Boris Nikolayevich Schwanwitsch, sometimes Schwanwitz or Shvanvich (; 26 November 1889 – 5 December 1957) was a Russian

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

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

. He is best known for his studies of the colour pattern of the wings. Boris Schwanwitz graduated from the

St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

(1908–1913). After graduation, he changed a number of academic positions: assistant lecturer in Entomology at the Stebut Agricultural School (1915), assistant lecturer (1919) and private-docent (1926) at

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

(Leningrad) University, professor at the Perm University (1928–1930). In 1930, he returned to Leningrad (St. Petersburg) to take the position of the head of Entomology department of the Leningrad University (1930–1931 and 1944–1955, 1930 to 1944 the dept. for Entomology was part of the Invertebrate Zoology dept.) Vice-president of the Entomological Society of USSR (1954–1957) and the chair of the Zoology section of the Leningrad Naturalists Society. In a series of papers he reconstructed the groundplan of the colour-pattern of the wings, first for the

Rhopalocera Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

, then for

Heterocera Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (suborder Rhopalocera ...

n families. He formulated the stereomorphism principle, according to which the cryptic effect of the colour pattern is a result of its 'flattening' (the three-dimensional objects look flat) or 'disjunctive' effect (the two-dimensional objects look like a complex three-dimensional relief). To prove his point he built the plaster three-dimensional models of the lepidopteran wings, the photographs of which looked like an actual colour pattern of stripes and shades (photos were published in a series of papers and in his textbook in entomology). Among his other important contributions are a textbook in entomology with a large morphology section heavily based on Snodgrass and

Weber Weber may refer to: Places United States * Weber, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Weber City, Virginia, a town * Weber City, Fluvanna County, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Weber County, Utah * Weber Canyon, Utah * Weber R ...

(1949, still in use in Russian Universities), and a book on practical apiculture (1945). His gravestone is ornamented with a reproduction of the groundplan of the colour-pattern of lepidopteran wings from his textbook.

Selected publications

* On the groundplan of the wing-pattern in nymphalids and certain other families of rhopalocerous Lepidoptera. ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'', ser. B, 34: 509-528 (1924). * Wing pattern in Papilionid Lepidoptera'' Entomologist'' vol. 76 (1943)

References

External links

Kluge
Phylogenetics {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwanwitsch, Boris Nikolajevitsch 1889 births 1957 deaths Scientists from Poltava People from Poltavsky Uyezd Russian lepidopterists Soviet entomologists Soviet lepidopterists Academic staff of Perm State University Recipients of the Order of Lenin Russian scientists