R.C. (Tim) Dening spent
much of his life working in Zambia, collecting and studying local butterflies as a
passionate scientific hobby. He dedicated many years to working on the compilation of a
checklist of Zambian butterflies, particularly during his retirement. He deposited an
unpublished checklist with the British Museum (Natural History) Library in 1979. In later
years, he collaborated with Alan Heath, Michael Newport and David Hancock in the
production of a checklist to be published as a book. He
withdrew from the book project in 2000 and it was eventually published in 2002, sadly,
without his name among the list of authors. (Heath, A.; Newport, M.A. and Hancock, D.
2002. The
Butterflies of Zambia. A.B.R.I. and The Lepidopterists Society of Africa. 137pp and
CD-Rom)
Tim's introduction, originally intended for the book, is reproduced
in the following pages. It has been edited to bring it up to date in light of the changed
circumstances, although there have been no changes to the actual information presented. |