Smith, Frederick (1805-1879)

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
This synopsis is derived from Dunning, 1879 and Anonymous, 1879. Frederick Smith was born in London in 1905. After school days he was an apprentice of a well known landscape engraver and shared an apartment with William Shuckard, another eminent entomologist and his life long friend. In these early days neither of them exhibited an interest in insects. After Shuckard returned to his home town he had been spending his time "rambling over the downs" and on one of his excursions caught Cicindela campestris, a tiger beetle. Amazed by its beauty, he turned his attention to insects and after seeing bees burrowing in sand he purchased Kirby's Monographia Apum Angliae. From this time he devoted all his energies to studies of the Hymenoptera. Shuckard talked his friend over and soon young Frederick Smith became a zealous collector and observer of bees, ants, and beetles, quickly becoming well acquainted with British fauna. In 1841 at the age of 36, Frederick was appointed the Curator of the Collections and Library of The Entomological Society of London but engraving continued to be his profession. After a vacancy was created in the Zoology Department of the British Museum in 1849 Frederick became engaged in arranging the Hymenoptera collection and soon was a regular employee at the Museum. Abandoning his art profession for science Frederick still continued engraving for British Museum Catalogues of Hymenoptera and all illustrations of his own papers were executed by himself.

The first of his observations published in 1837 concerned the natural history of an oak gall wasp, followed by notes on habits of British ants. These were soon followed by a stream of papers, unceasing until the time of his death. Smith published widely on hymenopterous insects of the British Isles as well as on exotic fauna. He was the person to describe and monograph bees and ants collected by Alfred Russel Wallace during his voyages in Southeast Asia.

Elected as the President of the Entomological Society (1862-1863), repeatedly Vice-President of the Society, eventually appointed as Assistant Keeper of Zoology at the Museum, and publishing more than a hundred and fifty entomological papers, he became a successful man at his new profession.

Frederick died at the age of seventy three of complications after lithotripsy, i.e., breaking gall stones, in his time a very painful surgery performed by crude instruments.

Frederick Smith was the first entomologist to publish descriptions of more than a hundred ant species that still hold validity. Totaling 702 new species and subspecies names, of which 489 are still valid, 209 became junior synonyms and four are deemed unavailable. He described 25 new ant genera, of which 16 still stand. Among these, there are well known genera of ants such as Oecophylla, and Polyrhachis, both described from material brought to England by A. R. Wallace. Cataulacus, Cerapachys, Paraponera, Strumigenys, and Tetraponera are examples of large or otherwise known genera Smith named.

ANT TAXONOMY
Frederick Smith worked in the zoology department of the British Museum from 1849, specialising in the Hymenoptera. In 1875 he was promoted to Assistant Keeper of Zoology. His publications included Catalogue of Hymenopterous Insects (7 parts, 1853-1859) and parts 5 (1851) and 6 (1852) of the Nomenclature of Coleopterous Insects.

Frederick Smith published from 1851 to 1879 on ant taxonomy. During the 28 years of his activity, he described 25 genera, 702 species and subspecies all of whic hare referenced in the list below.

Most of Smith's types and ant collections from Neotropics are deposited in The Natural History Museum, London (BMNH). Most of the Asian material is in the Hope Entomological Collections of the University Museum, Oxford (OXUM) (Brandão, 2000).

PUBLICATIONS

 * Smith, F. 1851. List of the specimens of British animals in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Hymenoptera, Aculeata. London: British Museum, 134 pp.


 * Smith, F. 1852. Descriptions of some hymenopterous insects captured in India, with notes on their economy, by Ezra T. Downes, Esq., who presented them to the Honourable the East India Company. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (2)9:44-50.


 * Smith, F. 1853 ("1854"). Monograph of the genus |Cryptocerus,| belonging to the group Cryptoceridae - family Myrmicidae - division Hymenoptera Heterogyna. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. (2)2:213-228.


 * Smith, F. 1855a. Essay on the genera and species of British Formicidae. [part] Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. (2)3:95-112.


 * Smith, F. 1855b. Essay on the genera and species of British Formicidae. [concl.] Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. (2)3:113-135.


 * Smith, F. 1855c. Descriptions of some species of Brazilian ants belonging to the genera Pseudomyrma, Eciton and Myrmica (with observations on their economy by Mr. H. W. Bates). Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. (2)3:156-169.


