Lepidopterologist
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Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of
entomology 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 ...
concerning the scientific study of
moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...
s and the two superfamilies of
butterflies 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 ...
. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian.


Origins

Post-
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
, the rise of the "lepidopterist" can be attributed to the expanding interest in science, nature and the surroundings. When Linnaeus wrote the tenth edition of the ''
Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the syste ...
'' in 1758, there was already "a substantial body of published work on Lepidopteran natural history" (Kristensen, 1999). These included: * ''Insectorum sive Minimorum Animalium Theatrum'' – Thomas Mouffet (1634) * ''Metamorphosis Naturalis'' –
Jan Goedart Johannes Goedaert (also spelled Goetaart, Goedhart, Goedaard or Jean Goedart in French) (19 March 1617 (baptized) – 15 January 1668 (buried)) was a Dutch Natural history, natur ...
(1662–67 ) * ''Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium'' – Maria S. Merian (1705), whose work included illustrated accounts of European Lepidoptera * ''Historia Insectorum'' –
John Ray John Ray Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (November 29, 1627 – January 17, 1705) was a Christian England, English Natural history, naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his ...
(1710) * ''Papilionum Brittaniae icones'' –
James Petiver James Petiver () was a London apothecary, a fellow of the Royal Society as well as London's informal Temple Coffee House Botany Club, famous for his specimen collections in which he traded and study of botany and entomology. He corresponded with ...
(1717)


