Sydney Skaife
Encyclopedia
Sydney Harold Skaife D.Sc FRSSAf. (12 December 1889 – 6 November 1976) was an eminent South African entomologist
and naturalist
. His career and educational publications covered a wide field . Especially in his later years his main research interest was in social insects and the transitional phases in sociality, particularly in the Hymenoptera
and Isoptera .
He was also a school inspector, prolific author of scientific and popular books, broadcaster, and conservationist. Of his many achievements his greatest was probably his leading role in the creation of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve
between Cape Town
and Cape Point
. He lived for most of his life in Hout Bay
on the Cape Peninsula
.
In 1912 he went to the University of Leipzig
in Germany, at the urging of his uncle. He stayed with the Schober family. During this period he taught English to earn some extra money.
In 1913 he went to Cape Town to teach biology at the Rondebosch Boys High School.
When WWI broke out in 1914, he tried to enlist for service, but was turned down on medical grounds due to an irregular heart beat, which was later found to be harmless.
He was then offered and accepted a post as entomologist at the Rosebank Research Station in Cape Town. Here he worked on insects that fed on stored grain. This was a particularly urgent issue at the time, since large quantities of grain were being stored at the Cape as part of the war effort.
in Natal where he worked on bees and wattle bagworm
infestation.
In 1918 he became the first South African to receive a Carnegie
Grant for further study. In 1920 he received an M.Sc. at the Natal University College
. From 1921 to 1945 he was the Inspector of Science in the Cape Department of Education. In 1922 he received a PhD from the University of Cape Town
for his research on bean weevil
s or Bruchids. In those days they were regarded as comprising the family Bruchidae, though currently they are classified as the subfamily Bruchinae of the family Chrysomelidae. Africa has a rich Bruchid fauna, many of them dependent on thorn trees and other indigenous leguminous plants. In the relaxed railway schedules of the time, he sometimes found opportunities to collect new species from thorn trees during halts.
During this period he found time to edit Nature Notes (1924-1931) and become one of the first people to make a radio broadcast in South Africa, in which he talked on scorpions (1925).
In 1929 he established the Wild Life Protection and Conservation Society (now called the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa, WESSA
), largely as a result of his concern at the widespread destruction of game in Zululand as part of the tsetse fly
control campaign. In his capacity as chairman, he helped to establish the Outeniqua Mountain Zebra Reserve, the Bontebok Park, and the Addo Elephant Reserve
.
During the period 1935-1945 he was Director of the School Broadcasting Service.
In 1939, largely through his efforts, the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve was established.
He became President of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa in 1940, served as Chairman of the newly created Fisheries Development Corporation from 1945-1951, and during this same period was a member of the Board of Governors of the South African Broadcasting Corporation
. In 1950 he was elected President of the Royal Society of South Africa
and from 1950-1957 he acted as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the South African Museum
. In 1951 he became Chairman of the Fisheries Commission of Northern Rhodesia.
In 1952 he retired to his home in Hout Bay
and did extensive research on the social behaviour of ants, bees and wasps which resulted in the publication of some books. In his book on termites, and other papers, he published ground-breaking work on the dynamics and ecology of termite mounds and the means of studying them. He also wrote a book on ants, and a number of scientific publications on various topics, including possible routes to sociality from primitive bees such as South African carpenter bees.
In 1952 he was awarded the South African Medal and Grant for scientific research by the South African Association for the Advancement of Science.
In 1953 he visited the UK where he spoke about his research work over the BBC and attended the Annual Congress of the British Association in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
In 1957 he was awarded a D.Sc. (honoris causa) by the University of Natal
, and despite having retired became the President of the Zoological Society of South Africa in 1960. He also found time to lecture in Medical Entomology
at the University of Cape Town and serve as President of the then South African Association for the Advancement of Science
.
He was an entertaining and unpretentious speaker with a pleasant sense of humour and a fine command of his field, and many South African youngsters of that generation had reason to appreciate his kindly and generous response to intelligent questions.
On 6 November 1976 he died at Hout Bay in the Cape Peninsula.
