Arnold Förster (20 January 1810 – 13 August 1884) was a German

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 worked mainly on

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

and

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...

Life

Arnold Förster was born on 20 January 1810 in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

, Germany, where he died on 12 August 1884. He was Oberlehrer, or an upper teacher, in Aachen for his entire adult life. He worked ceaselessly on entomology, paying particular attention to Coleoptera and Hymenoptera. He was a pioneering author on Hymenoptera.

Work

Selection *''Hymenopterologische Studien'' I . ''Formicariae'': 74 pp. Aachen. (1850) *''Hymenopterologische Studien''. II . Chalcidiae und Prototrupii. Aachen: Ernst ter Meer 152 pp.(1856) *Synopsis der Familien und Gattungen der Braconen ''Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereins der Preussischen Rheinlande und Westfalens''. 19: 225–228 (1862) *Synopsis der Familien und Gattungen der Ichneumonen. ''Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereins der Preussischen Rheinlande und Westfalens''. 25(1868):135-221.(1869)

Collections

Förster’s Coleoptera and Hemiptera and some of his Hymenoptera - Cynipidae, Ichneumonidae (Cryptinae excl. Pezomachini and Stilpnini, Pimplinae, and Ophioninae excl. Plectiscini and Campoplex), Braconidae, Chrysididae, Formicidae and Vespidae - are in the Natural History Museum of Berlin; his Tenthredinidae, Ichneumonidae (Pezomachini, Stilpnini, Tryphonini, Plectiscini and Campoplex) and Apidae are in Munich State Museum; Proctotrupoidea and Chalcidoidea and the rest of the Ichneumonidae are in the

Natural History Museum, Vienna The Natural History Museum Vienna () is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museums and non-university research institutions in Austria and an important center of excellence for all matt ...

. The rest of Förster’s insects (e.g. Sphecidae, Diptera - incl. many types of species described by Johann Wilhelm Meigen) are in the Zoological Museum of Halle. Förster’s notebooks contain keys and descriptions, mostly of genera of Hymenoptera (almost the entirety of the Ichneumonidae), are in the Smithsonian Institution. They are written in German, Greek, and Latin and contain unpublished information. Some refer to the Irish entomologist

Alexander Henry Haliday Alexander Henry Haliday (1806–1870, also known as Enrico Alessandro Haliday, Alexis Heinrich Haliday, or simply Haliday) was an Ireland, Irish entomologist. He is primarily known for his work on Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Thysanoptera, but wor ...

External links

Zoologische Staatssammlung München (Bavarian State Collection of Zoology)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, Arnold 1810 births 1884 deaths German entomologists Hymenopterists