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A tribute to Sir Torben B. Larsen
Sir Torben B. Larsen, one of the finest lepidopterists of modern times, passed away in the month of May 2015 at his home in London. Below is recollection of memories from people who closely interacted with him. If you want to add something or have more photos of him, please mail to malabartreenymph@gmail.com I knew him for 20 years, since my younger days and was like a father to me. I continue to miss him everyday :-(. - Kishen Das
Photo by Jon Baker
5/27/15 Dear Fellows in (African) Butterfly Research Torben Larsen Very sadly we need to report that Torben passed away last week at home in London. This will be a shock for all of you especially as he recently seemed in much better health (his doctor was pleased with his pacemaker) and he was planning to visit his sister in Denmark later this month (and even come onto Africa in July). The plan is for a private cremation and a memorial service fairly soon which will likely be in Denmark. If you would like to put some personal thoughts together, these could be shared at the memorial, we (ABRI) would also be happy to consolidate a set of thoughts from an Lepidoptera perspective and put them together a set of tributes that will be published in the Lepidopterists Society Journal – Metamorphosis (an appropriate name right) in respect of Torben’s huge contributions to Africa/Middle East Lepidoptera. Nancy Fee’s email is (feen@unaids.org) if you wish to write personally. The editor of Metamorphosis is Dave Edge (Orachrysops@gmail.com) or at my email where we will also consolidate material/tributes. As many of you are aware Torben was working (quite an advanced stage) on a monograph of the African Hesperiidae which we will not let go and would hope to complete in due course (although this might take considerably longer than originally planned). Please share this with people whom have inadvertently been missed or whom would wish to know. Sad Regards, Steve Collins --------------
Photo by Jon Baker
Photo by Michael Libert
Torben in Tervuren (with, from left to right, Jacques Hecq, Ugo d’Allasta, Michel Libert and Robert Ducarme )
Very sad news - a great loss of a great man. It was an honour to know him. With kind regards and condolences to Nancy Julian Dr. Julian Bayliss (FRES FRGS) Biodiversity and Protected Areas Specialist - Technical Advisor Shire River Basin Management Programme Government of Malawi -------------- A sad day indeed and so sudden; he will certainly be missed, both as a scientist as well as a great character. I have met Torben a few times but more often by correspondence. My condolences go to Nancy and family. Thanks Steve for circulating this sad news. Alan Heath -------------- Very that indeed, and so unexpected: I exchanged mails with Torben exactly two weeks ago… As he often did, he asked questions about a few specimens in my collection (in that case, Abantis), and commented my answers; he was working hard, may be too hard, but nothing suggested a problem, let alone a serious one. We will miss him and he will be missed even more by the African entomology. Michael Libert -------------- Very sad news indeed. We have lost an icon of African Butterfly Research. My condolences to the family. Regards, Hermann Staude -------------- Dear Steve Thank you for relaying this sad news. Like Torben, I first learned about butterflies in Nigeria nearly 50 years ago, and although I did not know him then I have enjoyed our contact in recent years. He last wrote to me in March requesting Osmodes photos. He elevated the study of butterflies to a very high level and will be sorely missed. Sincerely Nicholas E. Baker -------------- Bien triste nouvelle que le décès de notre ami Torben! Nous avons encore eu un échange de mails ce 11 mai et il avait plein de projets. Nous sommes convaincus qu'il restera à jamais un des plus grands noms de la lépidoptérie africaine. Nous présentons nos sincères condoléances à toute sa famille Robert et Ginette Ducarme --------------
Photo by Zdenek Faltynek Fric
Photo by Teresa Di Micco de Santo
Torben @ African Butterfly Research Institute
Dear all, I just opened my laptop after two days and I see this sad information... All the best to everybody, Zdenek Faltynek Fric -------------- Dear all, This was surely unexpected sad news. We met Torben 20 years ago in Kenya at the international conference, when Andre was only 10. Through the years we have met and talked with him several times, last time in Ghana. E-mail communication was on-going as late as a few weeks ago. Definitely a great loss to all enthusiasts and the scientific community and he will be well remembered. Our condolences to his family and friends. Bennie Coetzer -------------- Dear all, I think I speak for many more when I say I would probably never have ventured into the study of African butterflies were it not for Torben. When travelling to Nigeria for an exchange course in conservation biology back in 2005 I tried to get hold of a good book on the butterflies of the region to be able to do basic monitoring for comparative studies of savannah habitats on the Jos Plateau. Having heard that someone called Torben Larsen was working on the now classic book ‘Butterflies of West Africa’ I contacted him to see if it by any chance would be available to buy before my first ever trip to Africa. His reply was stunning: ‘Unfortunately the book is not yet published, but if you want to I am more than happy to send you the complete manuscript as a Word-document. Hopefully you will be able to use it, and of course tell me if I missed anything!’ Together with some older books with pictures helping me find the correct group to start dig into Torben’s text the book helped me identify everything I came across and his rather anecdotal and personal way of writing was refreshing, especially for someone then new to the field of taxonomy. To this day it is rarely a week passing without me grabbing for my own well read and travelled copy to look some new information up. My initial visit to Nigeria was the first of many visits to study butterflies across Africa, and I have now been working on pheromonal ecology and taxonomy of Bicyclus butterflies for well over seven years. Nothing of this would ever have happened without Torben! I will miss our written correspondence and regular phone-calls. I will never forget his generosity in helping and guiding anyone that was interested in anything about butterflies. Torben, I will miss you my friend, but you will always be remembered! Oskar Brattström -------------- Before he became a student of African butterflies, Torben Larsen was a student of Arabian butterflies, about which he literally "wrote the book" -- several books, in fact, and two scholarly monographs. These have remained the principal Arabian resources -- apart from Torben himself, who continued to keep an eye on studies and reports from Arabia, and to offer his friendly critiques, guidance and (always) encouragement. His death seems all the more untimely because, as others have observed, in recent correspondence he was full of enthusiasm for his on-going (and ramifying) projects. Torben's photo on the book jacket of Butterflies of Saudi Arabia and its Neighbours (1984) captures his signature combination of diligence and irreverence; that is the way I will always think of him. We will have memorials in a couple of naturalist publications here in the United Arab Emirates; I will try to prepare something for incorporation in Metamorphosis as well. Gary R. Feulner -------------- Dear Friends, I first met Torben & Kiki over 30 years ago in their house in London; two beautiful young Danish couple. We were talking late in the night about Lebanese & Israeli butterflies having the same ethology on both sides of the border. Our friendship and correspondence continued through and up to the tragic ends.. In late May 2008 I hosted Torben in my house during the First International Congress on the Middle Eastern Butterflies where his presentation was : Tropical butterflies of the Levant, Torben Larsen (United Kingdom). Later he participated in our field trip to the Jordanian – Saudi Arabian border where he insisted to climb to the Gebel Um-Adami biotope of Pseudophilotes jordanicus. I was worried about his health as he was already after an open heart surgery, I was urging him to avoid climbing but …in vain, Torben was determined to be one of very few lepidopterists to see this rare blue flying on top of the mountain - summary of this adventurous trip was published in one of his "Hazards" – a personal one. Torben my friend, I already miss you. Dubi Benyamini -------------- Torben. He got about a bit, didn’t he? He even found me in my remote fastness high in the Udzungwa Mountains in southern Tanzania. We destroyed a bottle of whisky together one evening in November ‘92. Will miss his lugubrious expression, which concealed his puckish sense of fun – and of course his immense knowledge and experience. Colin Congdon -------------- Torben Larsen Thanks for your outstanding responses to the earlier mail. This man clearly touched many of our lives. Please keep the tributes recollections coming in and we would love pictures that you might have of him or with him, if you are willing to share! The memorial service planned for Denmark will not now happen, this is a departure from the normal local tradition so the plan now is to have a memorial before the next Lepidoptera conference in South Africa on 7th August 2015, and there will be a tribute to Torben from Blanca Huertas of NHM at the next European Congress in September 2015. Several journals from different parts of the world have indicated that they will run articles on Torben. Will keep you posted. Sincerely, Steve Collins (ABRI) --------------