Alaska butterfly field guide released

December 21, 2015

An Alaska butterfly guide, the result of almost 50 years of research by a longtime University of Alaska Museum of the North collaborator and collector of Arctic butterflies, has finally been published. Kenelm Philip was a world-renowned lepidopterist and collector of Alaska butterflies and moths. He passed away in March 2014.

The museum’s curator of insects, Derek Sikes, said Philip had been working on production of a field guide to Alaska's butterflies since the late 1960s. “Ken passed away before finishing his book, but his friends and colleagues picked up where he left off and have now completed his dream. Almost all of the live photos in the book were taken by Ken,” Sikes said.

From the cover of “Butterflies of Alaska: A Field Guide” by Kenelm W. Philip and Clifford D. Ferris.

Philip built a collection of more than 111,000 butterflies and moths from Alaska, eastern Russia and western Canada. He received support from the Smithsonian Institution, where the majority of his specimens will be deposited. The remainder were donated to the UA Museum of the North. It is the largest private collection of Arctic butterflies in the world.

The work was co-authored by Cliff Ferris, a colleague and friend of Philip’s who prepared the photos of pinned specimens and oversaw the publication. Sikes, UAF graduate student Kathryn Daly and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service entomologist Matt Bowser also worked on the publication. Sikes said they prepared dot maps for the guide using data from the museum and from specimens donated to Philip by more than 400 volunteers listed in the book’s acknowledgments.

“Dot maps are rare in butterfly guides but considered superior to shaded range maps because they better reflect our knowledge of where each species occurs,” Sikes said. “The museum’s online, publicly available database ARCTOS contains all the necessary data to create these maps. We know Ken wanted dot maps for his guide because he developed his own software to produce them.”

Ken Philip with his butterfly net, August 2006. Photo by Derek Sikes.

Philip's family has established an endowment to support entomological research in Alaska and to benefit the insect collection at the UA Museum of the North. Sikes said the endowment paid for production of the guide. Proceeds from sales of “Butterflies of Alaska” will be deposited back into the endowment fund.

Sikes said the University of Alaska Fairbanks has also established an annual monetary award for which anyone doing entomological research in Alaska can apply. Preference will be given to students working with moths or butterflies. To contribute to the endowment, go online to https://www.uaf.edu/giving/gift/giving-form. Gifts should be directed to the Kenelm W. Philip Entomology Fund.

The book is available for purchase from the Museum Store, Gulliver’s Books and the Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge visitor center in Fairbanks, and at several other booksellers around the state. It can also be ordered online through BioQuip Products.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Derek Sikes, UAMN curator of insects, 907-474-6278, or dssikes@alaska.edu

ON THE WEB: www.akentsoc.org/documents/field-guide-to-alaska-butterflies