Monographia Chalciditum
Encyclopedia
Monographia Chalciditum by Francis Walker
, published in two volumes in 1839, was a founding work of entomology
, introducing new genera
of chalcidoid Hymenoptera later to be ranked as families. The work is a compilation of descriptions published in the Entomological Magazine
. In its preparation Walker used descriptions provided by the Irish entomologist Alexander Henry Haliday
.
The work is monographic
in the sense that it includes amplified descriptions of the genera and species of previous authors and new species descriptions,thereby presenting a complete account of what was then known of the "Chalcidites". Works examined and cited are by : the German entomologist and zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger
, the Swedish physician and naturalist Johan Wilhelm Dalman
, the Italian Entomologist Maximilian Spinola
and the English entomologists John Obadiah Westwood
and John Curtis
. The descriptions required the collection,study and often the dissection of a large number of specimens.
The parts were:
The work is thus divided:
Subtitled, poetically "the green, myriads in the peopled grass" volume 1 of Monographia is a singularly dry work consisting of descriptions only. It covers new English, Irish and French species.
Two more parts were published in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History under the title Descriptions of British chalcidites. Following the Balliére volumes chalcids were described in only one more volume of Annals and Magazine of Natural History and that of 1846. Thereafter , the British Museum, Walkers employer, published, Walker's 100 page List of the specimens of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Printed by order of the Trustees, London. vi + 237 pp. Part I-Chalcidites ;100 pages.
Volume 2
Part I In this Walker describes "species collected by C. Darwin Esq.
These are from Australia :-Hobart's Town
, Van Diemen's Land
, King George Sound
and Sidney
, New South Wales; Part II Bahia
, Brazil; Part III Chiloe
; Part IV Charle's Island, Galapagos; Part V New Zealand
; Part VI Jame's Island
, Part VII St. Helena, high central land.
Walker briefly corresponded with Darwin. The first letter, written in 1838, thanks Darwin for improving his descriptions of species by indicating localities and remarks that, with few exceptions the Chalcidites of South America and Australia are remarkably like European species. The second letter, written in December, 1843, tells Darwin that most of his chalcids were all similar to European species or genera, but other species were quite different from those known from Europe.
The 15 Plates illustrating some of the species in volume 1 are by Haliday (A- P -there is no plate I) were published in The Entomologist
Volume 1 between November 1840 and October 1842.
Francis Walker (entomologist)
Francis Walker was an English entomologist. He was one of the most prolific authors in entomology, and stirred controversy during his later life as his publications resulted in a huge number of junior synonyms....
, published in two volumes in 1839, was a founding work of entomology
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
, introducing new genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of chalcidoid Hymenoptera later to be ranked as families. The work is a compilation of descriptions published in the Entomological Magazine
Entomological Magazine
The Entomological Magazine is a publication devoted to entomology.The Entomological Magazine was published between September 1832 and October 1838 by the Society of Entomologists of London...
. In its preparation Walker used descriptions provided by the Irish entomologist Alexander Henry Haliday
Alexander Henry Haliday
Alexander Henry Haliday, also known as Enrico Alessandro Haliday and Alexis Heinrich Haliday sometimes Halliday , was an Irish entomologist. He is primarily known for his work on Hymenoptera, Diptera and Thysanoptera, but Haliday worked on all insect orders and on many aspects of entomology.Haliday...
.
The work is monographic
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
in the sense that it includes amplified descriptions of the genera and species of previous authors and new species descriptions,thereby presenting a complete account of what was then known of the "Chalcidites". Works examined and cited are by : the German entomologist and zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger
Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger
Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger was a German entomologist and zoologist.Illiger was the son of a merchant in Brunswick. He studied under the entomologist Johann Hellwig, and later worked on the zoological collections of Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg...
, the Swedish physician and naturalist Johan Wilhelm Dalman
Johan Wilhelm Dalman
Johan Wilhelm Dalman was a Swedish physician and a naturalist. He first studied at Christianfeld in Schleswig-Holstein then at the University of Lund and the University of Uppsala. He was mainly interested in entomology and botany...
, the Italian Entomologist Maximilian Spinola
Maximilian Spinola
-Background:Spinola was born in Pézenas, Hérault, France. The family of Spinola was of very long standing and had great wealth and power in Genoa. Maximilian Spinola was a descendant of the famous Spanish General Ambrogio Spinola, marqués de los Balbases and much of his wealth derived from land...
and the English entomologists John Obadiah Westwood
John Obadiah Westwood
John Obadiah Westwood was an English entomologist and archaeologist also noted for his artistic talents.Born in Sheffield, he studied to be a lawyer but abandoned that for his scientific interests....
and John Curtis
John Curtis (entomologist)
John Curtis was an English entomologist and illustrator.-Biography:Curtis was born in Norwich and learned his engraving skills in the workshop of his father, Charles Morgan Curtis...
