Eleanor Glanville The butterfly collector

Today, insects are seen as a vital part of our ecosystem, but in the late 17th century, they were often overlooked by science. PATRICIA FARA tells the story of a groundbreaking lepidopterist whose research provided solace from a turbulent personal life

- PATRICIA FARA

Eleanor Glanville was in her early thirties when she made a terrible mistake. A wealthy widow, in 1685 she married a second husband who was more interested in her fortune than in marital bliss. He became increasingly violent, kidnapped their own son and turned her family against her. After she died, a judge rejected her will on the grounds that she was “not in sound mind”. The evidence offered for her supposed insanity was that she collected butterflies: apparently it was obvious that “none but those who were deprived of their senses, would go in Pursuit of Butterflies”.

Over three centuries later, Glanville remains the only British naturalist to have bequeathed their name to a native butterfly species, the Glanville fritillary. The science of entomology had not yet been established, but she was an early pioneer who helped to make the study of insects a rigorous academic discipline – one that is now recognised as being crucial for environmental protection. Long before the label ‘Anthropocene’ was coined to summarise the deleterious impact of human behaviour, Glanville was carefully documenting the prevalence of butterfly populations and aiming to ensure their longevity.