Catching moths fascinated Denis de Lucca when, as a child, he joined his father on his night-time excursions to study small insects.

The late Carmel de Lucca, who had a passion for entomology, would catalogue the specimens he collected in a special cabinet that now contains hundreds of moths and was last week donated to the Natural History Museum in Mdina.

"The collection has a very high research value. My father's work shed light on the species of moths in Malta for the first time," explained Prof. de Lucca, who said the collection had a sentimental value for his family.

"The cabinet is a treasured memory. However, it needs a lot of care. After consulting my mother, we decided to donate it to the museum where we know it will be looked after... None of us in the family followed my father's passion for entomology," said Prof. de Lucca, an architect.

He explained that his father was a doctor based in Għargħur and had a passion for natural history. In fact, he was the former curator of the Natural History Museum, which he helped set up.

By donating the moth collection, Prof. de Lucca was following in the footsteps of his father who, many years back, had donated his own father's stuffed bird collection to the same museum.

In similar spirit, environmentalist Guido Lanfranco also donated some of his possessions to the museum. These included 500 samples of minerals and rocks, original paintings which he used in his books, several antique books dating as far back as the 1800s, his personal plant drawings and his notes and observations dating back to the 1950s.

Mr Lanfranco, a founding member of Nature Trust, confessed it was not easy for him to part with these treasures.

"I will be turning 80 soon. These objects are a part of my life but, by donating them to the museum, my mind is at rest that they will be in good hands," he said.

Both Mr Lanfranco and Prof. de Lucca had already donated other collections, books and specimens in the past.

These included a variety of insect specimens, including grasshoppers, butterflies and beetles found in Malta.

Museum curator John Borg welcomed the donations. He explained that Mr Lanfranco's library contributions were important in terms of Melitensia and Prof. de Lucca's moth collection was very valuable since it contained type specimens, the actual moths that were described in literature.