Antonio Berlese was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 entomologist.

Berlese worked on pest insects

Economic entomology

Economic entomology is a field of entomology, which involves the study of insects that are of benefit or those that cause harm to humans, domestic animals, and crops. Insects that cause losses are termed as pests. Some species can cause indirect damage by spreading diseases and these are termed as...

 notably of fruit trees. He published over 300 articles and a book Gli insetti loro organizzazione, sviluppo, abitudini e rapporti con l’uomo (in two volumes, 1909 and 1925); also a series entitled Acari, Myriapoda et Scorpiones hucusque in Italie reperta which appeared in 101 numbers between 1882 et 1903 and which contained over 1,000 figures by Berlese himself. He was a specialist in Hemiptera Coccoidea.
With his brother, Augusto Napoleone Berlese (1864-1903), a plant (particularly, mushroom) disease specialist, he founded the Revista di Patologia vegetale in 1892. In 1903 he founded the review Redia, which he edited until his death. This publication promoted zoological studies in agriculture, forestry, and in urban contexts, with an emphasis on entomology

Entomology

Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...

, acarology and nematology

Nematode

The nematodes or roundworms are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number of nematode...

. The aim was to increase taxonomic knowledge of groups with pest species. Berlese invented the Berlese funnel (which was subsequently modified by Albert Tullgren and is sometimes known as a Tullgren funnel

Tullgren funnel

A Tullgren funnel, also known as Berlese funnel or Berlese trap, is an apparatus used to extract living organisms, particularly arthropods, from samples of soil...

), a device for extracting soil insects and other micro fauna from leaf litter, which is still very widely used. The illustration shows how it works: a funnel (E) contains the soil or litter (D), and a heat source (F) such as an electric lamp (G) heats the litter. Animals escaping from the dessiccation of the litter descend through a filter into a preservative liquid (A) in a receptacle (B).

Works

Partial publication list for 1896 giving an idea of his output.

• Le cocciniglie Italiane viventi sugli agrumi. Parte II. I. Lecanium. Riv. Patol. Veget. 3: 49-100(1896).
• with Leonardi, G.
  Gustavo Leonardi
  Gustavo Leonardi was an Italianentomologist.Leonardi was an entomology assistant in the universities of Padua and Portici before becoming a plant disease inspector at Vintimille. He wrote 45 publications on pest insects, such as Monografia delle Cocciniglie italiane...
  
  . Diagnosi di cocciniglie nuove. Riv. Patol. Veget. 4: 345-352 (1896).
• with Leonardi, G. Diagnosi di cocciniglie nuove. Riv. Patol. Veget. 4: 1-352 (1896).
• with Leonardi, G. Le cocciniglie Italiane viventi sugli argumi. Parte III. I Diaspiti. [Cap. I. Note di sistematica e descrizione delle specie.] Riv. Patol. Veget. 4: 74-170 (1896).
• with Leonardi, G. Diagnosi di cocciniglie nuove. Riv. Patol. Veget. 4: 345-352 (1896).