Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0005423, Mon, 31 Jul 2000 11:01:18 -0700

Subject
Fw: Russia to save Karner Blue?
Date
Body
EDITOR's NOTE. Lupine trivia. The name derives from the Latin word for
"wolf" based on the ancient (but specious) speculation that the plants
devoured the nutrients in the soil. Circa 200 species world-wide--some of
which are toxic.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Boyd" <b.boyd@auckland.ac.nz>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2000 9:34 PM
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (14
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> In addition to Don Johnson's justified comment that the Russian proposal
to
> save "VN"'s Karner Blue by establishing it among the abundant lupines of
> Russia overlooks the variety of lupine species and the specificity of
> butterfly feeding habits, and Kurt Johnson's warning about the
unlikelihood
> that the exportation of the Karner Blue would be allowed by the US
> authorities, VN himself would not have favored saving one fauna at the
> possible expense of another. In his Butterflies of Europe he notes
_Lycaena
> dispar_ Haworth's regrettable disappearance from the Norfolk and Suffolk
fens,
> and adds: "The artificial establishment of the Dutch race at Wicken in
1929-30
> since when it has unfortunately thrived is to be deplored" (_Nabokov's
> Butterflies_, 605).
>
> Brian Boyd
>