History


Scholars

1758–1900 was the era of the
gentleman scientist An independent scientist (historically also known as gentleman scientist) is a financially independent scientist who pursues scientific study without direct affiliation to a public institution such as a university or government-run research and ...
. Following Linnaeus' descriptions in ''Systema Naturae'' and with Boas Johansson in ''
Centuria Insectorum file:Centuria Insectorum.png, The first page of ''Centuria Insectorum'', as included in ''Amoenitates Academicæ'' ' (Latin, "one hundred insects") is a 1763 Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic work by Carl Linnaeus, and defended as a thesis by Boas Jo ...
'', the Austrian
Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In turn, the name ...
wrote ''Insecta Musei Graecensis'' (1761) and
Johann Christian Fabricius Johann Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, and is cons ...
described very many more species in a series of major works. During this period,
Ignaz Schiffermüller Jeremias "Johann" Ignaz Schiffermüller (; 2 November 1727 – 21 June 1806) was an Austrian naturalist and Jesuit teacher who took a special interest in the Lepidoptera. In order to describe the colours of butterflies, he also looked for a syste ...
wrote a systematic catalogue of the butterflies of the districts around Vienna ''Systematische Verzeichnis der Schmetterlinge der Wienergegend herausgegeben von einigen Lehrern am k. k. Theresianum'' (1775). In Germany
Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper (2 June 1742 – 27 July 1810) was a German zoologist and naturalist. Born in Wunsiedel in Bavaria, he was professor of zoology at Erlangen university. Life and work Eugen and his brother Friedrich were intro ...
in collaboration with
Toussaint de Charpentier Toussaint von Charpentier (22 November 1779 – 4 March 1847) was a German geologist and entomologist. He was the author of ''Libellulinae europaeae descriptae e depictae'' (1840). Biography Toussaint von Charpentier was born in Freiberg, Saxony ...
published ''Die europäischen Schmetterlinge'' (European butterflie
online here
and ''Die ausländischen Schmetterlinge'' (World butterflie
online here
. Between 1806 and 1834
Jacob Hübner Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the author of ''Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge'' (1796–1805), a founding work of entomology. Scientific career Hübner was the author of '' ...
wrote ''Sammlung exotischer Schmetterlinge'' Collection of exotic butterflies"(2 vols.), Augsburg with
Carl Geyer Peter Carl Friedrich Geyer (1802–1889) was a German entomologist who wrote and illustrated various supplements to Jacob Hübner's works on Lepidoptera. Carl Geyer was by profession an artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity r ...
and
Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer Gottlieb (formerly D. Gottlieb & Co.) was an American arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is best known for creating a vast line of pinball machines and arcade games (including ''Q*bert'') throughout much of the 20th century. ...
. During the years of 1806–1824 Hübner added ''Geschichte europäischer Schmetterlinge'' History of European butterflies" Herrich-Schäffer expanded this as ''Systematische Bearbeitung der Schmetterlinge von Europa, Zugleich als Text, Revision und Supplement zu Jacob Hubner’s Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge''(6 Volumes, 1843–1856). In France
Jean Baptiste Boisduval Jean Baptiste Alphonse Déchauffour de Boisduval (24 June 1799 – 30 December 1879) was a French lepidopterist, botanist, and physician. He was one of the most celebrated lepidopterists of France, and was the co-founder of the Société ento ...
,
Jules Pierre Rambur Jules Pierre Rambur (21 July 1801 – 10 August 1870) was a French entomologist. Rambur was born in Chinon. He studied the insect fauna of Corsica and Andalusia. He was the author of ''Histoire naturelle des insectes'' (1842) amongst other works ...
and
Adolphe Hercule de Graslin Adolphe Hercule de Graslin (11 April 1802, Chateaux de Malitourne, Flée, Sarthe – 31 May 1882, Malitourne) was a French entomology, entomologist. Adolphe Hercule de Graslin specialised in Lepidoptera. He was a founding member of the Société ...
wrote ''Collection iconographique et historique des chenilles; ou, Description et figures des chenilles (larvae) d'Europe, avec l'histoire de leurs métamorphoses, et des applications à l'agriculture'', Paris, Librairie encyclopédique de Roret, 1832 and with
John Eatton Le Conte John Eatton Le Conte Jr. (sometimes John Eatton LeConte or John Eaton Leconte) (February 22, 1784 – November 21, 1860) was an American natural history, naturalist. He was born near Shrewsbury, New Jersey, Shrewsbury, New Jersey, the son o ...
, 1829–1837 ''Histoire général et iconographie des lepidoptérès et des chenilles de l’Amerique septentrionale'' (General history and illustrations of the Lepidoptera and caterpillars of Northern America) which was published in Paris. Boisduval also described Lepidoptera from the expedition ship ''Astrolabe'' of
Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse Jean-François () is a French given name. Notable people bearing the given name include: * Jean-François Carenco (born 1952), French politician * Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832), French Egyptologist * Jean-François Clervoy (born 1958) ...
and the ''Coquille'', that of
Louis Isidore Duperrey Louis-Isidore Duperrey (21 October 1786 – 25 August 1865) was a French naval officer and explorer. Biography Early life Louis-Isidore Duperrey was born in 1786. Career He joined the navy in 1802, and served as marine hydrologist to Louis Cl ...
. In Italy,
Giovanni Antonio Scopoli Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Johannes Antonius Scopolius) (3 June 1723 – 8 May 1788) was an Italians, Italian physician and natural history, naturalist. His biographer Otto Guglia named him the "first ...
wrote ''Entomologia Carniolica'' published in Vienna. In the mid-century period, the expert knowledge of Lepidoptera dealers such as
Otto Staudinger Otto Staudinger (2 May 1830 – 13 October 1900) was a German entomologist and a natural history dealer considered one of the largest in the world specialising in the collection and sale of insects to museums, scientific institutions, and indi ...
,
Emile Deyrolle Emile or Émile may refer to: * Émile (novel) (1827), autobiographical novel based on Emile de Girardin, Émile de Girardin's early life * Emile (film), Emile, Canadian film made in 2003 by Carl Bessai * ''Emile, or On Education, Emile: or, On Ed ...
, Orazio Querci, and Peter Godeffroy contributed to the field. In Russia,
Andrey Avinoff Andrey Avinoff (14 February 1884 – 16 July 1949) was an internationally-known artist, lepidopterist, Curator, museum director, professor, bibliophile and iconographer, who served as the director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pit ...
, a member of the diplomatic corps of Tsar Nicholas II, sponsored more than forty collecting expeditions to Central Asia in search of rare Lepidoptera. He personally undertook arduous expeditions to Russian Turkestan and the Pamir in 1908 and through India and Kashmir in 1914, as well as to Ladakh and Chinese Turkestan before those regions were open to explorers. Prior to the political upheaval of 1917, he was awarded the Imperial Russian Geographical Society's prestigious gold medal. The Soviet government appropriated his collection and placed it in the Zoological Museum of St. Petersburg. After Avinoff emigrated to America, he was able to collect a near-duplicate of his original Asiatic butterfly collection, donating it to the
Carnegie Museum of Natural History The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH) is a natural history museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by List of people from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, Pit ...
.


