George Francis Bornemissza (born György Ferenc Bornemissza; 11 February 1924 – 10 April 2014) was a Hungarian-born

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 ...

and

ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

. He studied science at the

University of Budapest A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

before obtaining his Ph.D. in zoology at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in 1950. At the end of that year, he emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. There he first worked in the Department of Zoology at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

for 3 years, before pursuing a career with the

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...

(CSIRO). Bornemissza was known for his work on the Australian Dung Beetle Project (1965–1985) while working at

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

's Division of Entomology. He wrote scientific papers and books based on his research and contributed a collection of mounted beetle specimens to the

Australian National Insect Collection The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...

and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. In 2001 he was awarded the Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for his services to Australian entomology.

Early life and education

Bornemissza was born in Baja,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, to Katalin Bornemissza and Ferenc Bornemissza, an engineer. He began collecting and studying beetles in the forests around his hometown during his mid-teens and also volunteered in museums and scientific institutions in Budapest.

Career and research

Early career

After receiving his doctorate from the University of Innsbrück in Austria, Bornemissza fled central Europe to escape the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Soviet regimes and traveled to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, where he arrived on 31 December 1950. Six months after arriving on Australian shores, while working with the Department of Zoology at the University of Western Australia,Collis, B (2002) Fields of Discovery: Australia’s CSIRO, pub. Allen & Unwin, Australia, ch. 2, p 46, he remarked upon a large number of old, dry

cow dung Cow dung, also known as cow pats, cow pies or cow manure, is the waste product (faeces) of bovine animal species. These species include domestic cattle ("cows"), bison ("buffalo"), yak, and water buffalo. Cow dung is the undigested residue ...

pads that covered cattle grazing fields near

Wooroloo Wooroloo is a town on the outer fringe of the Perth metropolitan region, located off Great Eastern Highway in the eastern part of the Shire of Mundaring. At the , Wooroloo had a population of 254. History The name comes from a Noongar word tha ...

- Riley, Kathy (July 2009), Beetle Mania, ''Australian Geographic'' and compared this to the relatively dung-free cattle fields of his native Hungary. In Hungary and elsewhere in the world,

dung beetles Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces. Some species of dung beetles can bury dung 250 times their own mass in one night. Many dung beetles, known as ''rollers'', roll dung into round balls, which are used as a food source or breeding cha ...

have adapted to be able to roll and bury large, moist cattle dung pads but native Australian beetles, which co-evolved alongside the

marsupials Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...

, were not able to utilize

bovine Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship betwee ...

dung since cattle were only relatively recently introduced to Australia in the 1880s. Bornemissza hypothesized that the introduction of foreign dung beetle species that were able to roll and bury cattle dung pads would aid not only Australia's soil fertility by recycling the dung nutrients back into the ground, but would also reduce the number of pestilent flies and parasitic worms which use the dung pads as a breeding ground. Bornemissza joined CSIRO in 1955 and continued to advocate for the introduction of bovine dung beetles to Australia whilst working on several other projects and studies. The Australian Dung Beetle Project subsequently secured funding from the Australian Meat Research Committee and commenced in 1965.Bornemissza, G. F. (1976), The Australian dung beetle project 1965-1975, ''Australian Meat Research Committee Review'' 30:1-30 Beyond his work in entomology, during the 1950s and 1960s, Dr. Bornemissza was also a keen amateur filmmaker. In 1962 he won the Kodak Trophy for the 8mm Best Australian Entry at the Australian Amateur Cine Society 23rd International Gold Cup Competition for his entry "The Burning Bush", a documentary on the effect of bushfires on Australian ecosystems that made extensive use of

time lapse photography Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus ...

The Australian Dung Beetle Project 1965-1985

From 1965, Bornemissza traveled extensively in search of suitable dung beetles to introduce to Australia.
- George Bornemissza OAM, Winner of the Inaugural Australian Geographic Society Conservationist of the Year Award (2008) The first dung beetles to be introduced to Australia came from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, where beetles had already been introduced from Africa to biologically control populations of the pestilent

horn fly ''Haematobia irritans'', the horn fly, is a small fly (about half the size of a common housefly). It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is of the genus ''Haematobia'' which is the European ...

