Primarily a Lepidopterist. Lived at Newquay where his entomological collection formed a major part of the Newquay Butterfly Museum. When this was closed it was acquired by a Sports and Country Club in North Devon and it remained there until being sold at auction (Torridge Auctions) on 6 June 1996. The Catalogue mentions that apart from the butterflies there were also five cases of other insects including two of beetles. These were not arranged taxonomically but as decorative displays. (I am grateful to Eric Gowing-Scopes for bringing this catalogue to my attention). (MD 9/04)

Born in Penzance and educated at the Grammar School there. Entered St Bartholomew’s Hospital and after gaining his MRCS in 1835 was appointed a surgeon in the Navy serving in the Australian, West Indian and Mediterranean regions. In 1843 he married Miss Glasson of Falmouth and retired from the Navy settling at St. Austell where he had a property producing China clay. Following the death of his wife in 1851 he moved to London and devoted himself to entomology in particular. After becoming ill at the end of his life he moved firstly to Tunbridge Wells and then to Brighton where he died.

A Major (joined the 17th Lancers in 1831 and retired in 1835) who worked on Lucanidae in particular. His first published paper ‘Description of a new genus of Lucanidae from New Zealand’ appeared in Trans.ESL, 12, 1843, p.362. Two years later he published ‘A decade or description of ten new species from the Kasya Hills near the boundary of the Assam district’ (ibid., 4, 1845, pp.84-87) and this was followed by 17 further papers the last being ‘Description of a new species of Chiasognathus’ (EMM., 12, 1876, p.174).

A doctor who was an active member of the Natural History Society of Northumberland and at one time their recorder for birds and Lepidoptera. He was the author of The Naturalist in Majorca (1973). Donated various insects including beetles to the Hancock Museum in 1962, 1969, 1975. (Davis and Brewer (1986), p.113). (MD 9/04)

Smith (1986), p.140 records that ‘Insects mainly Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Orthoptera, also Arachnida and Acari from Baviuaan Krantz, Orange River Colony’ are in the HDO. (MD 9/04)

Beetles collected by Park are in the collection of West African Coleoptera purchased by Glasgow Museum in 1906 for £2-10s (1906-118). He lived at Bathgate. (MD 9/04)

There are specimens bearing this name in the collection of N.Herts Museum. (I am grateful to Trevor James for this information). (MD 9/04)

Born near Norwich. His father was Head Gardener to the Dean of Hereford and later to Lord Hastings and Parfitt began in this profession before becoming a sailor. After being shipwrecked at Cape Town, where he spent his time collecting plants and insects, he returned to England as a gardener in Devonshire before being appointed Curator of Taunton Museum in 1850. In 1861 he became Librarian to the Devon and Exeter Institution at Exeter where he remained until his death. During his time at the Institution Parfitt devoted himself to making large local collections of natural history material.

General entomologist but there are a considerable number of beetles collected by him in the Bedfordshire Natural History Society’s collection. Copies of the MS associated with this are in the North Hertfordshire Museum which also has some of his beetles. There is an obituary of Palmer in Countryside, 1975 (information from Trevor James). (MD 9/04)