Explorers

Expeditions continued to be major sources of specimens. The
Baudin expedition to Australia The Baudin expedition of 1800 to 1803 was a French expedition to map the coast of New Holland (now Australia). Nicolas Baudin was selected as leader in October 1800. The expedition started with two ships, '' Géographe'', captained by Baudin, a ...
(1800 to 1803) with two laboratory-equipped ships '' Géographe'' and '' Naturaliste'' had nine zoologists and botanists on board. They brought back to France, according to
Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is most common in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, Fren ...
, the largest collection
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History ( ; abbr. MNHN) is the national natural history museum of France and a of higher education part of Sorbonne University. The main museum, with four galleries, is located in Paris, France, within the Ja ...
had ever received including 44 crates of zoological specimens. The Österreichische Brasilien-Expedition explored the Botany, Zoology and Ethnography of Brazil. It was organized and financed for Austrian Empire and ran from 1817 to 1835. , under the command of Commodore Bernhard von Wüllerstorf-Urbair, made a voyage of exploration in 1857–1859.
Baron Cajetan von Felder Baron Cajetan von Felder (; 19 September 1814 – 30 November 1894) was an Austrian lawyer, entomologist and Liberalism in Austria, liberal politician. He served as List of mayors of Vienna, mayor of Vienna from 1868 to 1878. Life and career ...
and his son
Rudolf Felder Rudolf Felder (2 May 1842 in Vienna – 29 March 1871 in Vienna) was an Austrian jurist and entomologist. He was mainly interested in Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes ...
amassed a huge entomological collection from the Novara that is deposited in the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna and the
Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...
in London. The butterflies were described in ''Reise Fregatte Novara: Zoologischer Theil., Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera'' (Journey of the Frigate Novara...) in three volumes (1865–1867).
Andrey Avinoff Andrey Avinoff (14 February 1884 – 16 July 1949) was an internationally-known artist, lepidopterist, Curator, museum director, professor, bibliophile and iconographer, who served as the director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pit ...
and/or some of his benefactors also financed numerous expeditions from approximately 1906–1940.


Collectors

Wealthy collectors played a major role:
Aimée Fournier de Horrack Aimée Fournier de Horrack (30 August 1876 – 25 February 1952) was a French entomologist. She is also known as Mlle de Horrack and Mme Gaston Fournier. Aimée Fournier was a butterfly collector. She lived in Paris at 90, Boulevard Malesherbes ...
in Paris,
Walter Rothschild Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist, and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was present ...
and
James John Joicey James John Joicey FES (28 December 1870 – 10 March 1932) was an English amateur entomologist, who assembled an extensive collection of Lepidoptera in his private research museum, called the Hill Museum, in Witley, Surrey. His ...
in England and in Russia
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia (; 26 April O.S. 14 April">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 14 April1859 – 28 January 1919) was the eldest son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich ...
who funded
Sergei Alphéraky Sergei Nikolaevich Alphéraky (also Alferaki; ; 14 April 1850 – ) was a Greek-Russian ornithologist and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. Sergei Alphéraky was born in Kharkov into the noble Greek family of Alferakis. He was the bro ...
and edited ''Mémoires sur les Lépidoptères''. The
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
provided opportunities to
Frederic Moore Frederic Moore FZS (13 May 1830 – 10 May 1907) was a British entomologist and illustrator. He produced six volumes of ''Lepidoptera Indica'' and a catalogue of the birds in the collection of the East India Company. It has been said that Mo ...
author of ''
Lepidoptera Indica ''Lepidoptera Indica'' was a 10 volume work on the butterflies of the Indian region that was begun in 1890 and completed in 1913. It was published by Lovell Reeve and Co. of London. It has been considered the ''magnum opus'' of its author, Freder ...
''. The Carnegie and Mellon families helped finance the collection and acquisition of butterfly collections through their investments into the newly created
Carnegie Museum of Natural History The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH) is a natural history museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by List of people from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, Pit ...
headed up by Andrey Avinoff from 1926 to 1945.


