Saturday, September 11, 2010

Mr. W.A. Cope: Best authority on iris? (1954)

When referring to the egg laying numbers of iris females, on page 40 of “Notes and Views” Hyde refers to a Mr. W.A. Cope as being “one of our best authorities on this species”. As stated on page 104 of “Notes and Views” the original reference to this quote being present on page 99 (although in truth the quote is actually on pages 98 and 99) of Vol.66 of “The Entomologist’s Record” (1954). Below is a URL link to an online copy:


http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30077804#151


I write to enquire if anybody has any further information about the works of this illusive Mr. W.A. Cope, as internet searches unfortunately fail to yield any details regarding his work in relation to iris, which would deem him worthy of this title?


Any/all leads that can provide further information on this matter would be very much appreciated.


Kindest regards,



Mark

2 comments:

Derek Longhurst said...

Can't help you with Cope, but what a fascinating journal!

Matthew Oates said...

I tried to retrieve something on Cope years ago, and got nowhere. I remember asking Bob Watson, but even he didn't know of him. Perhaps he was one of the many loners attracted to iris?