Bernard Francis Skinner (1939 – 7 February 2017) was an English

lepidopterist Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the two superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post-Renaissance, the r ...

known for the Skinner moth trap and ''

The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles ''The Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles (Macrolepidoptera)'' by Bernard Skinner is a single volume identification guide to the macromoths of Britain and Ireland. The first edition was published in 1984, and a second, revi ...

''. The book made it easier to identify moths and the portable light trap made it easier to catch moths, thus encouraging the recording of moths as a hobby.

Personal life

Early life

Bernard F Skinner was born in Croydon in the September quarter of 1939; his parents were Cecil Frank Skinner, a laundry van salesman and heavy labourer, and Ellen M. Honeybul. Following the death of his mother, when he was three years old, Bernard was brought up by two aunts in

West Norwood West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east, ...

, London. His father, who preferred to be known as Frank, lived nearby. His first school was St Joseph's College, Upper Norwood, and with a friend Terry Dillon, they visited nearby bombsites to find butterflies. Later they cycled to

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

and Mitcham Commons and to

Selsdon Selsdon is a village in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was in the historic county of Surrey. It now has the character of a suburb and sits at a high e ...

Bird Sanctuary. A life-long interest in moths started with the publication of R.L.E. Ford's ''The Observer's Book of the Larger British Moths''.

Family

Bernard married Jacqueline Wood (known as Jackie) at

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge, Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its population was 24,029 in 2011, and was estimated at 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in ...

in March 1967.

Skinner trap

Terry Dillon and Bernard designed a wooden portable light-trap, built by a local carpenter, with Bernard dealing with the electrics. The trap later became known as the Skinner trap.

Publications

The ''Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles'' revolutionised moth recording in Britain. In collaboration with David Wilson, who took the photographs for the 42 colour plates, the book provided up to date species accounts for each macro-moth found in Britain and Ireland in the last one hundred years. Before Skinner's guide was published, moth collectors had to rely on Richard South's

Moths of the British Isles Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

, which could be used for the less obvious moths only with great difficulty and expenditure of time (and preferably a reference collection). The layout of Skinner's book made it easier to identify moths, and was largely responsible for the increase in moth recording. It was first published in 1984, with revised editions in 1998 and 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Bernard 2017 deaths Entomological writers English lepidopterists People from Upper Norwood