By Kira Farnsworth
A recent donation of over 6,000 rare butterfly specimens has dramatically increased the value of the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum''s insect collection.
Ken Tidwell donated 6,451 butterflies, which he has collected throughout his adult life, said Douglas Cox, assistant director of the Bean Museum.
The specimens in Tidwell''s collection are primarily from western North America and Latin America, as well as some from southeast Asia, said Shawn Clark, Bean Museum insect collection manager.
Although the Bean Museum collection has thousands of other butterfly specimens, the Tidwell collection is particularly valuable because of the rarity and condition of the specimens.
'Many of the specimens in this collection are probably fairly common,' Clark said. 'But on the other hand, I know of some things in this collection that are known from his specimens plus only one or two other specimens in the whole world, so they are very rare.'
Clark also said the patterns and colors on some of the butterflies make them completely unique to any butterfly in any museum in the world.
The butterflies in Tidwell''s collection are also in exceptional condition.
'Like with every collection there are a few that are not perfect, but for the most part they are in absolutely perfect condition,' Clark said.
Tidwell, a resident of Salt Lake City and retired copper miner, originally became interested in studying butterflies many years ago when he was helping a Boy Scout troop make insect collections to earn the insect life merit badge.
'He is not a professional entomologist and he was never trained in this, but he knows more about the butterflies than I do as a trained scientist,' Clark said. 'He is a hobbyist, but he is definitely not an amateur.'
Richard Baumann, entomology curator of the Bean Museum, said the museum has to be careful about what donations they accept, due to space, but that Tidwell''s collection is a valuable addition to the museum.
'We can''t accept everything, so we have to be discerning,' Baumann said. 'We select things that are in good condition, have some kind of value due to their origin and rarity and, finally, we have to consider the numbers of things we get and already have.'
Tidwell''s collection fit all of the criteria.
There are several purposes for the museum to collect these insects, Baumann said. These purposes include museum displays, education, scientific research and validation of previous studies.
'Our collection here, what we had before with the addition of Ken Tidwell''s material, is one of the finest butterfly and moth collections in this part of the United States,' Clark said.
Baumann said most of the butterflies are not on display yet, but an impressive display is being designed and built and is expected to be ready for public viewing by the end of the year.