. The descriptions required the collection,study and often the dissection of a large number of specimens.
The parts were:
- 1833. Monographia chalcidum (continued from page 384). Ent. Mag. 1(5): 455-466.
- 1834. Monographia chalciditum (continued from p. 39). Ent. Mag. 2(2): 148-179.
- 1834. Monographia chalciditum (continued from p. 309). Ent. Mag. 2(4): 340-369.
- 1835. Characters of some undescribed New Holland Diptera. Ent. Mag. 2(5): 468-473.
- 1835. Monographia chalciditum (continued from p. 369). Ent. Mag. 2(5): 476-502.
- 1835. Monographia chalciditum (continued from Vol. II., page 502.). Ent. Mag. 3(1): 94-97.
- 1836. Monographia chalciditum (continued). Ent. Mag. 3(5): 465-496.
- 1838. Descriptions of British chalcidites. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (1)1(4): 307-312.
- 1838. Descriptions of British chalcidites. [continuation from p. 312] Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (1)1(5): 381-387.
The work is thus divided:
- 1839. Monographia Chalciditum. Volume 1. Balliere, London. 333 pp.
- 1839. Monographia Chalciditum. Volume 2. Balliere, London. 100 pp.
Publication Details
Monographia Chalciditum was published by Hypolitus Balliére (1809-1867), 219, Regent Street, London, Jean-Baptiste Ballière, (1797-1885) 13, Rue d' École de Médecine, Paris and by J. and G. Weigel, Leipsig (Leipzig, Germany) in 1839. The Ballière family published mainly French medical works but through tradition, since many early doctors and pharmacists studied Botany, natural history works. Also in 1839 Balliére published Haliday's Hymenoptera Britannica : Alysia at London. It is doubtful that the financially adept Balliére brothers funded either- Monographium Chalciditum was the continuation of a series of papers in the Entomological Magazine, the style of which, may have led to its downfall.Content and subsequent works
Volume 1Subtitled, poetically "the green, myriads in the peopled grass" volume 1 of Monographia is a singularly dry work consisting of descriptions only. It covers new English, Irish and French species.
Two more parts were published in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History under the title Descriptions of British chalcidites. Following the Balliére volumes chalcids were described in only one more volume of Annals and Magazine of Natural History and that of 1846. Thereafter , the British Museum, Walkers employer, published, Walker's 100 page List of the specimens of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Printed by order of the Trustees, London. vi + 237 pp. Part I-Chalcidites ;100 pages.
Volume 2
Part I In this Walker describes "species collected by C. Darwin Esq.
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
These are from Australia :-Hobart's Town
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
, King George Sound
King George Sound
King George Sound is the name of a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Located at , it is the site of the city of Albany.The sound covers an area of and varies in depth from to ....
and Sidney
Sidney
Sidney may refer to:-United States:* Sidney, Arkansas* Sidney, Illinois* Sidney, Indiana* Sidney, Iowa* Sidney, Kentucky* Sidney, Maine* Sidney, Montana* Sidney, Nebraska* Sidney , New York** Sidney , New York* Sidney, Ohio...
, New South Wales; Part II Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
, Brazil; Part III Chiloe
Chiloé Archipelago
Chiloé Archipelago consists of several islands lying off the coast of Chile. It is separated from mainland Chile by Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and Gulf of Corcovado to the southeast. All of the archipelago except Desertores Islands, which are part of Palena...
; Part IV Charle's Island, Galapagos; Part V New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
; Part VI Jame's Island
Santiago Island (Galápagos)
Santiago Island is an island of the Galápagos Islands. It is also known as San Salvador, named after the first island discovered by Columbus in the Caribbean Sea , or as James Island. The island, which consists of two overlapping volcanoes, has an area of 585 km² and a maximum altitude of...
, Part VII St. Helena, high central land.
Walker briefly corresponded with Darwin. The first letter, written in 1838, thanks Darwin for improving his descriptions of species by indicating localities and remarks that, with few exceptions the Chalcidites of South America and Australia are remarkably like European species. The second letter, written in December, 1843, tells Darwin that most of his chalcids were all similar to European species or genera, but other species were quite different from those known from Europe.
The 15 Plates illustrating some of the species in volume 1 are by Haliday (A- P -there is no plate I) were published in The Entomologist
Entomological Magazine
The Entomological Magazine is a publication devoted to entomology.The Entomological Magazine was published between September 1832 and October 1838 by the Society of Entomologists of London...
Volume 1 between November 1840 and October 1842.
External links
(Also Sources)- Universal Chalcidoid Database Pdfs of the parts.
- Jean-Baptiste Ballière
- BHL Digitised text.