Eliza Fanny Staveley (1831-1903), published as E.F. Staveley, was a British entomologist,

arachnologist Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of ...

, and author. Her work ''British Insects'' (1871) was favourably reviewed by Alfred Russel Wallace in ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

''.

Life

Eliza Fanny Staveley was born in Kensington,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1831, to Thomas Staveley and Eliza Wowski (née Dickenson). During the 1860s, Stavely conducted anatomical studies of spiders and hymenopterous insects, focusing particularly on the study of hooks on insect wings and teeth in spiders. Entomologist Frederick Smith, who worked in the zoology department of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, assisted Staveley in providing a collection of wings for study. Staveley was an associate of naturalist

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ...

, who read papers she had prepared to the Linnean and

Zoological Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and dis ...

Societies of London. Following the publication of ''British Insects'' in 1871, naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace reviewed the work for the journal ''Nature''. He wrote that he could:

conscientiously recommend this book as admirably adapted to lead its readers to observe for themselves the varied phenomena presented by insects, and thus to become true entomologists.

Horticulturist Theresa Earle also wrote favourably of her 1866 work ''British Spiders'', describing it as:

a very good book... which would tell all that anyone might want to know about these insects. The first page illustrates spiders' heads, with the varying numbers of eyes the different kinds possess.

Eliza Fanny Staveley died in 1903 in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

, aged 72.

Works

As listed on the Biodiversity Heritage Library: * 'Observations on the neuration of the hind wings of Hymenopterous insects: and on the hooks which join the fore and hind wings together in flight' (1860) * 'Notes on the Form of the Comb (Pecten) in Different Andrenidae and Apidae, and on the Alar Hooks of the Species of Sphecodes and Halictus' (1862) in ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' * ''British spiders: an introduction to the study of the Araneidae of Great Britain and Ireland'' (1866) * 'Note on the presence of teeth on the Maxillæ of Spiders' (1866) in ''The Annals and magazine of natural history; zoology, botany, and geology'' Vol. 17, No. 3 * ''British Insects: a familiar description of the form, structure, habits, and transformations of insects'' (1871)

References

External links

Works by E.F. Staveley
at

Worldcat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

Works by E.F. Staveley
at HathiTrust {{DEFAULTSORT:Staveley, Eliza Fanny 1831 births 1903 deaths English naturalists English women scientists English entomologists 19th-century English women writers British Museum Linnean Society of London Zoological Society of London Entomologists from London Women entomologists 19th-century British women scientists British arachnologists People from Kensington