. Samples of the species ''

Onthophagus gazella ''Onthophagus gazella'' (common names: gazella scarab, brown dung beetle) is a species of scarab beetle. It belongs to the subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code ...

'' were transported to Australia where they were bred in sterile conditions before being released in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in 1968. After the introduction, they became established across a large area of tropical Australia. It was realized that due to periods of seasonal inactivity by ''O. Gazella'', further beetle species were needed to fill in the gaps in climatic and habitat preference and the peak time of beetle activity. To this end, Bornemissza traveled to

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

in 1970 where he helped establish a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n branch of the Australian Dung Beetle Research Unit. For 9 years,Edwards, P (2007), Introduced Dung Beetles in Australia 1967-2007: current status and future directions, ''

Landcare Australia Landcare Australia is the name for a community not-for-profit organisation which involves local groups of volunteers repairing the natural environment. Originally projects focused on agricultural farmland. The idea was that farmers, conservati ...

'' he carried out research to find species of dung beetle that would not only be able to remove the bovine dung pads in Australia, but also those that would thrive in the varying climates found all over the continent. It was also important that the beetles chose, and the tiny parasites that the beetles carry, would not themselves become pests and so strict quarantining procedures were devised and developed.Bornemissza, G. F. (1979), The Australian Dung Beetle Research Unit in Pretoria, ''South African Journal of Science'' 75 (6): 257-260 In total, 43 species of beetle from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

were introduced to Australia by CSIRO between 1968 and 1984.

Project Outcomes and Impact

The funding for the Australian Dung Beetle Project was withdrawn in 1985 after the restructuring of the Australian Meat Research Committee, but Bornemissza believed that the full potential of the project had yet to be realized. He said, "''The introduction of exotic dung beetles and their subsequent establishment in Australia is now history and a very successful one at that. However, it fell short in filling all the climatic areas with their vast variety of habitats''". This last statement was made in a report by Penny Edwards in 2007, which summarised investigations made by Landcare Australia to evaluate the distribution and abundance of introduced species of dung beetle across Australia. The investigation found that 23 of the 43 species of dung beetle introduced by Bornemissza and his team were still established and thriving all over Australia, and it recommended that further research be carried out to fill the empty ecological niches with new species of introduced dung beetle. The work Bornemissza and his team undertook with the Australian Dung Beetle Project is credited with being the reason why Australians today can enjoy a terrace café culture. The success of the project in reducing the number of bush flies by 90% has meant that outside dining is no longer illegal, as it once was in the 1950s. The "Australian Salute", a flick of the hand recognized by older generations of Australians as the only solution to rid oneself of flies at that time, is now a dwindling gesture.Cribb, J (11 October 2006) Fly times when the dry comes, ''The Australian''Discovering the beetles that let Australians dine outdoors, ''For Enterprise: The Rolex Awards Journal'' 21 (2007) pp 44-45, pub. Rolex SA, Geneva The Australian Dung Beetle Project is also said to have affected soil, water, and pasture health that is "''undoubtedly worth many millions of dollars a year''".The Queensland Dung Beetle Project (2002), ''Improving sustainable land management systems in Queensland using Beetles: Final report of the 2001-2002 Queensland Dung Beetle Project'', page 3

Retirement and further work

Bornemissza moved to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

in 1979 and formally retired in 1983 but continued to work privately to foster awareness of beetles and

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

issues. In retirement he compiled a collection of beetles for public display, which he donated to the

in Canberra. Following this 3-year project he commenced in 1993 a 20-year private project to assemble the largest collection of beetles ever presented for public display. Entitled ''George Bornemissza's Forest Beauties of the Beetle World: A Tribute to Biodiversity and an Appeal for its Preservation'', the collection is structured into five sections focussed on size range,

allometry Allometry is the study of the relationship of body size to shape, anatomy, physiology and finally behaviour, first outlined by Otto Snell in 1892, by D'Arcy Thompson in 1917 in ''On Growth and Form'' and by Julian Huxley in 1932. Overview Allom ...