A daughter and son were born from this marriage:
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
and naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
. His career and educational publications covered a wide field . Especially in his later years his main research interest was in social insects and the transitional phases in sociality, particularly in the 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 Isoptera .
He was also a school inspector, prolific author of scientific and popular books, broadcaster, and conservationist. Of his many achievements his greatest was probably his leading role in the creation of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve
Table Mountain National Park
Table Mountain National Park, previously known as the Cape Peninsula National Park, is a national park in Cape Town, South Africa, proclaimed on May 29, 1998, for the purpose of protecting the natural environment of the Table Mountain Chain, and in particular the rare fynbos vegetation...
between Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
and Cape Point
Cape Point
Cape Point is a promontory at the southeast corner of the Cape Peninsula, which is a mountainous and scenic landform that runs north-south for about thirty kilometres at the extreme southwestern tip of the African continent in the Republic of South Africa. Table Mountain and the city of Cape Town...
. He lived for most of his life in Hout Bay
Hout Bay
Hout Bay is the name of a coastal suburb of Cape Town, South Africa with a mix of neighbourhoods from the very rich to the very poor. It lies in a valley on the Atlantic Seaboard of the Cape Peninsula and is twenty kilometres south of the Central Business District of Cape Town...
on the Cape Peninsula
Cape Peninsula
The Cape Peninsula is a generally rocky peninsula that juts out for 75 km into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope...
.
Early life
Skaife was born in London, England, to Katherine and John Skaife. He spent his boyhood in Bath, Somerset and went to St Marks Grammar School. Educated at Reading University, England, he initially studied in the Arts, even though his passion lay with Biology. In 1911 he took the Intermediate BA examination of London University because Reading at that stage was not a university and could not confer a degree. He then studied for a Teacher's Diploma and passed it with distinction.In 1912 he went to the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
in Germany, at the urging of his uncle. He stayed with the Schober family. During this period he taught English to earn some extra money.
In 1913 he went to Cape Town to teach biology at the Rondebosch Boys High School.
When WWI broke out in 1914, he tried to enlist for service, but was turned down on medical grounds due to an irregular heart beat, which was later found to be harmless.
He was then offered and accepted a post as entomologist at the Rosebank Research Station in Cape Town. Here he worked on insects that fed on stored grain. This was a particularly urgent issue at the time, since large quantities of grain were being stored at the Cape as part of the war effort.
Later career
On 29 September 1917 he married Elsie Mary Croft, a pianist. After his marriage he was transferred to the Cedara College of AgricultureCedara College of Agriculture
Cedara College of Agriculture is an agricultural college and research station near Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, founded partly by Thomas Robertson Sim. The foundation stone of the "School of Agriculture and Forestry" was laid on 28 April 1905...
in Natal where he worked on bees and wattle bagworm
Wattle bagworm
The Wattle bagworm is a species of moth in the family Psychidae. In Southern Africa it is a pest of the Black Wattle, Acacia mearnsii, which is grown largely as a source of vegetable tannin...
infestation.
In 1918 he became the first South African to receive a Carnegie
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
Grant for further study. In 1920 he received an M.Sc. at the Natal University College
University of KwaZulu-Natal
The University of KwaZulu-Natal or UKZN is a university with five campuses all located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville.-History:-University of...
. From 1921 to 1945 he was the Inspector of Science in the Cape Department of Education. In 1922 he received a PhD from the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
for his research on bean weevil
Bean weevil
The bean weevils or seed beetles are a subfamily of beetles, now placed in the family Chrysomelidae, though they have historically been treated as a separate family. They are granivores, and typically infest various kinds of seeds or beans, living for most of their lives inside a single seed...
s or Bruchids. In those days they were regarded as comprising the family Bruchidae, though currently they are classified as the subfamily Bruchinae of the family Chrysomelidae. Africa has a rich Bruchid fauna, many of them dependent on thorn trees and other indigenous leguminous plants. In the relaxed railway schedules of the time, he sometimes found opportunities to collect new species from thorn trees during halts.
During this period he found time to edit Nature Notes (1924-1931) and become one of the first people to make a radio broadcast in South Africa, in which he talked on scorpions (1925).
