Margaret E. Fountaine, an Early 20th-Century Butterfly Collector in Trinidad

Abstract

Margaret E. Fountaine (1863-1940) collected and reared butterflies all over the World. She visited the Caribbean island of Trinidad in November 1911 - February 1912, February - June 1931, and December 1936 - 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.