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A few words about
the creator of
learnaboutbutterflies.com
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Hi, I'm Adrian
Hoskins. I live with my wife Himali and daughter Sanduni in Hampshire, on the south coast of England. Within
an hours drive of our home are a great variety of
butterfly
habitats
- mature forests, coppiced woodlands, heaths, grasslands, chalk quarries, meadows,
farmland, Iron
Age hill forts, riverbanks, sand dunes and sea cliffs - I've recorded 48 of the 65
British species within 30 miles of my home.
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Photo by Sanduni
Hoskins
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In 1982, I became a founder member of the Hampshire branch of
Butterfly
Conservation. I served for several years on the branch committee,
in various roles including County Recorder, Butterfly Report
Editor, & Conservation Officer.
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My passion for
butterflies has taken me on many travels : as a lad I explored most
of Britain by motorbike, then spent several years travelling around
Europe, in particular the beautiful French Alps. I had however
always dreamt about visiting the tropics so in 1990 I decided to go on a "once
in a lifetime" safari in Tanzania. The idea was to see and
photograph the lions, elephants and rhinos, but I found
that I was using more film on butterflies than on mammals
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My next step was to
visit the Arima valley in the northern range mountains of
Trinidad.
There I found myself awestruck by the rainforest and it's infinite wonders. I saw my first
Blue Morphos, Owl butterflies, Daggerwings, Glasswings and Heliconiines, not to mention hummingbirds,
trogons, oropendolas, and a host of other avian delights. The
haunting siren wail of cicadas, the high pitched chirping of
thousands of tiny frogs, and my "discovery" of the incredible
Siculodes aurorula were things that
will stay in my mind until the day I die - irreplaceable memories
that make material things in life pale into utter insignificance.
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Siculodes
aurorula
THYRIDIDAE, Arima
valley, Trinidad, April 1992 |
For the last 18 years I've been
very privileged to be able to spend time studying and photographing
the stunning butterflies found in the rainforests of
Costa Rica, Trinidad, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Malaya, Borneo,
India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Ghana. I now research and
lead
butterfly watching holidays
to many of these fabulous regions. A selection of
Trip Reports are
available.
My "life list"
of butterflies currently stands at 2107 positively identified species. I get a great thrill
every time I'm able to add another species to the list, but
accumulating
species lists is only a very minor part of my interest. What really
excites me is to capture their beauty on film, to observe their behaviour,
and to discover as much as I can about butterfly
ecology.
Despite my love of the
tropics, there are few things more precious to me than the pleasure
of walking in my local woodland Stansted Forest, or strolling around
the heaths and chalk grassland habitats that lie within a few miles of my
home in Hampshire. Most of the photographs of British butterflies
which can be found on this website were taken within 20 miles of my
home, and I strongly urge readers to get to know their local
habitats intimately, and to participate in local conservation
issues.
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I created this
website for 2 main reasons:
Firstly I wanted to be able to
communicate my passion for the natural world, and to stimulate a
deeper interest in butterflies and the conservation of their
habitats - particularly the rainforests. The role of the website is
increasingly concerned with environmental and conservation issues,
and I hope that by encouraging further interest in butterflies via
my photographs and articles, that website visitors will also take a
deeper interest in rainforest conservation, and take practical
measures to help conserve them. Details of how you can help can be
found on the
Rainforest,
Save the Rainforests, and
Climate
Change pages.
You
can contact the various rainforest conservation organisations via
the Links
page.
Secondly, as an
enthusiastic photographer and writer, I wanted to share a few of my
images and experiences, and publish my occasional discoveries about
butterfly ecology and behaviour.
I
hope that you enjoy looking at the photographs, and that the
articles inspire you to make discoveries of your own.
More
information about the aims, methods and current status of the
website can be found on the
Website Status page, and the
Code of Practice page provides details of the
learnaboutbutterflies philosophy on subjects such as collecting,
introductions, site publicity and ecotourism.
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I guess by now
you've heard more than enough about me !
I
hope you enjoy my website
Adrian Hoskins
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Feedback !
Feedback !
Feedback !
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learnaboutbutterflies very much welcomes your feedback.
If you experience any technical problems, discover any inaccuracies, or would like
to offer any comments or suggestions, please click
here.
All messages will receive a reply ! |
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This page is dedicated to my mother Linda, who died
on 30th June 2008 at the age of 95. Mum was the
kindest, most loving person in the world, and no one
could wish for a better Mum. She taught me the
difference between right and wrong, good and bad,
and those are things that I will never forget, and
will be immensely grateful for until the day I die.
She taught me about the importance of kindness,
understanding and honesty. She passed on to me her
love of animals, the countryside, and the natural
world; and her respect for people of all races,
cultures and beliefs. She taught me also about God,
the creator of life. My passion for butterflies, and
my love of rainforests, mountains and meadows are
perhaps my own way of touching God. |
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Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian
Hoskins 2007-2008, and must not be reproduced or published in part
or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from
Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.
Website designed, produced and owned by
Adrian Hoskins
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