La Società Entomologica Italiana, the Italian Entomological Society, is Italy's foremost society devoted to the study of

insects Insects (from Latin ') are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed ...

. The society promotes applied

entomology Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

. Its past members have saved millions from deadly diseases such as

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. The society has two academic publications: ''Bollettino della Società Entomologica Italiana'' (1869-) and ''Memorie della Società Entomologica Italiana'' (1922-).

History

The society was founded on 31 October 1869, near the Regio Museo di Storia Naturale, the Royal Natural History Museum (effectively "Museo zoologico de La Specola") in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. The founding members were

Adolfo Targioni Tozzetti Adolfo Targioni Tozzetti (13 February 1823 in Florence – 18 September 1902) was an Italian entomologist who specialised in Sternorrhyncha. He was Professor of Botany and Zoology in Florence, associated with Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze w ...

– the first president of the society –

Giovanni Battista Grassi Giovanni Battista Grassi (27 March 1854 – 4 May 1925) was an Italian people, Italian physician and zoologist, best known for his pioneering works on parasitology, especially on malariology. He was Professor of Comparative Zoology at the Unive ...

Antonio Berlese Antonio Berlese (26 June 1863, in Padua, Austrian Empire – 24 October 1927, in Florence) was an Italian entomologist. Career Berlese worked on pest insects notably of fruit trees. He published over 300 articles and a book ''Gli insetti loro o ...

Filippo Silvestri Filippo Silvestri (22 June 1873 – 10 June 1949) was an Italian entomologist. He specialised in world Protura, Thysanura, Diplura and Isoptera, but also worked on Hymenoptera, Myriapoda and Italian Diptera. He is also noted for describing a ...

, and

Guido Grandi Dom Guido Grandi, (1 October 1671 – 4 July 1742) was an Italian monk, priest, philosopher, theologian, mathematician, and engineer. Life Grandi was born on 1 October 1671 in Cremona, Italy and christened Luigi Francesco Lodovico. When ...

. The Society had been promoted almost two years before by a group of Italian and other scientists from various institutions across Italy. On 1 January 1868, 21 members of the Comitato dei Promotori della Società Entomologica Italiana committee signed a manifesto coordinated by Alexander Enrico Haliday and four academic associates: *

Emilio Cornalia Emilio Cornalia (25 August 1824 – 8 June 1882) was an Italian naturalist. Treccani. He was born in Milan and died in the same city. He was conservator from 1851 to 1866, and director from 1866 till his death, of the Milan Museum of Natural Hi ...

, then director of del Museo civico di Storia naturale di

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

o, the author of works of applied entomology, such as "La Monografia del bombice del gelso" published in 1856; *

Giovanni Passerini Giovanni Passerini was an Italian botanist and entomologist, born on June 16, 1816, in Pieve di Guastalla. He died on April 17, 1893, in Parma . In 1836 he studied medicine at the University of Parma, where from 1844 onward, he was a professor o ...

, university professor of Botany at the Università di

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

; *

Paolo Savi Paolo Savi (11 July 1798 – 5 April 1871) was an Italian geologist and ornithologist. Biography Savi was born in Pisa, the son of Gaetano Savi, professor of botany at the University of Pisa. The younger Savi became assistant lecturer in zoo ...

, director of the "Museo zoologico dell'Università di

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

", and author of "Ornitologia Toscana", Tuscany Birds (1827–1831), who had also promoted the first congress of Italian scientists, Primo Congresso degli Scienziati Italiani at Pisa in 1839 an author of notes on breeding ''

Samia cynthia ''Samia cynthia'', the ailanthus silkmoth, is a saturniid moth, used to produce silk fabric but not as domesticated as the silkworm, ''Bombyx mori''. The moth has very large wings of , with a quarter-moon shaped spot on both the upper and lower ...

'', an alternative silk producer of optimal quality "shantung" *

Achille Costa Achille Costa (10 August 1823, Lecce – 17 November 1899 Rome) was an Italian zoologist working mainly in entomology who was appointed director of the Zoological Museum of Naples. He founded the entomological collections in Naples and describe ...

, holder of the first chair of Entomology and director of Museo zoologico dell'Università di Napoli.

and

Pietro Stefanelli Pietro Stefanelli (30 July 1835, Florence – 23 December 1919, Florence) was an Italian Professor of Entomology. mainly interested in Lepidoptera and Odonata.He was a founding member of the Italian Entomological Society. He was also instrumental ...

are also listed as one of the Comitato. Fernandino Maria Piccioli was an editor. The founding of the society was a part of the

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

. In 1922, it moved to

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, to

Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria is a natural history museum in Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live wi ...

, where it is based. La Società Entomologica Italiana collaborates with Unione Zoologica Italiana, the Italian Zoological Society in maintaining a website listing the Italian Fauna FaunaItalia.

Notables

- Vice President of the society (1879-1898) *

Raffaello Gestro Raffaello Gestro (21 March 1845, Genoa – 6 June 1936, Genoa) was an Italian entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera. Gestro was the Director of the Natural History Museum of Giacomo Doria Genoa where his collection is conserved. He was a Memb ...

- President of the society (1922-23) *

Alexander Henry Haliday Alexander Henry Haliday (1806–1870, also known as Enrico Alessandro Haliday, Alexis Heinrich Haliday, or simply Haliday) was an Ireland, Irish entomologist. He is primarily known for his work on Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Thysanoptera, but wor ...

* Leonello Picco *

Camillo Rondani Camillo Rondani (21 November 1808 – 17 September 1879) was an Italian entomology, entomologist noted for his studies of Diptera. Early life, family and education Camillo Rondani was born in Parma when the city was part of the French Empi ...

Ruggero Verity Ruggero Verity or Roger Verity (20 May 1883 – 4 March 1959) was an Anglo-Italy, Italian entomologist who specialised in butterflies, and was a physician. Life Roger Verity was born in Florence on 20 May 1883, the elder son of Richard Henry Mann ...

References

External links

*
Italian Entomological Society
official website'' *
Bollettino della Società Entomologica Italiana
' on the Biodiversity Heritage Library {{authority control Entomological societies Biology societies Learned societies of Italy