A Curious Beginning

Lepidopterology (or lepidoptery, as it is termed in A Curious Beginning) is the scientific study of moths and butterflies. A branch of entomology, or the study of insects, lepidoptery rose to popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries. “Gentlemen scientists” in Europe began cataloguing types of butterflies and moths in their home countries before venturing further afield in long and often elaborate expeditions to collect other species. These expeditions, which frequently spanned several years, were often funded by wealthy collectors.

Though contemporary attitudes about gender meant that many prominent lepidopterists were men, there were, like Veronica Speedwell, various women who contributed notably to the field. Among these was Maria Sibylla Merian, a German naturalist who became one of the first to directly inspect insects in the late 17th century (Swaby, Rachel. Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science – And the World, 2015. New York: Broadway Books. pp. 47-50). Margaret Fountaine was a Victorian-era lepidopterist whose personal collection, only opened decades after her death, contained over 22,000 butterfly and moth specimens (Michael A. Salmon; Peter Marren; Basil Harley. The Aurelian Legacy: British Butterflies and Their Collectors, 2000. University of California Press. p. 199). Canadian Edna Mosher was initially denied enrollment in a PhD program due to her gender but eventually received her degree in 1915; her dissertation is still considered a definitive work on the broad classification Lepidoptera (Zimmerman, Elwood C.