Charles Jean-Baptiste Amyot (23 September 1799, in Vendreeuv – 13 October 1866, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) was a French

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

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 ...

especially interested in the

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...

. After his father died, Amyot lived with a neighbor, a wealthy merchant, who was also an entomologist,

Jean Guillaume Audinet-Serville Jean Guillaume Audinet-Serville (; his name, before the French Revolution, Revolution, included a Nobiliary particle, particle: Audinet de Serville) was a French entomologist, born on 11 November 1775 in Paris. He died on 27 March 1858 in La Fert ...

. They become life-long friends, and Audinet-Serville advised Amyot to specialize in the

, which at the time was being ignored by serious entomologists. In 1822, Amyot became a lawyer, but he continued to study the Hemiptera. In 1833, he published a work on civil law, ''Institutes, ou Principes des lois civiles'' (''Institutes, or the principles of civil law''). In 1843, together with Audinet-Serville, he published ''Histoire naturelle des insectes hémiptères'' (''The Natural History of the Hemiptera Insects''). Amyot was also interested in applied entomology and wrote several publications devoted to insect pests and how to fight them. Amyot later became the president of the Entomological Society of France (''

Société entomologique de France The Société entomologique de France, or French Entomological Society, is devoted to the study of insects. The society was founded in 1832 in Paris, France. The society was created by eighteen Parisian entomologists on January 31, 1832. The first ...

''), where he argued for his monomial nomenclature (see

binomial nomenclature In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

) for classification purposes, to the point where his fellow members withheld the honorary membership usually awarded to past presidents.

Works

*Entomologie Francaise. ''Rhynchotes. Méthode mononymique'', in ''

Annales de la Société Entomologique de France Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

'' (2): 1845, T.3: 369-492; 1846, T.4: 73-192; 359-452; 1847, T.5:143-238; 453-524 (1845-1847). *Entomologie Francaise. ''Rhynchotes. Méthode mononymique''. Paris, J.-B. Baillière, Libraire de l'Acad. Roy. Méd.: 1-504, 5 pl.(1848). *with Audinet-Serville.''Histoire naturelle des insectes Hémiptères''. Paris, Libraire Encyclopédique de Roret: 1-675 (1843) BDHL Sca

Legacy

* In 1851

William Sweetland Dallas William Sweetland Dallas (1824–1890) was a British zoologist and curator. He curated collections at the British Museum and the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, and was editor of the '' Popular Science Review''. Biography He was appoin ...

named the species ''

Rhaphigaster amyoti ''Glaucias amyoti'', commonly called the Australasian green shield bug or New Zealand vegetable bug, is a species of shield bug found in Australia, New Zealand, Timor and New Guinea. Adults and juveniles feed off plants including certain ''Cop ...

'' in Amyot's honor. It is now known as ''

Glaucias amyoti ''Glaucias amyoti'', commonly called the Australasian green shield bug or New Zealand vegetable bug, is a species of shield bug found in Australia, New Zealand, Timor and New Guinea. Adults and juveniles feed off plants including certain ''Cop ...

''.

Notes

Sources

* Lhoste, Jean (1987) ''Les Entomologistes Francais 1750 - 1950' (''The French entomologists from 1750 to 1950''). INRA,

OPIE (Entomology) Office pour l'Information Eco-entomologique (abbreviated OPIE or OPIE-LR, English: Office for Entomological Information) is a French government organisation based in Guyancourt devoted to entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study ...

: 115

1036 Year 1036 ( MXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – In Naples, Duke Sergius IV abdicates and retires to a monastery; he is succe ...

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amyot, Charles Jean-Baptiste 1799 births 1866 deaths French entomologists Presidents of the Société entomologique de France 19th-century French lawyers

Works

Legacy

Notes

Sources

Further reading

External links