Jean Risbec (1895-1964) was a French zoologist who specialised in studying the insects and

Molluscs Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

, as well as being a taxonomist of the parasitic

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 ...

Early years

Little is recorded about Risbec's early life but from 1921 to 1928 he was a teacher of

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

at the Lycée Lapeyrouse in

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French Sui generis collectivity, special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest Francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main i ...

where he carried out studies of

Nudibranchs Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs, belonging to the order Nudibranchia, that shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have be ...

in his spare time. As a result of these studies he was awarded a doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris in 1928. One of his lesser known works was a short travel memoir which he wrote on the ship returning him to France from New Caledonia to collect his doctorate in 1928 ''Impressions de Nouvelle-Calédonie'' which was published in ''Bulletin de l'Agence Générale Coloniale Melun'' volume 21 on pages 399-479. This book captures the colonial life in Nouméa at a time before there were even sewers and roads and most travel was conducted on horseback.

Career

He returned to New Caledonia as an agricultural entomologist and was resident in Nouméa until the mid 1930s, continuing to study the anatomy and biology of coastal molluscs and publishing over 30 papers. It was during this time that Risbec's first wife was killed in a horse riding accident in the

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium () and named after the Hebrides in Scotland, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three th ...

. He soon left New Caledonia and despite his desire to return he was given an appointment in

French Sudan French Sudan (; ') was a French colonial territory in the Federation of French West Africa from around 1880 until 1959, when it joined the Mali Federation, and then in 1960, when it became the independent state of Mali. The colony was formall ...

and

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

in 1937, remarrying in 1939. He never returned to New Caledonia. In Africa he studied the parasitic insects of crops and their parasites, especially the

Chalcidoidea Chalcid wasps (, , for their metallic colour) are insects within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, part of the order Hymenoptera. The superfamily contains some 22,500 known species, and an estimated total diversity of more than 500,000 species, m ...

, returning to France in 1950. From 1950-1958 he published a total of 21 articles and books on the Hymenoptera of

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

and Madagascar, including the 500 pages of ''La faune entomologique des cultures au Sénégal et au Soudan français'' published by the ''Gouvernement général de l'A.O.F.'' in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

in 1950. Due to disagreements over taxonomy with another agricultural entomologist, Jean Ghesquière, this book could not be published in France and Risbec had to arrange publication in Africa. In total Risbec published over 60 articles and books. After his return to France in 1950 he was posted to London until 1960.

Awards and honors

A number of species have been named in his honour including the nudibranch '' Rostanga risbeci'' as well as a number of other molluscs and insects. Unfortunately efforts to use the name ''Risbecia'' for a genus of nudibranchs and a genus of Hymenoptera fell foul of the ICZN Rules and are regarded as junior homonyms.

Death

He died in 1964 of a pulmonary

oedema Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may inclu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Risbec, Jean Hymenopterists 20th-century French zoologists French malacologists French entomologists 1895 births 1964 deaths