, color, secondary

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

and

zoogeography Zoogeography is the branch of the science of biogeography that is concerned with geographic distribution (present and past) of animal species. As a multifaceted field of study, zoogeography incorporates methods of molecular biology, genetics, mo ...

. As the sections were completed they were donated to the

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is a museum located in Hobart, Tasmania. The museum was established in 1846, by the Royal Society of Tasmania, the oldest Royal Society outside England. The TMAG receives 400,000 visitors annually. ...

. The Bornemissza Collection of beetles was the subject of an episode of the TV show "

Collectors Collector(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Collector (character), a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe * ''Collector'' (2011 film), a 2011 Indian Malayalam film * ''Collector'' (2016 film), a 2016 Russian film * ''Collec ...

" shown on the Australian television channel ABC in 2005. Bornemissza also contributed to habitat conservation initiatives in Tasmania. He assessed, with Karyl Michaels, the effect of clear-felling and slash-burning of forest on lucanid beetles in Tasmania. These beetles feed on and reproduce in decaying wood and it was found that forest-clearing practices have led to a significant decrease in the distribution and abundance of several species. Some, including Bornemissza's Stag Beetle (''Hoplogonus bornemisszai''), are now considered endangered species, and improved forest management strategies in Tasmania are recommended.Michaels, K. and Bornemissza, G. F. (1999), Effects of clear-fell harvesting on lucanid beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) in wet and dry sclerophyll forests in Tasmania, ''Journal of Insect Conservation'' (3) 85-95 Bornemissza died in Australia on 10 April 2014 at age 90.

Awards and honours

Bornemissza received several awards including: * Kodak Trophy for the 8mm Best Australian Entry, Australian Amateur Cine Society 23rd International Gold Cup Competition 1962 * Fellowship of the Von Humboldt Society * Britannica Award Gold Medal, 1973, For his application of ecology for human benefit *

Rolex Award for Enterprise Rolex SA () is a British-founded Swiss watch designer and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex'' as the brand name of ...

, 1981, honorable mention for his project ''Dung Beetles against Pasture Pollution''Stone, Gregory B. (1981), Spirit of Enterprise: The 1981 Rolex Awards, pub. W.H. Freeman, * Medal of the Order of Australia, 2001, For service to science and entomology, particularly through the ecological study of dung beetles and the introduction of new species to Australia * CSIRO Service from Science Award, 2003, in recognition of his dedication of time and effort to improve our knowledge of our insect biodiversity *

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Fellow of Entomology, CSIRO, 2006 *

Australian Geographic Australian Geographic is a media business that produces the ''Australian Geographic'' magazine, ''DMag'' magazine, specialist book titles, travel guides, diaries and calendars and online media. It published editions of the Australian Encyclop ...

Conservationist of the Year 2008

Eponymy

Several species of beetle and other insects have been named after Bornemissza, including: - Encyclopaedia of Life 1. ''Carbrunneria bornemisszai'' Princis, 1954
2. ''Osa bornemisszai'' Paramonov 1958
3. ''Polypauropus bornemisszai'' Remy, 1961
4. ''Symphylella bornemisszai'' Scheller, 1961
5. ''Ipomyia bornemisszai'' Colless, 1965
6. ''Beierolpium bornemisszai'' Beier, 1966
7. ''Pseudotyrannochthonius bornemisszai'' Beier, 1966
8. ''Eosentomon bornemisszai'' Tuxon, 1967
9. ''Copris bornemisszai'' Ferreira, 1968 (synonym of ''Copris bootes'' Klug, 1855)
10. ''Neosisyphus bornemisszai'' Ferreira, 1968 (synonym of ''Neosisyphus infuscatus'' Klug, 1855)
11. ''Onthophagus bornemisszai'' Matthews, 1972
12. ''Onthophagus bornemisszanus'', Matthews, 1972
13. ''Temnoplectron bornemisszai'' Matthews, 1974
14. ''Setoppia bornemisszai'' Balogh, 1982
15. ''Sisyphus bornemisszanus'' Endrödi, 1983
16. ''Acutozetes bornemisszai'' J. & P. Balogh, 1986
17. ''Clambus bornemisszai'' Endrödy-Younga, 1990
18. ''Hoplogonus bornemisszai'' Bartolozzi, 1996
19. ''Viracochiella bornemisszai'', Balogh & Mahunka, 1996
20. ''Lissotes bornemisszai'', Bartolozzi, 2003

Publications

Bornemissza is the author or co-author of several articles in the field of entomology. His work has appeared in a range of journals and books including ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, 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. ...

