A Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, Harold Edward Hammond, (1902 – 1963), was a keen Lepidopterist. Coupled with this affinity for butterflies and moths he was also interested in entomology generally and would take up a new order every couple of seasons, afterwards giving the carefully mounted specimens to some young aspiring student of the subject. Before his health failed a few years before his death, it was not unusual to find Hammond out in the snow on Boxing Day, splitting logs with an axe to find beetle larvae. Generous, almost to a fault, he was content with gaining new knowledge and found reward in encouraging a new generation of enthusiasts.
Hammond’s main focus was on the larvae of Lepidoptera and, as can be seen by the associated article, he became an expert in their preservation. Raising many larvae into a suitable size for mounting could be somewhat problematic, so his Birmingham garden became a cross between a sanctuary and a fattening pen for many caterpillars. This miniature farm was orderly and well maintained, where trees were pruned to the size of bushes for easy access and micro habitats were constructed to help manage conditions for more demanding food plants.
The skills that Hammond developed in preserving caterpillars were much in demand by fellow entomologists, and he would sometimes receive dozens of boxes of live larvae a week, all dutifully delivered by a postman oblivious to their wriggling contents. His fee for this service was a request that he could have a larva or two for his own collection. During his preparations he encountered many parasitic hymenopteran and dipteran larvae, so he became quite the expert on those also, co-authoring several papers in the Entomologist’s Gazette.
There are numerous collections that have benefited from Harold Hammond’s generosity, including the collection at Warwickshire Museum, where I first saw examples of his work. I was made aware of the article on preserving caterpillars by Lukas Large, who was then volunteering with me during his training at Birmingham. Having seen the quality and quantity of Hammond’s work and the associated method I thought it would be a great idea to publicise this technique, as I think there are not many who have this same talent today.
By all accounts ‘Big Ted’ Hammond was loved and well thought of by all he encountered and his loss was felt by many. Although there are parts of his method that may be considered a little hazardous today, I feel sure that it has been adapted and it would be interesting to hear of any modern techniques that have been developed.
Many thanks to Val McAtear in the Royal Entomology Society’s library for sourcing the below obituary.
- Smith, K.V.G., (1964), Harold Edward Hammond, F.R.E.S., The Entomologist, Vol. 97, Plate II.
Written by Laura McCoy, Communities Group, Warwickshire County Council
NatSCA 