About this Drawer

Kenelm W. Philip’s Synoptic Collection of Alaskan Lepidoptera, representing almost all species of butterfly which have been found in Alaska. A notable exception is the specimen of Hemiargus isola (four columns from the left, five specimens down from the top) which was collected directly outside an airplane in Wiseman – this species is typically not found in Alaska. It is suspected this drawer was prepared in the 1970’s or early 1980’s. The butterfly species Oeneis philipi was described in 1988 by James Troubridge to honor Dr. Philip for his tremendous scientific contribution to the study of Lepidoptera. This species was not named when Dr. Philip prepared the drawer, because it is currently under a label “Oeneis polixenes” (in the second column of butterflies from the right, the second specimen from the bottom) – this specimen was later determined (in 2015) to be Oeneis philipi by visiting researcher Dr. Andy Warren of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, as seen by the small white label affixed to the specimen. The third specimen from the bottom, in the same column, is also under an “Oeneis polixenes” label and is actually Oeneis polixenes.