Etienne Laurent Joseph Hippolyte Boyer de Fonscolombe
Encyclopedia
Etienne Laurent Joseph Hippolyte Boyer de Fonscolombe (22 July 1772 , Aix
- 13 February 1853, Aix) was a French
entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera and Hymenoptera
and pest insects.
Etienne was the son of Emmanuel Honoré Hippolyte de Boyer (1744, Aix, Saint-Sauveur-1810) an aristocrat who studied agronomy
, writing on this subject in the Mémoires de l'académie d'Aix. He was educated at the Collège de Juilly. Before finishing his education in 1789, "he had attended meetings of the Constituent Assembly
in Versailles, with Mirabeau
. He was later "Locked up as suspect" (1793–94). These were dangerous times- his father was also imprisoned in the Terror
. On his release and marriage he lived with his parents and his mother-in-law at the castle of Montvert
:fr:Montvert. With the death of his father in 1810, he rented a floor of the hotel of Aix and the couple lived with his mother, who found him "Entomologiste très remarquable avec l’intelligence, la bonté, la vertu et le savoir" (a remarkable entomologist with intelligence, kindness, virtue and knowledge). Hippolyte and his brother Marcellin de Fonscolombe never ceased occupying themselves with the natural sciences "like those of antiquity and on medals". From 1833 Etienne entrusted the management of the Fonscolombe estates to his son-in-law, Adolphe de Saporta, and in 1848 he sold Montvert when it was left to his wife. He was then able to devote himself entirely to entomology. Following his father he published most of his work in Mémoires de l'académie d'Aix
Much of Fonscolombe's collection is in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
in Paris and there are some Apoidea
in the Hope Department of Entomology in Oxford.
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
- 13 February 1853, Aix) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera and Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...
and pest insects.
Etienne was the son of Emmanuel Honoré Hippolyte de Boyer (1744, Aix, Saint-Sauveur-1810) an aristocrat who studied agronomy
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
, writing on this subject in the Mémoires de l'académie d'Aix. He was educated at the Collège de Juilly. Before finishing his education in 1789, "he had attended meetings of the Constituent Assembly
National Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
in Versailles, with Mirabeau
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau was a French revolutionary, as well as a writer, diplomat, freemason, journalist and French politician at the same time. He was a popular orator and statesman. During the French Revolution, he was a moderate, favoring a constitutional monarchy built on...
. He was later "Locked up as suspect" (1793–94). These were dangerous times- his father was also imprisoned in the Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
. On his release and marriage he lived with his parents and his mother-in-law at the castle of Montvert
Montvert
Montvert is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France.-Population:...
:fr:Montvert. With the death of his father in 1810, he rented a floor of the hotel of Aix and the couple lived with his mother, who found him "Entomologiste très remarquable avec l’intelligence, la bonté, la vertu et le savoir" (a remarkable entomologist with intelligence, kindness, virtue and knowledge). Hippolyte and his brother Marcellin de Fonscolombe never ceased occupying themselves with the natural sciences "like those of antiquity and on medals". From 1833 Etienne entrusted the management of the Fonscolombe estates to his son-in-law, Adolphe de Saporta, and in 1848 he sold Montvert when it was left to his wife. He was then able to devote himself entirely to entomology. Following his father he published most of his work in Mémoires de l'académie d'Aix
Much of Fonscolombe's collection is in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
The Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle is the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.- History :The museum was formally founded on 10 June 1793, during the French Revolution...
in Paris and there are some Apoidea
Apoidea
The superfamily Apoidea is a major group within the Hymenoptera, which includes two traditionally-recognized lineages, the "sphecoid" wasps, and the bees, who appear to be their descendants.- Nomenclature :...
in the Hope Department of Entomology in Oxford.
Works
Partial list- 1832 Monographia chalciditum galloprovinciae circa aquas degentum. Annales des Sciences Naturelles (1) (Zoologie) 26: 273-307.
- 1840 Addenda et errata ad monographium chalciditum galloprovinciae ciria aquas sextias degentum. Annales des Sciences Naturelles (2) 13: 186-192.
- 1840 Des insectes nuisibles à l'agriculture principalement dans les départements du midi de la France Mémoires de l'Académie de Sciences d'Aix 5 pp 5–225.