Nikolai Yakovlevich Kuznetsov ( rus, Николай Яковлевич Кузнецов; May 23, 1873 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

– April 8, 1948 in Leningrad) was a Russian Empire and Soviet

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 ...

paleoentomologist The most recent understanding of the evolution of insects is based on studies of the following branches of science: molecular biology, insect morphology, paleontology, insect taxonomy, evolution, embryology, bioinformatics and scientific computing ...

and

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical a ...

, since 1910 was member of the

Russian Entomological Society The Russian Entomological Society is a Russian scientific society devoted to entomology. The Society was founded in 1859 in St. Petersburg by Karl Ernst von Baer, Johann Friedrich von Brandt who was then the director of the Zoological Museum of th ...

. Professor Kuznetsov was very important as a pioneer in the fields of insect physiology,

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 ...

fauna of the Arctic (

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

) and knowledge of fossils of Lepidoptera. He influenced the very famous lepidopterist and writer

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bo ...

: "At the age of eight he abokovbegan reading serious books on entomology from the family library and at nine he already attempted to make his first scientific discovery, writing about it to the leading Russian lepidopterist, Nikolay Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov's reply disappointed the young naturalist: it turned out that the insect in question had already been described." Years later Nabokov called the work "Fauna of Russia and Adjacent Countries – Lepidoptera" his masterpiece, "unsurpassed by any other general survey of the morphology of Lepidoptera".

Biography

He graduated from the

University of St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public university, public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a de ...

in 1895. Then he was appointed demonstrator in animal

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

at the university and later became a lecturer, and a professor. He also lectured on entomology and insect physiology at the Institute of Applied,

Zoology 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, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

, but, his main interest was centred at the Zoological Institute of the

Academy of Sciences An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unite ...

, where he was in charge of Lepidoptera for more than forty years, he was specialized in the family

Pieridae The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America and Eurasia.DeVries P. J. in Levi ...

and also studied fossil insects in

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

. He was colleague and friend of

Grigory Grum-Grshimailo Grigory Yefimovich Grum-Grshimailo (russian: Григо́рий Ефи́мович Грумм-Гржима́йло, 1860–1936) was a Russian zoologist best known for his expeditions to Central Asia (Pamir, Bukhara, Tian-Shan, Kan-su, and Kuku ...

. He was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

Legacy

His personal collection of specimens of Lepidoptera, including the acquisition of the Wocke's collection, today is at the Zoological Institute (St. Petersburg). He described the following species of

: * '' Biston hypoleucus'' * ''

Catocala mesopotamica ''Catocala mesopotamica'' is a moth of the family Erebidae first described by Nikolai Yakovlevich Kuznetsov in 1903. It is found in Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ...

'' * ''

Catocala orba ''Catocala orba'', the Orba underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Nikolai Yakovlevich Kuznetsov in 1903. It is found from Massachusetts south to Georgia and Florida, west to Texas, and as far north as M ...

'' * ''

Haplochrois theae ''Haplochrois theae'' is a species of moth of the family Elachistidae. It is found from western Transcaucasia and Anatolia to China. It probably originated from Southeast Asia. During the 20th century, this species was a serious pest on tea plant ...

'' * ''

Pseudochazara euxina ''Pseudochazara euxina'' is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.Electresia ''Electresia'' is a genus of moths belonging to the subfamily Olethreutinae of the family Tortricidae. Species *''Electresia zalesskii'' Kuznetzov, 1941 See also *List of Tortricidae genera This is a taxonomy of the moth family Tortricidae d ...

'', ''

Glendotricha ''Glendotricha'' is an extinct genus in the superfamily Pyraloidea. It was described by Kusnezov in 1941, and contains the species ''G. olgae''. It is known from Baltic amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, ...

'', ''

Oegoconiites ''Oegoconiites'' is an extinct moth genus in the family Autostichidae. It contains the species ''Oegoconiites borisjaki'', which was described from Baltic amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic ...

'', ''

Oligamatites ''Oligamatites'' is an extinct genus of moths in the subfamily Arctiinae. It contains the single species ''Oligamatites martynovi'' dated to the Upper Oligocene, which was described from Kazakhstan. Both the genus and species were described by N ...

'', ''

Prolyonetia ''Prolyonetia'' is an extinct genus of moths in the family Lyonetiidae. The single species ''Prolyonetia cockerelli'' Kusnetzov, 1941, has been described from Baltic amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, c ...

'', ''

Symmocites ''Symmocites'' is an extinct moth genus in the family Autostichidae. It contains the species ''Symmocites rohdendorfi'', which was described from Baltic amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic a ...

'' and the extinct species '' Micropterix immensipalpa'' as ''Electrocrania immensipalpa''.

Selected works

* 1910 (second edition): translation by Kuznetsov into Russian language from David Sharp's "Insects" (Volumes V and VI of the series "Cambridge Natural History", 1895 and 1899) *1925: Some new Eastern and American elements in the fauna Lepidoptera of Polar Europa. // Доклады АН СССР, серия A: 119—122. * 1938."The Eurasian Arctic Fauna and Its Origin (Mainly Based on the Data on Lepidoptera)". Trudy Zool. Inst. Akad. Nauk SSSR 5, 1–85. * 1941. "A Revision of the Amber Lepidoptera." (In Russ. & English.) Édition Acad. Sci. U.R.S.S. (Moscow): 135 pp., 31 pls. * 1948-1949: Основы физиологии насекомых. — Édition Acad. Sci. U.R.S.S. (Moscow), Volumes 1-2. (In Russ.) undamentals of Insect Physiology* 1967. "Fauna of Russia and Adjacent Countries – Lepidoptera". Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem. ranslation from Russian of "Nasekomye cheshuekrylye" or "Насекомые чешуекрылые (Insecta, Lepidoptera)"(Petrograd 1915)

References

External links

* Borodin, D. N. 1949. ''The Lepidopterist's News'' III (3): 29-3

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuznetsov, Nikolai 1873 births 1948 deaths Scientists from Saint Petersburg Academic staff of Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University alumni Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Paleontologists from the Russian Empire Physiologists from the Russian Empire Zoologists with author abbreviations Russian entomologists Russian lepidopterists Russian paleontologists Russian physiologists Soviet entomologists Soviet lepidopterists Soviet paleontologists Soviet physiologists