Antonio Berlese (26 June 1863, in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

– 24 October 1927, in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

) was an Italian

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as ara ...

Career

Berlese worked on pest insects notably of fruit trees. He published over 300 articles and a book ''Gli insetti loro organizzazione, sviluppo, abitudini e rapporti con l’uomo'' (in two volumes, 1909 and 1925); also a series entitled ''Acari, Myriapoda et Scorpiones hucusque in Italie reperta'' which appeared in 101 numbers between 1882 et 1903 and which contained over 1,000 figures by Berlese himself. He was a specialist in Hemiptera

Coccoidea Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the ...

. With his brother, Augusto Napoleone Berlese (1864–1903), a plant and mushroom disease specialist, he founded the ''Revista di Patologia vegetale'' in 1892. In 1899, he became Director of the

Istituto Sperimentale per la Zoologia Agraria The Istituto Sperimentale per la Zoologia Agraria (Centre for Experimental Agricultural Zoology), located in Florence, Italy, is the oldest phytopathology centre in the world. Although the Istituto Sperimentale per la Zoologia Agraria, which is a ...

. In 1903 he founded the review ''Redia,'' which he edited until his death. This publication promoted zoological studies in agriculture, forestry, and in urban contexts, with an emphasis on

entomology Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as ara ...

acarology Acarology (from Ancient Greek /, , a type of mite; and , ) is the study of mites and ticks, the animals in the order Acarina. It is a subfield of arachnology, a subdiscipline of the field of zoology. A zoologist specializing in acarology is call ...

and

nematology Nematology is the scientific discipline concerned with the study of nematodes, or roundworms. Although nematological investigation dates back to the days of Aristotle or even earlier, nematology as an independent discipline has its recognizable ...

. The aim was to increase taxonomic knowledge of groups with pest species.

Berlese Funnel

In 1905, Berlese described an apparatus used to extract small creatures from soil for examination. The funnel device has been adapted in numerous ways, but varieties of funnel are still used today.

Legacy

There are roads named after Berlese in Padua, Milan, Bergamo, Treviso and Monte Migliore-la Selvotta.

Works

Partial publication list for 1896 giving an idea of his output. *Le cocciniglie Italiane viventi sugli agrumi. Parte II. I. Lecanium. ''Riv. Patol. Veget''. 3: 49–100(1896). * with Leonardi, G. Diagnosi di cocciniglie nuove. ''Riv. Patol. Veget''. 4: 345–352 (1896). * with Leonardi, G. Diagnosi di cocciniglie nuove. ''Riv. Patol. Veget.'' 4: 1–352 (1896). * with Leonardi, G. ''Le cocciniglie Italiane viventi sugli argumi''. Parte III. I Diaspiti. ap. I. Note di sistematica e descrizione delle specie.''Riv. Patol. Veget.'' 4: 74–170 (1896). *with Leonardi, G. Diagnosi di cocciniglie nuove. ''Riv. Patol. Veget.'' 4: 345–352 (1896).

References

* Conci, C. 1975: Repertorio delle biografie e bibliografie degli scrittori e cultori italiani di entomologia. ''Mem. Soc. Ent. Ital.'' 48 1969(4) 817–1069. *Conci, C. & Poggi, R. 1996: Iconography of Italian Entomologists, with essential biographical data. ''Mem. Soc. Ent. Ital.'' 75 159–382, Portrait. {{DEFAULTSORT:Berlese, Antonio Italian entomologists 1863 births 1927 deaths Scientists from Padua