Museums

In the nineteenth century, large ,collections of Lepidoptera were amongst the natural history specimens then flooding into Europe. Most of the largest and most specimens of new species are in
Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) (; ; ), communicating under the name AfricaMuseum since 2018, is an ethnography and natural history museum situated in Tervuren in Flemish Brabant, Belgium, just outside Brussels. It was originally bui ...
(
Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...
),
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History ( ; abbr. MNHN) is the national natural history museum of France and a of higher education part of Sorbonne University. The main museum, with four galleries, is located in Paris, France, within the Ja ...
(
French colonial empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...
),
Museum für Naturkunde The Natural History Museum () is a natural history museum located in Berlin, Germany. It exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history and in such domain it is one of three major museums in Germany alongside Naturm ...
(
German colonial empire The German colonial empire () constituted the overseas colonies, dependencies, and territories of the German Empire. Unified in 1871, the chancellor of this time period was Otto von Bismarck. Short-lived attempts at colonization by Kleinstaat ...
),
British Museum (Natural History) The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum and ...
(
British colonial Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts establis ...
), Zoological Museum in St. Petersburg, and
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 ...
(
Dutch Empire The Dutch colonial empire () comprised overseas territories and trading posts under some form of Dutch control from the early 17th to late 20th centuries, including those initially administered by Dutch chartered companies—primarily the Du ...
). Museum lepidopterists have included
Samuel Constantinus Snellen van Vollenhoven Samuel Constant Snellen van Vollenhoven (18 October 1816, Rotterdam – 22 March 1880) was a Dutch entomologist. He is not to be confused with Pieter Cornelius Tobias Snellen another entomologist from Rotterdam. He was curator of the entomologic ...
. Francis Walker,
Alois Friedrich Rogenhofer Alois Friedrich Rogenhofer (22 December 1831, in Vienna – 15 January 1897, in Vienna) was an Austrian entomologist. He was a curator at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, where he was the first keeper of the Lepidoptera. Rogenhofer was main ...
, František Antonín Nickerl,
Lionel de Nicéville Charles Lionel Augustus de Nicéville (1852 in Bristol – 3 December 1901 in Calcutta from malaria) was a curator at the Indian Museum in Calcutta (now Kolkata). He studied the butterflies of the Indian Subcontinent and wrote a three volume mono ...
,
Carl Heinrich Hopffer Carl Heinrich Hopffer (1810–1876) was a German entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. Hopffer was a curator (Custos) at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. He described many new species mainly in the following works. *''Neue Schmetterlin ...
and
Arthur Gardiner Butler Arthur Gardiner Butler F.L.S., F.Z.S. (27 June 1844 – 28 May 1925) was an English entomologist, arachnologist and ornithologist. He worked at the British Museum on the taxonomy of birds, insects, and spiders. Biography Arthur Gardiner B ...
.


