He produced an old photograph album which had several old monochrome prints from our schooldays. I reproduce some here ~ they are digital images of film prints of film prints at least twice over of the original creased print ~ hence the gradual loss of definition ~ but, they serve their purpose well still.
Here's a group of us on the way up Horsepools Hill on our way to a picnic on Edge Common high on the Cotswolds ~ then an excellent grassland for butterflies although sadly much overgrown now ~ note extensive use of pedal power up those hills ~ none of your namby-pamby non~green cars mullarkey like the wiser youngsters of today ......
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![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/MGJohn/Old%20Black%20and%20White%20Prints/1950sSchoolboymeandFriends005.jpg)
Here is the 'ace' butterfly hunter ( me ...
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![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/MGJohn/Old%20Black%20and%20White%20Prints/1950sSchoolboymeandFriends002.jpg)
We saw a male Purple Emperor in that wood once back then. Despite frequent searches since, I have never seen a wild Purple Emperor in that fine woodland or anywhere else in my favourite county ~ Gloucestershire ~ for that matter much to my chagrin and boy oh boy have I looked. I have found it in ten counties in southern and central England including several which adjoin Gloucestershire ...
Additionally I have bred literally 100s of PEs since then including over a dozen species of its relatives in the fabulous Apaturinae from other world regions. That family along with the even more fabulous Agrias and Prepona species are far and away my favourite butterflies. I have several old prints of captive paired Apaturinae and Prepona ( Bred on the leaves of Avocaddo (sp?) plants grown from the large seeds obtained from supermarket fruit .... The plants were so fine my good lady wanted to keep them as ornamental house plants but, my precious Prepona larvae came first .... ) so I have numerous life history pictures which I treasure.
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