I did not know this person or her husband…

Roughly 20 years ago I was visiting a state park in the Lower Rio Grande Valley area of TX. I don't remember which park it was, but I stopped at a butterfly garden and noticed a man and a woman with butterfly nets. I started talking to them and told them I was a collector also. I asked about the park's policy regarding collecting. They told me they had permits but that I needed one in order to collect. They were very nice people, were staying in a trailer in the park, and were visiting from Kansas. I don't remember their names, but I think it may have been the Prestons. I heard later on that a park ranger had confronted them, treated them very rudely and basically kicked them out of the park, despite the fact that they had collecting permits. It's a shame that such nice, friendly, law-abiding lepidopterists were treated that way, especially after driving all the way from Kansas. Don't bother to collect down there, even if you have a permit. The NABA police will be watching you, and they hate collectors.

Way back in the day, maybe the mid-late 1970's, the Prestons attended a meeting of the Southern Lepidopterists' Society held at my home in Kingsport, TN. They camped in their van in my driveway, and were a delight to get to know. I saw them a number of times afterwards at Lep Soc and SLS meetings, and maybe once at a KY Leps meeting. We even did a few specimen trades. They were wonderful people to know. I highly recommend joining some of the Lep groups -- meeting people like the Prestons is part of the joy of belonging!

jh