Notable lepidopterists

Some notable lepidopterists are or have been: *
Per Olof Christopher Aurivillius Per Olof Christopher Aurivillius (15 January 1843 – 20 July 1928) was a Swedish entomologist. Life Christopher Aurivillius was born at Forsa, Sweden. He was the director of the Natural History Museum in Stockholm and he specialised in Col ...
of Sweden: butterflies of Africa *
Andrey Avinoff Andrey Avinoff (14 February 1884 – 16 July 1949) was an internationally-known artist, lepidopterist, Curator, museum director, professor, bibliophile and iconographer, who served as the director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pit ...
of Russia and the U.S.A: butterflies of Central Asia and Jamaica *
Henry Tibbats Stainton Henry Tibbats Stainton (13 August 1822 – 2 December 1892) was an England, English entomologist. He served as an editor for two popular entomology periodicals of his period, ''The Entomologist's Annual'' and ''The Entomologist's Weekly Intellig ...
of England:
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 ...
*
Jules Léon Austaut Jules Léon Austaut (1844 – 1929) was a French entomologist 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 L ...
of France: specialized in ''
Parnassius ''Parnassius'' is a genus of northern circumpolar and montane (alpine and Himalayan) butterflies usually known as Apollos or snow Apollos. They can vary in colour and form significantly based on their altitude. They also exhibit altitudinal mel ...
'' *
Otto Vasilievich Bremer Otto Vasilievich Bremer (died 11 November 1873) was a Russian naturalist and entomologist. He wrote: *''Beiträge zur Schmetterlings-fauna des Nödrlichen China's'' (1853) with Vasilii Fomich Grey (William Grey). *"Neue Lepidopteren aus Ost-Sibir ...
of Russia: butterflies of Siberia and Amur *
John Henry Leech John Henry Leech (5 December 1862 – 29 December 1900, Hurdcott House, Salisbury) was an English entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Leech was born of John and Elizabeth (née Ashworth) Leech in Bank Hall, near Preston, ...
of England: butterflies of China *
Shōnen Matsumura was a Japanese entomologist. Born in Akashi, Hyōgo, Dr. Shōnen Matsumura established Japan's first course on entomology at Hokkaido University. The courses were both applied (on insects of importance in forestry and agriculture) and theoreti ...
of Japan: butterflies of Japan *
Hans Rebel Hans Rebel (2 September 1861 – 19 May 1940) was an Austrian entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. Rebel, who had an early interest in natural history and butterflies, first became a lawyer. He devoted his spare time to studying Lepidopt ...
of Austria: butterflies of the
Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...
*
Maria Sibylla Merian Maria Sibylla Merian (2 April 164713 January 1717) was a German Entomology, entomologist, naturalist and scientific illustrator. She was one of the earliest European naturalists to document observations about insects directly. Merian was a desce ...
of the Dutch Republic: butterflies and moths of Surinam *
Ruggero Verity Ruggero Verity or Roger Verity (20 May 1883 – 4 March 1959) was an Anglo-Italy, Italian entomologist who specialised in butterflies, and was a physician. Life Roger Verity was born in Florence on 20 May 1883, the elder son of Richard Henry Mann ...
of Italy: butterflies of the Palearctic *
Hans Fruhstorfer Hans Fruhstorfer (1866 – 1922) was a German explorer, insect and shell trader and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. He collected and described new species of exotic butterflies, especially in Adalbert Seitz's ''Macrolepidoptera of t ...
of Germany: world butterflies, but especially Java *
Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854 – 31 March 1938) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern microlepidoptera systematics. Life and work Ed ...
of England: Microlepidoptera *
Herman Strecker Ferdinand Heinrich Herman Strecker (March 24, 1836 – November 30, 1901) was an American entomologist specialising in butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera). Strecker was born in Philadelphia to Ferdinand and Anna (''née'' Kern) who had emigrated ...
of the U.S.A.: butterflies of the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
* Anthony Valletta of Malta: butterflies of Malta *
Margaret Fountaine Margaret Elizabeth Fountaine (16 May 1862 – 21 April 1940), was a Victorian lepidopterist (a person interested in butterflies and moths), natural history illustrator, diarist, and traveller who published in The Entomologist's Record and Journal ...
of England: Europe, South Africa, India, Tibet, America, Australia and the West Indies. * Edna Mosher of Canada: ''A Classification of the Lepidoptera based on characters of the pupae''


