Warren H. Wagner, Jr. was a noted authority on ferns
and other plants at the University of Michigan. He was an unforgettable
character that inspired many students and other researchers. He was very
passionate about the natural world, and was an ardent conservationist as
well as an evolutionary biologist. His career at UM spanned nearly five
decades, and he was one of the few biology faculty members elected to the
National Academy of Science. Herb passed away in January, 2000, and his
legacy to entomology is his collection of Lepidoptera. Few did not know
of Herb's passion for butterflies and moths. He authored a number of papers
on Lepidoptera, and was keenly interested in variations within species.
The specimens arrived in late June 2003, and are being inventoried, fumigated,
and readied for inclusion into our collections. A large collection of color
slides of Lepidoptera was also donated to us in 2000, and are being scanned
to be used in teaching, research, and web-based information.
We thank his widow, Florence S. Wagner (also a noted botanist),
for the gift of the specimens from the Wagner home to the UMMZ.
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Herb Wagner
Lepidoptera Collection comes to UMMZ
Just a few of the Satyridae. |
Totalling nearly 10,000 specimens, it is the largest donation
of Lepidoptera to come to the UMMZ Insect Division. It will take
some time before we have fully integrated the Wagner collection
into our holdings. Many species are represented by numerous sets
of specimens that Herb had an active interest in. These will prove
to be of great value to other researchers.
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Part of a large series of pierid butterflies (L) and some
nymphalid diversity (R).
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