AUGUSTE DE BORMANS. 85 



Auguste de Bormans {n-ith pJiotof/rajih). 



In November last there appeared the result of the life-work of 

 Auguste de JJormans, a few months after the learned author had been 

 incapacitated from further studies. With this notice, therefore, 

 of his book, we are very pleased to give our readers a portrait of the 

 eminent forhculist, and a brief account of his labours. Originally an 

 officer in the French army, he retired a little over twenty years ago, 

 and lived for some years in the sunny climate of Italy ; he then settled 

 for a period in I'elgium, and moved later to the mountain air of 

 Haute Savoie, where he resided until two years ago. Since then he 

 has been living in Turin, finding the milder air of Piedmont 

 more suitable to his failing health. A dangerous illness struck him 

 down last summer, which theatened to be fatal, but the crisis passed 

 and left him paralysed. Unable to do any further work, and almost 

 incapacitated from writing, he has disposed of his unique collection of 

 Forjicidaria, together with his drawings and manuscripts. 



On first turning his attention to entomology, he made collections 

 of almost every order of insects, confining his energies mainly to 

 European forms. Orthoptera, however, were always his favourites, 

 and he soon took his position among the authorities of the group. 

 Articles and brochures appeared more or less frequently from his pen, 

 dealing almost exclusively with orthoptera. Finding that earwigs 

 were greatly neglected, he confined his energies more and more to the 

 Forjicitlaria, and was shortly recognised as the only and final authority. 

 The collections of all the leading museums of Europe were submitted 

 to him for determination, as well as those of private individuals. He 

 thus, practically, created a monopoly, and amassed an unrivalled 

 collection of the insects themselves, and knowledge of their classifica- 

 tion, as far as it had been elucidated. His chief papers dealing with 

 orthoptera generally, are Lixti' des Orthopterea revneillisi Jnsquici en 

 Lii/iiiii', published under the name Dubrony {Ann. Mas. (.'ir. Gen., 

 xii., p. 6, 1878), Spediiinnr italiana nelV Afrira cqitatoriale, Ortotteri, 

 1881 and 1883, in the Anmdrs of the Genoa Museum; Fainicort/wptem- 

 l(i;iiqii(' ill's Ills Haivaii ok Sandirich, 1882, in the same publication, and 

 various smaller articles dealing with collections of orthoptera from South 

 Africa, Sardinia and Belgium. Owing to the relations he held for many 

 years with his leading colleagues, he acquired an excellent representative 

 collection of the orthoptera of Europe and the neighbouring regions, 

 containing a large number of paratypes, and several original examples; 

 he parted with this in 1896, and it was acquired in its entirety by the 

 writer of this memoir. His articles upon the Fnyjindaria have been 

 more numerous and important. His maiden work upon the group 

 was entitled Kssai sur Ir iicnrr < '/irliihira, also pviblished under the 

 name Dubrony, in the Annah's of the Genoa Museum, in 1878. In the 

 following year, under the same name, he worked out the earwigs of 

 the Madrid Museum (An. Sue. Kspana, X.H., viii.), and the fine 

 collections made by the ]\Iarquis Doria, Bcccari and d'Albertis, 

 published in the Aiuudis of the Genoa Museum ; a considerable number 

 of novelties were described, each illustrated in the text by very clear 

 outline drawings by Fea. In 1880 he published the I'esult of his work 

 upon the earwigs of the lU-ussels ]\Iuseum, and later, in the same year, 

 of the Warsaw Museum. In 18H;-} he published an impoi-tant paper 



March 15th, 1901. 