Collections and illustrations

As the chief mode of study of butterflies was through pinned specimen collections, it was difficult to catalogue and communicate names and descriptions widely. Books on butterflies with plates that were either hand-painted, lithographed and printed have been a major tool in lepidopterology. These include the massive works by
Adalbert Seitz Friedrich Joseph Adalbert Seitz, (24 February 1860 in Mainz – 5 March 1938 in Darmstadt) was a German physician and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. He was a director of the Frankfurt zoo from 1893 to 1908 and is best known for editi ...
. Unusual works like the ''Butterfly Fauna of Ceylon'' (1942) by Lionel Gilbert Ollyett Woodhouse (1888–1965) and ''Moths and Butterflies of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains'' (1900) by Sherman F. Denton made use of butterfly wing-prints where the illustrations incorporated the scales of the wings. The illustrious Russian writer,
Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov ( ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian and American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Rus ...
was a noted lepidopterist, having discovered the passion at the age of seven. He would later write about butterflies, collect, and illustrate them. Nabokov volunteered at
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
's
Museum of Comparative Zoology The Museum of Comparative Zoology (formally the Agassiz Museum of Comparative Zoology and often abbreviated to MCZ) is a zoology museum located on the grounds of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is one of three natural-history r ...
in the
Entomology 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 ...
Department, where he would organize specimens for as much as 14 hours a day. According to Kurt Johnson, the lepidopterist author of Nabokov's Blues, Nabokov's novel Dar (The Gift), featured a lepidopterist, the father of the émigré protagonist, based on a fictionalization of
Andrey Avinoff Andrey Avinoff (14 February 1884 – 16 July 1949) was an internationally-known artist, lepidopterist, Curator, museum director, professor, bibliophile and iconographer, who served as the director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pit ...
. Avinoff discovered several new species: in Central Asia, the Parnassius Maharaja Avinoff and in Jamaica the Shoumatoff Hairstreak, Nesiostrymon shoumatoffi, named after his nephew, Nicholas Shoumatoff who joined him on three expeditions to the wild Cockpit Country in the late 1930s.

Avinoff's groundbreaking research on the biogeography of speciation demonstrated how members of the genus Karanasa evolved into separate species in isolated mountain valleys in the Pamir Range. He collaborated with his colleague Walter Sweadner, a curator of entomology at the Carnegie Museum, on a monograph, The Karanasa Butterflies, A Study in Evolution.


Lepidopterological societies

Lepidopterists are served by a number of national and international scientific societies. They promote research in lepidopterology and dissemination of the findings through conferences such as the biennial European Congresses of Lepidopterology or the TILS Leps Talk. These societies include: *
Lepidopterists' Society The Lepidopterists' Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of Butterfly, butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera). Founded in 1947 and based in the United States, it has an international focus and membership. Publications The s ...
*
Societas Europaea Lepidopterologica The Society for European Lepidopterology (SEL, formerly ''Societas Europaea Lepidopterologica'') is a European society for the study of moths and butterflies and for the conservation of these insects and their natural habitats. The society was f ...
* Lepidoptera Research Foundation *
North American Butterfly Association The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) was created in 1992 by Jeffrey Glassberg who is the association's president. The NABA was formed in order to promote awareness of butterfly conservation and the benefits of butterfly gardening, obser ...
* Association for Tropical Lepidoptera * International Lepidoptera Survey * Lepidopterological Society of Denmark * Lepidopterological Society of Finland * Lepidopterological Society of Japan * Sicilian Lepidopterological Association * Southern Lepidopterists' Society * Societat Catalana de Lepidopterologia * Study Group of Hessian Lepidopterologists * Lepidopterists' Society of Africa


Lepidopterological journals

* ''
Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera ''The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera'' was a journal that published scientific articles on Lepidoptera from 1962 to 2017, publishing a total 49 volumes. Details The journal was published by the Lepidoptera Research Foundation of Californi ...
'' 1962–2017 * ''Metamorphosis'' * ''The Taxonomic Report'' * ''
Nota Lepidopterologica "None of the above" (NOTA), or none for short, also known as "against all" or a "scratch" vote, is a ballot option in some jurisdictions or organizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of the candidates in a voting system ...
''


See also

*
The Global Lepidoptera Names Index The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex) is a searchable database maintained by the Department of Entomology at the Natural History Museum, London. It is based on card indices and scanned journals, nomenclatural catalogues and the ''Zoologica ...
* Lepidoptera in the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' * McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity,
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
* Butterfly watching


References


External links

* {{Authority control Subfields of entomology