Name: Butterfly Heist: 3,000 Rare Specimens Stolen & Painted Over
Uploaded: 2025-09-22T19:22:13+00:00
Duration: 31 s
Description: In the 1940s, Colin Wyatt — a British ski champion and painter — pulled off one of the strangest museum crimes in history. He stole nearly 3,000 rare Australian butterflies from museums in Melbourne,

29 days ago

Health & Science butterfly heist Colin Wyatt story rare butterfly theft Australian butterfly museum butterfly crime history painted butterfly wings Melbourne Museum theft Sydney museum heist Adelaide museum theft butterfly mystery

In the 1940s, Colin Wyatt — a British ski champion and painter — pulled off one of the strangest museum crimes in history. He stole nearly 3,000 rare Australian butterflies from museums in Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide.

But the theft wasn’t the end of the chaos. Wyatt painted over their wings, erased labels, and left behind a taxonomic nightmare that scientists are still struggling to fix almost 80 years later.

In this video, we uncover:

How Wyatt smuggled thousands of butterflies in tin containers

Why he painted their wings to mimic other species

The lasting damage this act caused to science and museums worldwide

The rediscovery of mislabeled butterflies decades later

A story of obsession, deception, and the fragile beauty of nature.

Loading comments...