In 1929 he established the Wild Life Protection and Conservation Society (now called the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa, WESSA
WESSA
- Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa :The Society is a non-government environmental organization of South Africa, was established in 1926, but its origins go back to the 1890s.- Relevance to establishment of other...
), largely as a result of his concern at the widespread destruction of game in Zululand as part of the tsetse fly
Tsetse fly
Tsetse , sometimes spelled tzetze and also known as tik-tik flies, are large biting flies that inhabit much of mid-continental Africa between the Sahara and the Kalahari deserts. They live by feeding on the blood of vertebrate animals and are the primary biological vectors of trypanosomes, which...
control campaign. In his capacity as chairman, he helped to establish the Outeniqua Mountain Zebra Reserve, the Bontebok Park, and the Addo Elephant Reserve
Addo Elephant National Park
Addo Elephant National Park is an elephant park situated close to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and is recognized as one of the country's twenty national parks.- History :...
.
During the period 1935-1945 he was Director of the School Broadcasting Service.
In 1939, largely through his efforts, the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve was established.
He became President of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa in 1940, served as Chairman of the newly created Fisheries Development Corporation from 1945-1951, and during this same period was a member of the Board of Governors of the South African Broadcasting Corporation
South African Broadcasting Corporation
The South African Broadcasting Corporation is the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa and provides 18 radio stations as well as 3 television broadcasts to the general public.-Early years:Radio broadcasting began in South Africa in 1923...
. In 1950 he was elected President of the Royal Society of South Africa
Royal Society of South Africa
The Royal Society of South Africa is a learned society composed of eminent South African scientists and academics. The Society was granted its royal charter by King Edward VII in 1908, nearly a century after Capetonians first began to conceive of a national scholarly society...
and from 1950-1957 he acted as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the South African Museum
Iziko South African Museum
The Iziko SA Museum is a South African national museum located in Cape Town. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present site in the Company's Garden since 1897...
. In 1951 he became Chairman of the Fisheries Commission of Northern Rhodesia.
In 1952 he retired to his home in Hout Bay
Hout Bay
Hout Bay is the name of a coastal suburb of Cape Town, South Africa with a mix of neighbourhoods from the very rich to the very poor. It lies in a valley on the Atlantic Seaboard of the Cape Peninsula and is twenty kilometres south of the Central Business District of Cape Town...
and did extensive research on the social behaviour of ants, bees and wasps which resulted in the publication of some books. In his book on termites, and other papers, he published ground-breaking work on the dynamics and ecology of termite mounds and the means of studying them. He also wrote a book on ants, and a number of scientific publications on various topics, including possible routes to sociality from primitive bees such as South African carpenter bees.
In 1952 he was awarded the South African Medal and Grant for scientific research by the South African Association for the Advancement of Science.
In 1953 he visited the UK where he spoke about his research work over the BBC and attended the Annual Congress of the British Association in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
In 1957 he was awarded a D.Sc. (honoris causa) by the University of Natal
University of KwaZulu-Natal
The University of KwaZulu-Natal or UKZN is a university with five campuses all located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville.-History:-University of...
, and despite having retired became the President of the Zoological Society of South Africa in 1960. He also found time to lecture in Medical Entomology
Forensic entomology
Forensic entomology is the application and study of insect and other arthropod biology to criminal matters. It is primarily associated with death investigations; however, it may also be used to detect drugs and poisons, determine the location of an incident, and find the presence and time of the...
at the University of Cape Town and serve as President of the then South African Association for the Advancement of Science
Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science
The Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science is a learned society, originally known as the South African Association for the Advancement of Science...
.
He was an entertaining and unpretentious speaker with a pleasant sense of humour and a fine command of his field, and many South African youngsters of that generation had reason to appreciate his kindly and generous response to intelligent questions.
On 6 November 1976 he died at Hout Bay in the Cape Peninsula.
A daughter and son were born from this marriage:
- Mary Katherine Rowan "Bunty" d1986 - an eminent ornithologist and author
- John Skaife b1927