John Henry Leech (5 December 1862 – 29 December 1900) was an English

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 ...

who specialised in

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

and

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

. His collections from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

are in the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

, London. These also contain insects from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, and

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

. He wrote ''British Pyralides'' (1886) and ''Butterflies from China, Japan and Corea'', three volumes (1892–1894). He was a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

and of the

Entomological Society of London The Royal Entomological Society is devoted to the study of insects. Its aims are to disseminate information about insects and improving communication between entomologists. The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological Society of London ...

, a member of the ''

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 ...

'', and of the

Entomological Society of Berlin 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 ...

(''Entomologischen Verein zu Berlin''). He died at his home,

Hurdcott House Hurdcott House is a 19th-century country house in Winterbourne Earls, Wiltshire, England, in the Bourne valley about north-east of Salisbury. It became a Grade II listed building on 29 May 1987. The two-storey house with three bays dates to th ...

, near

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, in 1900.

Legacy

John Henry Leech is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of lizard, ''

Enyalius leechii ''Enyalius leechii'', Leech's fathead anole, is a species of lizard in the family Leiosauridae. It is endemic to Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both S ...

''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael & Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Leech", p. 154).

References

Sources

*Anonymous (1901). "Leech, J. H." ''Entomologist's Monthly Magazine''. (2) 12 (37)(2): 49-50. *Anonymous (1901). "Leech, J. H." ''Entomologist''. 34: 33-38. *Gilbert, P. (2000). ''Butterfly Collectors and Painters. Four Centuries of Colour Plates from the Library Collections of the Natural History Museum, London''. Singapore: Beaumont Publishing Pte Ltd. * Inoue, H. (2005). "John Henry Leech (1862–1900)". ''The Pioneers of Moth-Fauna of Japan''. 1 Yugato. *Verrall, G. H. (1900). ''Proceedings of the Entomological Society of London''.

External links

NHM
Manuscript Collection.
Internet Archive
''Catalogue of the Collection of Palaearctic Butterflies Formed by the Late John Henry Leech, and Presented to the Trustees of the British Museum by His Mother, Mrs. Eliza Leech (1902)'' British Museum (Natural History.
Internet Archive
Leech, John Henry ''On Lepidoptera Heterocera from China, Japan, and Corea'' (1897?) an
BDH
Volumes 1 and 2 English lepidopterists 1862 births 1900 deaths Fellows of the Royal Entomological Society {{UK-entomologist-stub