'' and the ''

Australian Journal of Zoology The ''Australian Journal of Zoology'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by CSIRO Publishing. It covers research on all aspects of zoology, with a special focus on the fauna of Australia. The editor-in-chief is Paul Cooper ...

'' and was published between the years 1956 - 1999.

Selected publications

* Bornemissza, G. F. (1957), The first Projapygidae from Western Australia, with some additional notes on the family and its allies, ''Western Australian Nature'' 6:76-79 * Bornemissza, G. F. (1957), An analysis of arthropod succession in carrion and the effect of its decomposition on the soil fauna, ''Australian Journal of Zoology'' 5:1-12 * Bornemissza, G.F. (1960), Could dung-eating insects improve our pastures? ''Journal of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science'' 26: 54-56 * Bornemissza, G. F. (1961), Termination of pupal diapause in the cinnabar moth and the reproductive capacity of the resulting females, ''Nature'' 190: 936-937 * Bornemissza, G. F. (1964), Sex attractant of male scorpion flies, ''Nature'' 203: 786-787 * Bornemissza, G. F. (1966), Specificity of male sex attractants in some Australian scorpion flies, ''Nature'' 209:732-733 * Bornemissza, G. F. (1966), An attempt to control ragwort in Australia with the cinnabar moth, ''Callimorpha jacobaeae'' (L.) (Arctiidae: Lepidoptera), ''Australian Journal of Zoology'' 14:201-243 * Bornemissza, G. F. (1966), Observations on the hunting and mating behavior of two species of scorpionflies (Bittacidae: Mecoptera), ''Australian Journal of Zoology'' 14:371-382 * Bornemissza, G. F. (1968), Studies on the histerid beetle ''Pachylister Chinensis'' in Fiji, and its possible value in the control of buffalo-fly in Australia, ''Australian Journal of Zoology'' 16:673-688 * Bornemissza, G. F. (1969), A new type of brood care observed in the dung beetle ''Oniticellus cinctus'' (Scarabaeidae), ''Pedobiologia'' 9:223-225 * Bornemissza G. F. (1970), Insectary studies on the control of dung breeding flies by the activity of the dung beetle, ''Onthophagus Gazella'' F. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae), ''Journal of the Australian Entomology Society'' 9:31-41 * Bornemissza, G. F. and Williams, C. H. (1970), An effect of dung beetle activity on plant yield, ''Pedobiologia'' 10:1-7 * Bornemissza, G. F. (1971), A new variant of the paracopric nesting type in the Australian dung beetle, ''Onthophagus composites'', ''Pedobiologia'' 11:1-10 * Bornemissza, G. F. (1971), Mycetopagous breeding in the Australian dung beetle, ''Onthophagus dunning'', ''Pedobiologia'' 11:133-142 * Bornemissza, G. F. (1976), The Australian dung beetle project 1965-1975, ''Australian Meat Research Committee Review'' 30:1-30 * Bornemissza, G. F. (1979), The Australian Dung Beetle Research Unit in Pretoria, ''South African Journal of Science'' 75 (6): 257-260 * Bornemissza, G. F. (1983), Darwin and the Tasmanian dung beetles, ''Tasmanian Nature'' 75:1-3 * Michaels, K, and Bornemissza, G. F. (1999), Effects of clear-fell harvesting on lucanid beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) in wet and dry sclerophyll forests in Tasmania, ''Journal of Insect Conservation'' 3:85-95

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bornemissza, George Australian entomologists Australian ecologists 1924 births 2014 deaths Coleopterists Australian conservationists Australian zoologists Hungarian biologists Hungarian emigrants to Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia University of Innsbruck alumni 20th-century biologists Australian naturalists Hungarian expatriates in Austria People from Baja, Hungary