Alexey Nikolaievich Diakonoff (1 March 1907 – 20 September 1989), also transliterated as Alexej Nikolajewitsch Diakonoff, was a Russian–Dutch

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

who specialised in

Microlepidoptera Microlepidoptera (micromoths) is an artificial (i.e., unranked and not monophyletic) grouping of moth families, commonly known as the "smaller moths" ( micro, Lepidoptera). These generally have wingspans of under 20 mm, so are harder to iden ...

. His parents immigrated to the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

where, from 1923, he had his elementary education. Diakonoff then studied biology at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

. A thesis on Indo-Malayan

Tortricidae The Tortricidae are a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths or leafroller moths, in the order Lepidoptera. This large family has over 11,000 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea, although the genu ...

completed, he returned to

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

in 1939 to take up a post as an entomologist at a sugar plantations and industries research station. In 1941, he was offered a position at the

Bogor Zoology Museum Bogor Zoology Museum (Indonesian, ''Museum Zoologi Bogor'' or ''Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense'', often abbreviated to ''MZB'') is a museum located next to the main entrance of the Bogor Botanical Gardens in the city of Bogor, Indonesia. The museum ...

Bogor Botanical Gardens The Bogor Botanical Gardens () is a botanical garden located in Bogor, Indonesia, 60 km south of central Jakarta. It is currently operated by the National Research and Innovation Agency. The garden is located in the city center and adjoin the ...

but the Japanese invasion intervened. In 1945 he returned to the Netherlands and studied at Leiden Museum, working in the Lepidoptera collection. He returned to Bogor as the Dutch tried to regain Java. This failed and in 1951 Diakonoff left Java for the last time. He became

Curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of Lepidoptera at the

Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie The Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (National Museum of Natural History) was a museum on the Rapenburg in Leiden, the Netherlands. It was founded in 1820 by Royal Decree from a merger of several existing collections including Temminck's own ...

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

. He was an active member of the Netherlands Entomological Society and a long-time editor of ''Tijdschrift voor Entomologie''. His scientific work in the Leiden museum continued until his death and his collection is conserved in

Naturalis Naturalis Biodiversity Center () is a national museum of natural history and a research center on biodiversity in Leiden, Netherlands. It was named the European Museum of the Year 2021. Although its current name and organization are relatively ...

