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What started out as a childhood hobby of Millersville University alum Dennis Remley ’71, of Lancaster, Pa., will now serve as a learning tool for faculty and students thanks to a recent donation to Millersville’s Entomological Museum. A collection of approximately 300-400 butterflies, most dating back more than 100 years, is partially on display in the basement of Caputo Hall.
“The collection will also be used extensively in classes such as ecology and evolution and entomology, for possible student research projects, as well as to augment the entomological museum holdings,” said Dr. John Wallace, biology, who, along with senior biology major Andrew Watson, picked up and delivered the collection to the University.
As preparations began to sell Remley’s childhood home, where the collection had been stored for decades, he wanted to donate it to the University so entomology students at Millersville could enjoy the butterflies as much as he did growing up, explained Wallace.
“By donating these [butterflies] to a teaching/research university like Millersville, our students will have an opportunity to learn about rare taxa they may never see in the wild, learn about their conservation, the use in museums and in education,” said Wallace.
The butterflies are in pristine condition; many are rare, uncommon and come from tropical regions of the world including Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras and Mexico.
“The hands-on learning experience, such as observing the iridescence in the scales, having the ability to measure legs and wings, doing comparisons and photographing them, will provide a three-dimensional learning opportunity beyond what a textbook can teach. While books are good in their own right, nothing beats having the actual organism in front of you,” added Wallace.
“On behalf of Millersville University, I want to publicly thank Remley for this spectacular donation,” said Wallace. “It is a great addition to the University that will be on display for all to enjoy and we will also be using it as a learning tool in the classroom.”
