Alexandre Arsène Girault ( ; 9 January 1884 – 2 May 1941) was an American
entomologist
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
specializing in the study of
chalcid wasp
Chalcid wasps (, , for their metallic colour) are insects within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, part of the order Hymenoptera. The superfamily contains some 22,500 known species, and an estimated total diversity of more than 500,000 species, me ...
s. An eccentric and controversial figure, Girault was also a prolific and dedicated entomologist. He published more than 325 papers and described over 3000 new
taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
from Australia.
Biography
Alexandre Arsène Girault was born in
Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, on January 9, 1884, to Joseph Bonaparte Girault and Elizabeth Frances Girault (née Goodwin). He is named after his grandfather,
Arsène Napoleon Alexandre Girault de Saint Fargeau, one of the founding faculty of the
US Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is ...
.
Girault earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...
in 1903. From 1904 to 1907 he was employed as a field assistant for the United States
Bureau of Entomology. During this time, he was involved in research on
plum curculios (''Conotrachelus nenuphar''),
Colorado potato beetle
The Colorado potato beetle (''Leptinotarsa decemlineata''), also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle, or the potato bug, is a major pest of potato crops. It is about long, with a bright yellow/o ...
s (''Leptinotarsa decemlineata''), and
American plum borers (''Euzophera semifuneralis''). In 1908, he moved to
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...
, where he worked as a laboratory assistant of the Illinois State Entomologist. From 1909 to 1911 (still in the employ of the Illinois State Entomologist), he worked as an assistant in entomology at the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
, studying bedbugs (''
Cimex
''Cimex'' is a genus of insects in the family Cimicidae. ''Cimex'' species are ectoparasites that typically feed on the blood of birds and mammals. Two species, ''Cimex lectularius'' and ''Cimex hemipterus'', are known as bed bugs and frequently ...
'' spp.) and Colorado potato beetles.
In a paper published in 1908, Girault vividly described an encounter with bedbugs in 1907 in a hotel room in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
. He was reluctant to sleep on the bed after discovering the bedbugs as he entered the room a little after midnight. He eventually decided to keep the lights on and to lie across the bed without getting under the covers. He slept fitfully, constantly waking up to find bedbugs scurrying away after feeding on him. At 3:30 AM, he eventually gave up and slept on a rocking chair. Despite the discomfort, he systematically described the behaviour and stages of maturity of the bedbugs, the general conditions of the room, and attempted to search for eggs and
moultings of the insects.
![Alexandre Arsène Girault and family (Australia, 1924)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Alexandre_Ars%C3%A8ne_Girault_and_family_%28Australia%2C_1924%29.jpg)
Shortly before the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the
Government of Queensland
The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy was form ...
requested the services of an entomologist from the
US Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
(USDA), hoping to discover the reason for the failure of the
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
crops in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
.
Highly recommended by his superiors, Girault moved to Australia in 1911. He worked for the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations (BSES) in Nelson (now
Gordonvale, Queensland
Gordonvale is a rural sugar-growing town and locality situated on the southern side of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gordonvale had a population of 6,944 people.
Geography
Gordonvale lies approxi ...
) at an annual salary of £400.
His main area of study while in BSES was the
cane beetle
''Dermolepida albohirtum'', the cane beetle, is a native Australian beetle and a parasite of sugarcane. Adult beetles eat the leaves of sugarcane, but greater damage is done by their larvae hatching underground and eating the roots, which eit ...
(''Dermolepida albohirtum''), a pest of sugarcanes; but he also studied
parasitoid
In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...
wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
s (his area of expertise and personal interest), as well as some
true bugs
Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from to aroun ...
and
thrips
Thrips ( order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Different thrips species feed mostly on plants by puncturing and sucking up the contents, although a few are ...
.
Here, he met and married Elizabeth Jeannette Pilcher in 1911. Their first child, Ernest Alexandre Girault, was born on November 3, 1913.
In 1914, Girault moved back to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to resume working for the USDA. He worked in Washington, D.C., on
Chalcidoidea
Chalcid wasps (, , for their metallic colour) are insects within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, part of the order Hymenoptera. The superfamily contains some 22,500 known species, and an estimated total diversity of more than 500,000 species, me ...
systematics
Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic tre ...
. During this time, his wife gave birth to their second son and first daughter, Lawrence Joseph Girault on August 27, 1915, and Helen Joan Girault on August 10, 1917.
He strongly disliked the city, describing it as a "
bedlam" and "a place unfit for scholarship."
