Entomologia Carniolica Explained

is a taxonomic work by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, published in Vienna in 1763. As well as describing hundreds of new species, contained observations on the species' biology, including the first published account of queen bees mating outside the hive.[1]

Classification

In contrast to his predecessors Carl Linnaeus and Johan Christian Fabricius, who had used the structure of the insect wing and the structure of the insect mouthparts, respectively, as the main means of classifying arthropods, Scopoli favoured a more holistic approach.

In , Scopoli described 1153 species of "insects" (a term which at that time included many arthropods), divided into seven orders:[2]

Coleoptera (beetles and orthopteroid insects) – species 1–329

Proboscidea (= Hemiptera) – species 330–418

Lepidoptera – species 419–676

Neuroptera – species 677–712

Aculeata (= Hymenoptera) – species 713–838

Halterata (= Diptera) – species 839–1024

Pedestria (various wingless animals, including silverfish, fleas, mites, arachnids, crustaceans and myriapods) – species 1025–1153

Taxa

The animals described in were found in the Duchy of Carniola (also called the German: Krain), an area at that time under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Nowadays, it is the western part of Slovenia.[3]

For each species, Scopoli gave references to previously published illustrations and binomial names. Few works using binomial nomenclature had appeared by 1763; those cited by Scopoli include the 10th edition of (1758) and (1761) by Carl Linnaeus, and (1761) by Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus.[2] More than half of the species listed by Scopoli in were described as new. They include:

Publication

was published by Johann Thomas von Trattner in Vienna in 1763. Forty-three plates of illustrations were prepared for publication, but were never offered for sale, and few copies of include the plates.[4] They illustrate the species numbered 1–815, with the exception of the genus Aphis (species 396–410).[5]

was published long before the international standardisation of units; to help readers understand his measurements, Scopoli therefore included a printed scale of three Parisian inches, each divided into twelve lines. His inch was approximately long, making each line approximately 2.2mm.[4]

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Queen mating behavior as an example of basic science observation in beekeeping technology development . Janko Božič & Ida Gnilsak . 2000 . November 4, 2010 . University of Ljubljana.
  2. Book: Giovanni Antonio Scopoli . 1763 . Entomologica Carniolica . Johann Thomas von Trattner . Vienna.
  3. Andrej Gogala . 2004 . Heteroptera of Slovenia, II: Cimicomorpha I . Annals for Istrian and Mediterranean Studies . 14 . 2 . 237–258 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111007104550/http://www.zrs.upr.si/en/zaloznistvo/annales/Anali33/gogala.pdf . 2011-10-07 .
  4. Book: David M. Damkaer . 2002 . The copepodologist's cabinet: a biographical and bibliographical history . Volume 240 of Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society . . 978-0-87169-240-5 . Linnaean Legacy . 49–71 .
  5. L. G. Higgins . 1963 . Entomologica Carniolica: J. A. Scopoli, 1763 . . 4 . 167–169 . 10.3366/jsbnh.1963.4.Part_3.167 .

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