Gregg Moth Collection

Dr. Robert V. Gregg (1928-1997) was a Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Louisville, KY. He was Professor and Chairman, Department of Anatomy, School of Dentistry, University of Southern California until 1970. He was Professor of Anatomy and Dental Coordinator for Anatomical Sciences, University of Louisville, 1970-1991. He and his wife, Katherine, retired to Arizona in 1996.

Dr. Gregg began collecting butterflies in 1960. The collection grew to 40,000 specimens from 18 countries. He said his interest was “somewhere between a hobby and an obsession.” Along the way he kept interesting moths, bugs and beetles that were caught in the net.

His pursuit of butterflies and moths began in the early 1960s in Los Angeles. His family enjoyed trips to the desert to collect rocks and minerals, but he gradually realized the weight advantage of carrying butterflies and moths home instead of geodes.

He traveled to jungles and rain forests all over the world, often accompanied by his children. He told stories of the brilliant blue flash of a Morpho in Brazil, gas lanterns on the path at Explorama Lodge in Peru, Masai warriors guarding the tents in Kenya, and explaining a butterfly net to the islanders on Grenada and Nassau.

As an educator, Dr. Gregg would have been pleased that these moths will be used and available for both research and general interest.