Charles Thomas Bingham (16 April 1848, India – 18 October 1908

West Kensington, London West Kensington, formerly North End, is an area in the ancient parish of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) west of Charing Cross. It covers most of the London postal area of W14, includin ...

) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

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 ...

. Bingham was born in India of an old Irish family, and he was educated in Ireland.Kirby, W.F , 1909 Obituary correction ''Entomologists monthly magazine'' 45:36 His military career began in India where he was a soldier in the

Bombay Staff Corps The Indian Staff Corps was a branch of the Indian Army during the British Raj. Separate Staff Corps were formed in 1861 for the Bengal, Madras and Bombay Armies, which were later combined into the Indian Army. They were meant to provide officers f ...

and later with the

Bengal Staff Corps Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. At first interested in

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 ...

he took up

entomology Entomology () is the science, 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 ...

from 1877 following a posting to

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

where he was also conservator of forests. On his retirement in 1894 he settled with his wife and two sons (his three daughters married in India) in London. Here he worked, unpaid, in the Insect Room of 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. ...

, organising and cataloguing the world collection of

aculeate Aculeata is a subclade of Hymenoptera containing ants, bees, and stinging wasps. The name is a reference to the defining feature of the group, which is the modification of the ovipositor into a stinger. However, many members of the group cannot ...

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 ...

. He took over from

William Thomas Blanford William Thomas Blanford (7 October 183223 June 1905) was an English geologist and naturalist. He is best remembered as the editor of a major series on ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma''. Biography Blanford was born ...

the editorship of two of the Hymenoptera volumes of ''

The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma ''The Fauna of British India'' (short title) with long titles including ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma'', and ''The Fauna of British India Including the Remainder of the Oriental Region'' is a series of scientific books th ...

'' series and two of the butterfly volumes. He was elected a fellow 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 ...

in 1895 and was a member of its council from 1903 to 1906. In the same year he became a fellow of the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

Works

He collaborated with other naturalists across India to produce his works on the Indian Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera. *''

''. ''Hymenoptera''. Volume 1. Wasps and Bees. London: Taylor and Francis (1897). *''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma''. ''Hymenoptera'', Volume 2. Ants and Cuckoo-wasps. London: Taylor and Francis (1903). *''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma''. ''Butterflies'' Volume 1. London: Taylor and Francis (1905). *''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma''. ''Butterflies'' Volume 2. London: Taylor and Francis (1907) He also extensively improved on the earlier published information from

Frederic Moore Frederic Moore FZS (13 May 1830 – 10 May 1907) was a British entomologist and illustrator. He produced six volumes of ''Lepidoptera Indica'' and a catalogue of the birds in the collection of the East India Company. It has been said that Mo ...

and

Lionel de Nicéville Charles Lionel Augustus de Nicéville (1852 in Bristol – 3 December 1901 in Calcutta from malaria) was a curator at the Indian Museum in Calcutta (now Kolkata). He studied the butterflies of the Indian Subcontinent and wrote a three volume mono ...

. The following is from his preface to the butterflies volume of ''

'':

Named for Bingham

In Dutch, the

white-headed bulbul The white-headed bulbul (''Hypsipetes thompsoni'') is a songbird species in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in Myanmar and north-western Thailand. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical ...

is named for Bingham as . Several species of ants and wasps are named after him including ''

Tetraponera binghami ''Tetraponera'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae that are commonly known as slender ants and are characterized by their arboreal nature and slender bodies. The 96 described species of ''Tetraponera'' all of which live in holl ...

'', ''

Aenictus binghami ''Aenictus binghami'' is a species of tiger's eye-colored army ant found in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand. Colonies have been described in detail in Pak Chong District of Thailand, and Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam, where a queen wa ...

'' and '' Vespa binghami''.

Collections

His Hymenoptera are in the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

, with duplicates in the

Natural History Museum, Berlin The Natural History Museum (german: Museum für Naturkunde) is a natural history museum located in Berlin, Germany. It exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history and in such domain it is one of three major muse ...

. The

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 ...

were scattered and presumably sold. His ''

Parnassius ''Parnassius'' is a genus of northern circumpolar and montane (alpine and Himalayan) butterflies usually known as Apollos or snow Apollos. They can vary in colour and form significantly based on their altitude. They also show an adaptation to h ...

'', the snow Apollo butterflies, are in

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasure ...

, Belfast.

References

Sources

*Anonymous 1909: "Bingham, C.T." ''Entomologist's Monthly Magazine'' (3) 45 * *

External links

* ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma''. ** Butterflies
Volume 1Volume 2
** Hymenoptera
Volume 1Volume 2Volume 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bingham, Charles Thomas 1848 births 1908 deaths Irish entomologists Hymenopterists Fellows of the Zoological Society of London Fellows of the Royal Entomological Society Bengal Staff Corps officers Bombay Staff Corps officers Naturalists of British India