Yet during this time, he also finished his major work, a 900-page monograph on
chalcid wasp
Chalcid wasps (, , for their metallic colour) are insects within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, part of the order Hymenoptera. The superfamily contains some 22,500 known species, and an estimated total diversity of more than 500,000 species, me ...
s.
Girault returned to Australia in 1917 to work as assistant entomologist in the
Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock
The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is a department of the Queensland Government which aims to maximise the economic potential for Queensland's primary industries on a sustainable basis through strategic industrial development. The sec ...
. He and his family lived in
Indooroopilly
Indooroopilly is a riverside suburb 7km west of the Brisbane CBD, Queensland, Australia. In the , Indooroopilly had a population of 12,242 people.
Geography
Indooroopilly is bounded to the south and south-east by the median of the Brisbane Riv ...
,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, where his second daughter and third son were born (Daisy Lydia Girault on July 19, 1925, and Frank Stephen Girault on May 23, 1928).
He never returned to the United States, though he retained his American citizenship.
Girault's work was irregular in Australia, including periods of unemployment. This was exacerbated by bad economic conditions in Australia as a result of World War I. His work at the Department of Agriculture and Stock ceased in 1919, but resumed again from 1923 to 1930.
At times, Girault was forced to work in jobs unrelated to his field of expertise out of necessity (including working as a shopkeeper and as a rock-breaker in a stone
quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...
).
He also increasingly became disillusioned with
economic entomology
Economic entomology is a field of entomology, which involves the study of insects that benefit or harm humans, domestic animals, and crops. Insects that cause losses are termed as pests. Some species can cause indirect damage by spreading diseases ...
(which also prompted his departure from the United States). He began to include acerbic criticisms, poems, and essays in his papers, resulting in publishers turning his work away and frequent clashes with superiors and colleagues. His love for pure
taxonomy
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
, however, led him to publish numerous papers privately.
Most of these were short notes and often printed poorly.
His wife contracted
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
while in Australia, leaving her bedridden for years until her death on September 9, 1931.
Devastated, Girault's behaviour increasingly became erratic and paranoid. One afternoon, around 1936, Girault started shouting at their neighbours for hours for no apparent reason. This continued on into the night until someone finally called the police who took him away. Two days later, his sons, Ernest and Frank, drove him to
Goodna Mental Hospital.
He was admitted several more times into the asylum. He was on leave from the Goodna asylum in the care of his son until 9 May 1940 when he was admitted to
Dunwich Benevolent Asylum
The Dunwich Benevolent Asylum was a Benevolent Asylum for the aged, infirm and destitute operated by the Queensland Government in Australia. It was located at Dunwich on North Stradbroke Island in Moreton Bay and operated from 1865 to 1946.
His ...
on North Stradbroke Island on 16 July 1940 where he died on 2 May 1941 at the age of 57.
His cause of death was officially listed as
paraphrenia
Paraphrenia is a mental disorder characterized by an organized system of paranoid delusions with or without hallucinations (the positive symptoms of schizophrenia) and without deterioration of intellect or personality (its negative symptom).Almeid ...
and exhaustion.
He was buried at
Dunwich Cemetery
Dunwich Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery at Bingle Road, Dunwich, Queensland, Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1847 to 1952. It is also known as One Mile Cemetery. It was ad ...
and now lies in an unmarked grave.
Legacy
Girault was a controversial and eccentric figure. Even though most of his career was spent in
economic entomology
Economic entomology is a field of entomology, which involves the study of insects that benefit or harm humans, domestic animals, and crops. Insects that cause losses are termed as pests. Some species can cause indirect damage by spreading diseases ...
, he deeply loathed the economic aspects of his work and was obsessed with the importance of science for its own sake. He described the use of entomology for economic gains as a "prostitution of science and learning."
He gained notoriety for his scathing criticism of scientists who worked for such purposes (including those he worked with and worked for such as
L.O. Howard). His earlier remarks were mostly aimed at his American superiors and colleagues in Washington. Most of these were in the form of essays or poetry (Girault's other great passion). At times, it consisted of a single sentence inserted in the most unlikely places. Among a list of
synonyms
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
in ''Descriptiones hymenopterorum chalcidoidicarum variorum cum observationibus'' (1917), is the completely out of place "Liberty is Soul".
One of his most famous poems was aimed at his USDA superior and the then president of the Entomological Society of Washington,
Altus Lacy Quaintance. It was entitled ''A Song after the manner of 'Auld Lang Syne:
::Should A. L. Quaintance be forgot
::And other childish men?
::Who their first love let go to pot
::that they might fatten.
