At different timesin his life he organized two local natural history societies from his own home: the York Entomological Society (YES) and the York and District Field Naturalists' Society (YDFNS), the latter lasting over a hundred years. He represented the York districtwithin the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union (YNU), proposed its current name and was first president of its Entomological Section. He obtained many new county records of Lepidoptera and was involved in the discovery of new varieties. He collaborated with George Porritt in compiling the first list of Yorkshire Lepidoptera. Evidence suggests that he was very literate, artistic, generous, gregarious, a fast learner, a talented organizer and a much-liked and admired man. Remarkably, for all this, there has beenlittle attempt to compile the existing information about his life. Below I report what I have been able to glean from a short time researching William Prest and his work. I hope it may serve to stimulate others to solve some of the remaining mysteries about this remarkable man. I have attempted to interpret around known facts, so that it is more than just a dry list of dates. To indicate what is factual, I have referenced sources fully. I use current vernacular names of most of the species mentioned below, as the scientific names have mostly changed since Prest's day and, where scientific names are used, they are the modern ones.