Henry Walter Bates was an explorer born in England and is known for his incredible expeditions through uncharted regions in the Rainforests of the Amazon. Alongside his partner Alfred Russell Wallace the two would research areas that were otherwise not documented, researched, or explored. In his quest through the area, he would discover or at least identify over 14,000 species of insects, and among them around 8,000 were brand new to the scientific community, proving to be a major player in the world of scientific discovery and research.

With no formal education in the sciences, he would become literate through self teaching and would read a great deal of scientific books and writings before he would eventually become an apprentice for a hosier. Though he would spend time working he still had a love for science, and would eventually get notice from the world of science with the publication of a paper on beetles. He would spend his spare time collecting insect specimens, which would help catapult him later on in his life. After meeting Wallace, he would never look back at his old career, as he would be given a position teaching at a collegiate school.

It wasn’t until 1847 that the two would begin to come up with an idea to explore the Amazon Rainforest, and although they didn’t have a way to pay for the expedition, they would discuss it on a regular basis, eventually moving forward with the idea and bringing together funding through various sources. Like true entrepreneurs the two would get the “want” lists of several museums, animal collections, and collectors around London and beyond, and would then use that as a way to pay for their expenses in the Amazon. It proved to be an incredible thing as the two would explore the many regions of the Amazon without having to worry about the price tag involved, due in large part to their experiences as amateur bug collectors.

The two spent separate searches throughout Cameta on the Tocantins River, Obidos, Manaus, and Solimoes, collecting birds, insects, and much more. They would collectively meet in Tefe for nearly five years time. The two would try to fill in the gaps that were presented in “The Origin of the Species” by Charles Darwin, and in many ways they were able to progress the work and create all new outstanding findings as well.

It was his work with butterflies that seemed to separate him from his partner in many ways. He found a group known as Heliconiidae, separating them into several different groups and categories. The interesting findings of these butterflies were that they would eat poisonous plants. Each different group would have a caterpillar that ate poisonous plants, and that was fascinating for the time, and his research would continue through his published works and explorations of the area.

While he would eventually get sick and return to London, his work would triumph in comparison to Wallace’s as he would get 3 ships sent back home with his findings and it proved to be the main difference between the two explorers. With efficiency in mind, Henry Walter Bates is remembered as an epic explorer and scientist.

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