Groton Butterflies Go to Harvard University

GHS members are now receiving the Summer/Fall 2015 edition of Then and Now, the Society’s quarterly newsletter, which includes exciting news about our university-bound butterflies.

The article by Bobbie Spiegelman details the story of how a collection of some 250 Groton-area butterflies from the early 20th Century journeyed from Boutwell House to their new home at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. At the museum, the Groton butterflies will receive the attention and expert care they deserve, and will provide researchers with clues to the study of climate change, land use changes, pollination, and more.

Although we’ll miss our colorful friends, the Groton butterflies are in line for inclusion in the museum’s online collection, and will once again be available for our viewing enjoyment.

Further information about the MCZ’s digitization program is available in the Spring 2012 edition of Massachusetts Butterflies, the newsletter of the Massachusetts Butterfly Club. The museum website is located at mcz.harvard.edu and their online catalog of specimens can be searched here.