Works

Partial list as Diakonoff, A.N. *1937 – De risjmot, ''Corcyra cephalonica'' St. (Lep., Galleriidae) een in Nederlandsch-Indie en in Nederland nog weinig bekende vijand van tropische en andere producten. - ''Berichten van de Afdeeling Handlesmuseum von de Kon.Vereeninging Kolonial Institut'', Amsterdam No. 112, 22p.
*1939 – On some Indian Tortricidae (Lepidoptera). Records of the Indian Museum. Vol.41 (03): 231-233.
*1947 – Notes on Tortricidae from the Malay Archipelago with description of a new species (Lep.). Tijdschr. Ent. 88: 340-344, *1948 – Fauna Buruana. Microlepidoptera II - Treubia 19: 197-249. Figs. *1948 – Microlepidoptera from Madagascar. Mém. Inst. sci. Madag. (A) 1: 22-30, figs. 1-8 *1950a. A revision of the family Ceracidae (Lepidoptera Tortricoidea). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Entomology 1: 173–219. Available online. DOI: 10.5962/bhl.part.27229 *1950b �
The Type Specimens of certain Oriental Eucosmidae and Carposinidae (Microlepidoptera). - Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist. (Ent.): 273-300.
*1951 – Entomological results from the Swedish Expedition 1934 to Burma and British India. Lepidoptera, Collected by René Malaise, Microlepidoptera I. With 1 map and 35 figures in the text. - Arkiv för Zoologi Band 3 nr. 6, Almqvist & Wiksell Boktryckeri, Uppsala. 59 - 94 pp. *1954 �
Records and Descriptions of Microlepidoptera (7). Zool.Verhandlingen 22:1-58.
*1955 �
Microlepidoptera of New Guinea. Results of the third Archbold Expedition (American- Netherlands Indian Expedition 1938-1939). Part V. ''Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afdeling Natuurkunde'' (2) 50(3):1–210.
*1955 – Microlepidoptera of New Guinea. Part 5. - Veh.Kon.Ned.Adad.Wet., Nat.ser.2, 50(3):1-211, figs.720-861. *1957a – Tortricidae from Reunion (Microlepidoptera).- ''Mém.ins.scient.Madagascar'', (E) 8: 237-283 *1957b – Remarks on ''Cryptophlebia'' Walsingham and related genera (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae, Olethreutinae).- ''Tijdschr.Ent.'',100: 129-146. *1958a – Zeller's types of African Tortricidae and Glyphipterygidae in the Stockholm Museum. — Entomologisk Tidskrift 78 (1957)(): 69–80. *1958b – Notes on Saalmüller's types of Malagassy Microlepidoptera.- ''Senckenberg.biol''.,39:89-90. *1959a. Revision of Cryptaspasma Walsingham, 1900 (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae). — Zoölogische Verhandelingen, Leiden 43(): 1–60, pls. 1–13. *1959b – Mabille's types of Malagassy Tortricidae (Lepidoptera).- ''Revue fr.Ent.'',26:167-186. *1959c – Meyricks's types of tortricidae from Madagascar in the Vienna Museum.- ''Ann.naturh.Mus.Wien'', 63: 409-413 *1960 – Tortricidae from Madagascar. Part I Tortricinae and Chlidanotinae. ''Verhandligen koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetetenshappen. Afd., Natuurkunde'', 53(1), 209 pp, 40 pls. *1961 – Tortricidae from Madagascar in the Berlin Museum. D. ent. Z., new ser. 8: 152-155, figs. 1-2 *1963c – Tortricidae (Lepid.) collected in Madagascar by Dr. Fred Keiser. Verh. naturf. Ges. Basel 74: 133-144, figs. 1-5, t. 1-3 *1963d �
African species of the genus Bactra Stephens (Lep., Tortricidae). ''Tijdschr. ent.'' 106: 285-357, figs. 1-73
*1967 – ''Microlepidoptera of the Philippines'' Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press *1968a – Descriptions of three new genera of Olethreutinae (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae). — ''Beaufortia'' 15(): 69–77. *1968c. Microlepidoptera of the Philippine Islands. - Bulletin of the United States National Museum 257:1–484. *1969 – Tortricidae from Seychelles and Aldabra (Lepidoptera). ''Tijdschrift voor Entomologie''112(3): 81-100, pls 1-13. *1970a – Lepidoptera Tortricoidea from Tsaratanana Range, ''Mém.Orstom'' No. 37: 103-150 *1970b – A new Tortricid from the Seychelles Islands. — Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (N.S.) 6(): 995–998 *1974 – Exotic Tortricoidea, with descriptions of new species (Lepidoptera). - Annales de la Société Entomologique de France , series=New Series 10(1):219–227 *1976 – Tortricoidea from Nepal, 2. — Zoölogische Verhandelingen, Leiden 144(): 1–145, 14 plates. *1976 – Aantekeningen over de Nederlandse Microlepidoptera 3 (Glyphipterigidae). Entomologische Berichten, 36: 82-84. *1977 – Tortricidae and Choreutidae from Reunion (Lepidoptera) - ''Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr.'' (N.S.) 13 (1): 101-116 *1978 – Descriptions of new Genera and species of the so-called Glyphipterygidae Sensu Meyrick, 1913 (Lepidoptera) Zool. Verh. Leiden 160 (1) : 1-63. *1978 – Revival of an old species with two new synonyms and description of two new species of Palaearctic Choreutidae (Lepidoptera). - Zool.Med., 53:199-2017. figs.1-9. *1981 – Tortricidae from Madagascar, Part2. Olethreutinae, 1.- ''Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr.''(N.S.)17(1): 7-32 *1983b – Tortricidae from Madagascar Part 2. Olethreutinae, 2 (Lepidoptera). — ''Annales de la Société Entomologique de France'' (N.S.) 19(): 291–310 *1983d – A new species of Stathmopoda Herrich-Schäffer from the Seychelles Islands (Lepdioptera: Stathmopodidae). - ''Entomologische Berichten'', Amsterdam 43(8):117–118. *1986 – Two new Grapholitini from Malta and Madeira (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae). — Nota Lepidopterologica 9 (3-4): 170-174. *1986 – Microlepidoptera Palaearctica: Glyphiterigidae auct. sensu lato Microlep. Palaearctica 7. *1987. Descriptions and a record of Tortricidae: Grapholitini (Lepidoptera) from Madagascar. - ''Tinea'' 12(Suppl.):118–144. *1988a- Tortricidae from Madagascar, Part2. Olethreutinae, 3 (Lepidoptera).- ''Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr.''(N.S.)24(2): 161-180 *1988b- Tortricidae from Madagascar, Part2. Olethreutinae, 4 (Lepidoptera).- ''Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr.'' (N.S.)24(3): 307-330 *1989a- Tortricidae from Madagascar, Part2. Olethreutinae, 5 (Lepidoptera).- ''Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. ''(N.S.)25(1): 41-69 *1989b- Tortricidae from Madagascar, Part2. Olethreutinae, 6 (Lepidoptera).-Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr.(N.S.)25(4): 431-460 *1989 – Revision of the Palaearctic Carposinidae with description of a new genus and new species (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea). ''Zoölogische Verhandelingen''. 251: 1–155. *1992 – Tortricidae from Madagascar, Part2. Olethreutinae, 7 (Lepidoptera).- ''Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr.'' (N.S.)28(1): 37-71 *c. 250 scientific papers describing very many hundreds of species and genera of Microlepidoptera, in particular from the Indonesian archipelago.

References

External links

EOL
''

Encyclopedia of Life The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a free, online encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1.9 million living species known to science. It aggregates content to form "pages" for every known species. Content is compiled from existing trusted ...

'' Taxa described by Diakanoff .Complete. Images
Digital Repository Naturalis
38 papers by Diakanoff . Free as downloadable pdf
Landesmuseum.at: Diakonoff,1958, Meyricks's types of tortricidae from Madagascar in the Vienna Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diakonoff, Alexey Dutch entomologists Russian lepidopterists 1989 deaths 1907 births 20th-century Dutch zoologists Scientists from Saint Petersburg University of Amsterdam alumni Emigrants from the Russian Empire Immigrants to the Dutch East Indies

Works

See also

References

External links