Margaret E. Fountaine, an Early 20th- Century Butterfly Collector in Trinidad Matthew J.W. Cock Cock, M.J.W. 2004. Margaret E. Fountaine, an Early 20th-Century Butterfly Collector in Trinidad. Living World, Journal of The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club , 2004, 43- 49. Margaret E. Fountaine, an Early 20th-Century Butterfly Collector in Trinidad Matthew J. W. Cock CABI Bioscience Switzerland Centre, 1 Rue des Grillons, CH-2800 Delémont, Switzerland. E-mail:
[email protected] ABSTRACT Margaret E. Fountaine (1863-1940) collected and reared butterflies all over the World. She visited the Caribbean island of Trinidad in November 1911 ñ February 1912, February ñ June 1931, and December 1936 ñ June 1937. She died in Trinidad on a fourth visit in 1940 at the age of 78. Her collection from all over the world is preserved as the Fountaine- Neimy Collection in the Norwich Castle Museum, UK. Using extracts from her journal, information is given on her collecting methods and experiences at the Trinidad localities: Fonds Amandes, Hololo Mountain Road and Mt. St. Benedicts. Sostrata festiva Erichson, Pythonides limnaea Hewitson (Hesperiidae) and Fountainea ryphea ryphea Cramer (Nymphalidae) are illustrated from the Fountaine-Neimy collection. A table is provided of the 39 species which she reared in Trinidad. BACKGROUND about Miss Fountaine’s time in Trinidad. Apart from the special In 1940, an elderly Englishwoman, Margaret E. Fountaine was day each year, the journals are often vague regarding dates. collecting and rearing butterflies while staying at the Pax Guest However, the specimens in the FNC are labelled with their month of House, part of the Mt.