Firstly, i'd like to say that i didn't twig the Craig Charles avatar straight off. While not being overly thoughtful about it, at the back of my mind the question "why has Susie got a pic of Sherpa Tenzing as an avatar now?" has been repeating itself like cucumber.
I agree with much that has been said in this thread, about the hunter/gatherer, which is inclusive of both sexes. My interest is primarily a visual one. Always a visually driven person, whatever my hobbies, which have been quite numerous over the years. This means that the photography side is the most important for me. Like Gibster i too started on birds in my early teens, when i was a real loner, spending hours just sitting in trees and observing. I've always been interested in wildlife, and a supporter of conservation, but i tend to concentrate on single subjects.
With butterflies and me it is purely visual, with the end product being a trophy photo. I may take a passing interest in eggs, and larvae, to enable me to this end, but the adult stages are the main interest. I walk like a mouse in a cattery through the halls of academe, because therein i'm completely out of my comfort zone. No university education here, just the ability to recite my tables up to 12X. I have spent most of my life in the great outdoors of Dorset. So maybe i'm not your typical UKB contributor. I think that a love of nature might be the prominent trait in here.
Cheers,,, Zonda.