 * Smith, F. 1855d. Hymenoptera. Notes on the new species of British Aculeate Hymenoptera. Entomol. Annu. 1855:64-77 [Entomol. Annu. 1855(2nd edition):87-100].


 * Smith, F. 1857a. Catalogue of the hymenopterous insects collected at Sarawak, Borneo; Mount Ophir, Malacca; and at Singapore, by A. R. Wallace. [part] J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 2:42-88.


 * Smith, F. 1857b. Notes on aculeate Hymenoptera, with some observations on their economy. Entomol. Annu. 1858:34-46.


 * Smith, F. 1858a. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae. London: British Museum, 216 pp.


 * Smith, F. 1858b. Revision of an essay on the British Formicidae published in the Transactions of the Society. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. (2)4:274-284.


 * Smith, F. 1859a. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace at the islands of Aru and Key. [part] J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 3:132-158.


 * Smith, F. 1859b ("1858"). Catalogue of British fossorial Hymenoptera, Formicidae, and Vespidae, in the collection of the British Museum. London: British Museum, 236 pp.


 * Smith, F. 1859c. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VII. Dorylidae and Thynnidae. London: British Museum, 76 pp.


 * Smith, F. 1860a. Descriptions of new species of hymenopterous insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace at Celebes. J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 5(17b)(suppl. to vol. 4):57-93.


 * Smith, F. 1860b. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace in the islands of Bachian, Kaisaa, Amboyna, Gilolo, and at Dory in New Guinea. J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 5(17b)(suppl. to vol. 4):93-143.


 * Smith, F. 1860c. Descriptions of new genera and species of exotic Hymenoptera. J. Entomol. 1:65-84.


 * Smith, F. 1861a. Descriptions of some new species of ants from the Holy Land, with a synonymic list of others previously described. J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 6:31-35.


 * Smith, F. 1861b. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace in the islands of Ceram, Celebes, Ternate, and Gilolo. [part] J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 6:36-48.


 * Smith, F. 1862a. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace in the islands of Ceram, Celebes, Ternate, and Gilolo. [concl.] J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 6:49-66.


 * Smith, F. 1862b. Descriptions of new species of aculeate Hymenoptera, collected at Panama by R. W. Stretch, Esq., with a list of described species, and the various localities where they have previously occurred. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. (3)1:29-44.


 * Smith, F. 1862c. Descriptions of new species of Australian Hymenoptera, and of a species of |Formica| from New Zealand. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. (3)1:53-62.


 * Smith, F. 1862d. A list of the genera and species belonging to the family Cryptoceridae, with descriptions of new species; also a list of the species of the genus |Echinopla|. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. (3)1:407-416.


 * Smith, F. 1863a. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace in the islands of Mysol, Ceram, Waigiou, Bouru and Timor. J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 7:6-48.


 * Smith, F. 1863b. Observations on ants of equatorial Africa. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. (3)1:470-473.


 * Smith, F. 1863c. Notes on the geographic distribution of the aculeate Hymenoptera collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace in the Eastern Archipelago. J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 7:109-131.


 * Smith, F. 1864. Notes on Hymenoptera. Entomol. Annu. 1864:108-117.


 * Smith, F. 1865a. Descriptions of new species of hymenopterous insects from the islands of Sumatra, Sula, Gilolo, Salwatty, and New Guinea, collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace. J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 8:61-94.


 * Smith, F. 1865b. Observations on the genus |Dorylus|, and upon a new genus of Apidae. Entomol. Mon. Mag. 2:3-5.


 * Smith, F. 1865c. Notes on British Formicidae. Entomol. Mon. Mag. 2:28-30.


 * Smith, F. 1865d. British species of ants at Bournemouth. Entomologist 2:303-305.


 * Smith, F. 1865e. Notes on Hymenoptera. Entomol. Annu. 1865:81-96.


 * Smith, F. 1866. Notes on Hymenoptera. Entomol. Annu. 1866:122-137.


 * Smith, F. 1867. Descriptions of new species of Cryptoceridae. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. (3)5:523-528.


 * Smith, F. 1868. Notes on Hymenoptera. Entomol. Annu. 1868:81-96.


 * Smith, F. 1869. Notes on Hymenoptera. Entomol. Annu. 1869:65-82.