His Australian colleagues and superiors became the target of his criticism after he moved permanently to Australia. This was most likely the reason for his later difficulties in finding employment.
A more eloquent essay of his position can be found in a 1920 paper:
In the same paper, he also described a parody
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
and
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of a
mymarid wasp, ''Shillingsworthia shillingsworthi'' from the planet
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
. It was a sarcastic insult meant for his then superior, Johann Francis Illingworth:
In one instance, the director of the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock actually prohibited him from publishing several new genera and species. He published it anyway, under the cheekily titled ''
Some new hexapods stolen from authority'' (1928).
Despite this, Girault was a dedicated and prolific taxonomist. He wrote over 325 papers,
describing more than 3000
taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
(mostly of chalcid wasps).
His great love for pure taxonomy is obvious in his writings. Besides criticism of his "traitorous" colleagues, he also used poetry at times to describe newly discovered species.
Like other taxonomists, he also frequently dedicated the names of the wasps he described to people and causes he admired. This included many genus names including ''Davincia,
Shakespearia, Beethovena, Mozartella, Elijahia, Emersonia, Emersonella, Emersonopsis, Raffaellia, Raphaelana, Raphaelonia, Ovidia, Goetheana, Goethella, Lutheria, Marxella, Marxiana, Thoreauella, Thoreauia, Tennysoniana, Lincolna, Lincolnanna, Bachiana, Keatsia, Whittieria,
Plutarchia, Haeckeliania, Schilleria, Aeschylia, Aligheria, Aligherinia, Anselmella, Rubensteina, Carlyleia, Grotiusomyia, Grotiusella, Borrowella, Finlayia, Boudiennyia, Richteria, Ratzeburgalla, Buonapartea,
Zamenhofella, Gounodia, Herodotia, Anthemiella, Delisleia, Cowperella, Cowperia, Hannibalia, Magellanana, Lamennaisia, Lomonosoffiella, Angeliconana, Giorgionia'', and ''Froudeana'', plus numerous epithets such as ''longfellowi, shakespearei, goethei'', et
as well as names honoring the Jewish people,
and his children.
Even financial and publishing problems didn't stop him from continuing his work. About a third of the taxa he described were published with his own meagre funds.
They were often very brief, very poorly printed, and were given away free to a very few institutions and fellow specialists working with
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is a large order (biology), order of insects, comprising the sawfly, sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are Par ...
.
Despite this, Girault's work is still considered
valid by current taxonomists because of his careful preparation of the
type specimen
In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...
s. Most of these were later donated to the
Queensland Museum
The Queensland Museum is the state museum of Queensland, dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museum in South Brisbane with specialist mu ...
, from whence they can still be observed to this day.
However, Girault died before he could complete his final great work, a monograph on Australian chalcid wasps started in 1917.
The bulk of his work and his type specimens were later reexamined by the Queensland Museum Curator of Entomology
Edward "Ted" J. Dahms in the 1970s. For this, Dahms was awarded a
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
degree by the
University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
. Dahms later collaborated with the entomologist
Gordon Gordh
Gordon Gordh (born 1945) is an American entomologist.
Biography
Gordh was born in 1945. In 1967, he received a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado, and in 1972 his master's degree at the University of Kansas. Later on he got his P ...
in finishing the checklist of Australian chalcid wasps that Girault had started, an area of entomology that was largely ignored after Girault's death.
Taxa named after him include ''
Plutarchia giraulti'', which B. R. Subba Rao named in a 1974 paper.
See also
*
Fairyfly
The Mymaridae, commonly known as fairyflies or fairy wasps, are a family of chalcidoid wasps found in temperate and tropical regions throughout the world. The family contains around 100 genera with 1400 species.
Fairyflies are very tiny insects ...
*
Encyrtidae
Encyrtidae is a large family of parasitic wasps, with some 3710 described species in about 455 genera. The larvae of the majority are primary parasitoids on Hemiptera, though other hosts are attacked, and details of the life history can be variab ...
*
Alexander Henry Haliday
Alexander Henry Haliday (1806–1870, also known as Enrico Alessandro Haliday, Alexis Heinrich Haliday, or simply Haliday) was an Irish entomologist. He is primarily known for his work on Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Thysanoptera, but worked on ...
*
Francis Walker
*
John Curtis
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Girault, Alexandre Arsene
American entomologists
Hymenopterists
1884 births
1941 deaths
People from Annapolis, Maryland
Virginia Tech alumni
Australian entomologists
20th-century American zoologists
American emigrants to Australia
20th-century Australian zoologists