Aurelian (entomology)

Aurelian (entomology)

"Aurelian" is an archaic word for lepidopterist, one who is interested in butterflies. The term is derived from "aurelia", meaning chrysalis, and relates to the golden color it may attain just before the butterfly emerges; the Latin word for gold is "aurum".

The Society of Aurelians in London, England, was one of the oldest organized bodies of specialists in any branch of zoology and was probably founded by Joseph Dandridge and a few others. They collected and documented insects from the 1690s, and these collections were made available to the naturalist John Ray. The history of the society is known only from the works of Benjamin Wilkes in his book "The English Moths and Butterflies" (1748-9). The society flourished for a time but came to an abrupt end in March 1748. While members of the society were in a meeting in Swan Tavern in Change Alley, a great fire broke out in Cornhill and enveloped them. All the members escaped, but their entire collection, library, and records were destroyed. This event was documented by Moses Harris in "The Aurelian; or, Natural History of English Insects" (1765). The loss disheartened the group so much that they never managed to regroup again.

Aurelian societies were formed several times in Britain, but each time they collapsed. Edward Newman in his "Grammar of Entomology" (1835) notes:

Vladimir Nabokov described a lepidopterist in the short story "The Aurelian". In real life the lepidopterist was Hans Rebel.

ee also

* Society of Entomologists of London

References

* Allen, David Elliston (1976) The naturalist in Britain: a social history. Princeton University Press. 1994 edition. ISBN 0-691-03628-4


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Timeline of entomology - 1800–1850 — 19th century= 1800 – an arbitrary date but it was around this time that systematists began to specialise. There remained entomological polyhistors – those who continued to work on the insect fauna as a whole.From the beginning of the century,… …   Wikipedia

  • Timeline of entomology - prior to 1800 — Prehistory= 13,000 B.C.The earliest evidence of man s interest in insects is from rock paintings. The insects depicted are bees.1800 1700BC.Bees were significant in other early civilisations, for instance at Malia, Crete, where jewellery depicts… …   Wikipedia

  • Joseph Dandridge — (January 1665 Winslow, Buckinghamshire 23 December 1747 London [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en lr= id=thmPzIltAV8C oi=fnd pg=PP11 dq=%22Joseph+Dandridge%22++ ots=9Em7gLeeR0 sig=gY2wzFUHWvthcd89mawZ0dRf4Jk#PPA192,M1] ), was an English silk… …   Wikipedia

  • Dru Drury — For others of the same name, see Dru Drury (disambiguation). Dru Drury. Dru Drury (4 February 1725 – 15 January 1804) was a British entomologist, one of the foremost of his time. He was born in Wood Lane, London. His father was a silversmith, and …   Wikipedia

  • Society of Entomologists of London — The Society of Entomologists of London was one of a series of brief lived entomological societies based in London.The members met to exhibit, identify and exchange, sell or purchase insects which were sometimes very expensive as were books.… …   Wikipedia

  • Vladimir Nabokov — This article is about the novelist. For his father, the politician, see Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov. This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is Vladimirovich and the family name is Nabokov. Vladimir Nabokov Nabokov in 1969 …   Wikipedia

  • Друри, Дрю — Дрю Друри англ. Dru Drury …   Википедия

  • Histoire De L'histoire Naturelle — Article de la série Histoire des sciences Chronologie Chronologie des sciences Chronologie de l astronomie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Histoire de l'histoire naturelle — L histoire de l histoire naturelle brosse un tableau de l évolution de la conception du monde et de la nature par les hommes de science. Le terme histoire naturelle recouvre plusieurs disciplines actuelles: la biologie, la géologie, la zoologie,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Benjamin Wilkes — (birth and death dates unknown) was an eighteenth century artist and naturalist in London. Wilkes profession was painting of History Pieces and Portraits in Oyl . When a friend invited him to a meeting of the Aurelian Society, where he first saw… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”