 * Smith, F. 1871a. A catalogue of the Aculeate Hymenoptera and Ichneumonidae of India and the Eastern Archipelago. With introductory remarks by A. R. Wallace. [part] J. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 11:285-348.


 * Smith, F. 1871b. A catalogue of the aculeate Hymenoptera and Ichneumonidae of India and the Eastern Archipelago. [concl.] J. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 11:349-415.


 * Smith, F. 1871c. A catalogue of British Hymenoptera; Aculeata. London: Entomological Society of London, viii + 44 pp.


 * Smith, F. 1871d. Notes on various species of Apidae, Formicidae, Fossores, and Vespidae; with observations on some parasites of the latter. Entomol. Annu. 1871:55-70.


 * Smith, F. 1873. [Untitled. Introduced by: "Mr. F. Smith exhibited a further collection of ants sent by Mr. G. A. James Rothney, from Calcutta."] Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1873:viii-ix.


 * Smith, F. 1874a. [Untitled. Introduced by: "Mr. F. Smith exhibited (1) a hermaphrodite ant, |Myrmica laevinodis|."] Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1874:iv.


 * Smith, F. 1874b. Descriptions of new species of Tenthredinidae, Ichneumonidae, Chrysididae, Formicidae, &c. of Japan. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1874:373-409.


 * Smith, F. 1874c. On hermaphroditism in ants. Entomol. Annu. 1874:147-148.


 * Smith, F. 1875. Descriptions of new species of Indian aculeate Hymenoptera, collected by Mr. G. R. James Rothney, member of the Entomological Society. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1875:33-51.


 * Smith, F. 1876a. Preliminary notice of new species of Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Forficulidae collected in the island of Rodriguez by the naturalists accompanying the Transit-of-Venus expedition. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (4)17:447-451.


 * Smith, F. 1876b. Descriptions of new species of hymenopterous insects of New Zealand, collected by C. M. Wakefield, Esq., principally in the neighbourhood of Canterbury. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1876:473-487.


 * Smith, F. 1876c. Descriptions of three new species of Hymenoptera (Formicidae) from New Zealand. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1876:489-492.


 * Smith, F. 1876d. Descriptions of new species of Cryptoceridae, belonging to the genera Cryptocerus, Meranoplus, and Cataulacus. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1876:603-612.


 * Smith, F. 1877a. VIII. Hymenoptera and Diptera. Pp. 82-84 in: Günther, A. Account of the zoological collection made during the visit of H. M. S. "Peterel" to the Galapagos Islands. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1877:64-93.


 * Smith, F. 1877b. Descriptions of new species of the genera Pseudomyrma and Tetraponera, belonging to the family Myrmicidae. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1877:57-72.


 * Smith, F. 1878a. Descriptions of new species of hymenopterous insects from New Zealand, collected by Prof. Hutton, at Otago. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1878:1-7.


 * Smith, F. 1878b. Scientific results of the Second Yarkand Mission; based upon the collections and notes of the late Ferdinand Stoliczka, Ph.D. Hymenoptera. Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing (Government of India), 22 pp.


 * Smith, F. 1879a. Descriptions of new species of aculeate Hymenoptera collected by the Rev. Thos. Blackburn in the Sandwich Islands. J. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 14:674-685.


 * Smith, F. 1879b. Descriptions of new species of Hymenoptera in the collection of the British Museum. London: British Museum, xxi + 240 pp.


 * Smith, F. 1879c. The collections from Rodriguez. Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Neuroptera. Pp. 534-540 in: Hooker, J. D., Günther, A. (eds.) An account of the petrological, botanical, and zoological collections made in Kerguelen's land and Rodriguez during the Transit of Venus expeditions, carried out by order of Her Majesty's Government in the years 1874-75. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 168(extra volume):i-ix,1-579.

REFERENCE

 * Anonymous. 1879. The Chairman's Address. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London, ??: lxiv-lxvi.


 * Brandão, C. R. F. 2000. Major regional and type collections of ants (Formicidae) of the world and sources for the identification of ant species. Pp. 172-185 in: Agosti, D., Majer, J. D., Alonso, L. E., Schultz, T. R. (eds.) Ants. Standard methods for measuring and monitoring biodiversity. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, xix + 280 pp.


 * Dunning J.W. 1879. Frederick Smith. The Entomologist, 12(191): 89-92.