Theodosio De Stefani Perez (6 February 1853 in Santa Ninfa,

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...

– 25 February 1935 in Giacalone,

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

) was an Italian naturalist 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 ...

who specialised in

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 ...

and

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

. The Via Teodosio De Stefani Perez in Palermo honours him. His collection of

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 ...

is held by the Zoology Museum of the

University of Palermo The University of Palermo ( it, Università degli Studi di Palermo) is a university located in Palermo, Italy, and founded in 1806. It is organized in 12 Faculties. History The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although its ...

Biography

''Theodosio De Stefani Perez'' was born in the family castle in Santa Ninfa (

) in southwestern Sicily. He was a son of don Mariano De Stefani Falco and donna Ippolita Perez. He was the fourth of seven children. The father was the scion of a wealthy family of landowners, while the mother was a descendant of the Prince of Carloforte and heir to great wealth, but not the noble title.Riggio, S. 1984
Atti del Convegno “l naturalisti e la cultura scientifica siciliana nell '800”
pp. 447 – 464, Portr. He completed his primary studies at the College of San Rocco, later he served voluntary military service until 1873 and at the end of this period he finished his studies. He became professor of Entomology at the University of Palermo and in 1889 was appointed Chief of Phytopathology for Sicily. He was a member of many scientific academies and entomological and environmental associations. He learned the art of embalming and preservation of animals and contributed to establish the University Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy of Palermo. He openly professed secularist, libertarian and antifascist ideas and adhered to

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, where he held the highest degree of Worshipful Master, facts that led to his being ostracised by the fascist regime. Not interested in money, he did not draw his university salary for almost thirty years. Later he withdrew all his money at one time, but it was not enough to save him from the

economic collapse Economic collapse, also called economic meltdown, is any of a broad range of bad economic conditions, ranging from a severe, prolonged depression with high bankruptcy rates and high unemployment (such as the Great Depression of the 1930s), to a ...

, with the loss of almost all of the family assets. He died in Giacalone,

, aged 82.

The Entomologist

''Theodosio De Stefani Perez'' mainly applied himself to the study of Hymenoptera

Chalcididae The Chalcididae are a moderate-sized family within the Chalcidoidea, composed mostly of parasitoids and a few hyperparasitoids. The family is apparently polyphyletic, though the different subfamilies may each be monophyletic, and some may be elev ...

and their galls, with particular attention to their relation with the host plants and the agricultural processes. He produced more than 180 works between 1881 and 1929, published in various Italian and foreign magazines, especially German. He was a pioneer in the study of the Hymenoptera, but this was not confined to their external descriptions and systematics, as was the common practise of the scientists of his time. In fact he was seeking an understanding of biological phenomena and function of species in their natural environment, dealing with their biology, ecology and behaviour. Among his works, about 40 deal with the Hymenoptera

and the production of galls. He described about one hundred species of Hymenoptera, many of them still considered valid species. He also devoted himself to the study of

and

Orthoptera Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grassho ...

, and to the

Ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and fauna of Sicily. In 1893 he produced the first descriptive catalog of the European species of Hymenoptera. In the early 1900s he also devoted himself to the study of the Hymenoptera of

Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

and East Africa.

Works

partial list * 1882 Notizie imenotterologiche. ''Il Naturalista siciliano'', 2: 55–58. * 1883 Miscellanea imenotterologica. ''Il Naturalista siciliano'', 2: 280–284. * 1884 Imenotteri nuovi o poco conosciuti della Sicilia. ''Il Naturalista Siciliano'', 3: 153–158. * 1885 Imenotteri nuovi o poco conosciuti della Sicilia. ''Il Naturalista Siciliano'' 4: 185–189. * 1886 Raccolte imenotterologiche sui Monti di Renda e loro adiacenze. ''Il Naturalista siciliano'' 5: 181–186. * 1887 Un nuovo genere di Crabronidi ed altri Imenotteri nuovi o poco cogniti raccolti in Sicilia. ''Il Naturalista Siciliano'', 6: 85–90. *1887 due nuovi Ichneumoni di Sicilia. ''Il Naturalista Siciliano'', 7: 53–54. * 1889 Miscellanea imenotterologica sicula. ''Il Naturalista Siciliano'' 8: 140–145 * 1889 I Cinipidi e le loro galle. In 4to, offp., pp. 6. ''Atti Reale Accademia di Scienze, Lettere e Belle Arti di Palermo'', Nuova Serie vol. 10. Teodosio De Steafno fu un insigne naturalista e geologo *1894 Imenotteri di Sicilia raccolti nel territorio di Santa Ninfa in provincia di Trapani. ''Il Naturalista siciliano'',13: 199–203; 211–219. *1895 Catalogo degli Imenotteri di Sicilia. ''Il Naturalista Siciliano'', 14: 169–182 * 1898 Miscellanea entomologica sicula. ''Il Naturalista Siciliano'' (2) 2: 249–256. *Riggio G., De Stefani-Perez T. 1888. Sopra alcuni Imenotteri dell'Isola di Ustica. ''Naturalista Siciliano'' 7: 145–150. *''Importante cattura ornitologica fatta in Sicilia''.Palermo 1905 *''Cavallette, loro invasioni e lotta contro di esse in Sicilia. Osservazioni fatte durante l'invasione della Provincia di Palermo negli anni 1901–1911'' Published by Palermo, Colonia Agricola S. Martino, Palermo, Colonia Agricola S. Martino (1913)

References

*Conci, C. & R. Poggi. 1996. Memorie della Societa Entomologica Italiana 75: 24–225, portrait.
World Diptera Taxonomists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Theodosio De Stefani Italian entomologists Hymenopterists 1935 deaths 1853 births