Ранний старт и короткая жизнь одного энтомолога (к 110-летию Андрея Андреевича Рихтера)

Abstract

At the end of 2019 an old collection of insects was found in the Zoological Museum of Saratov State University. It was collected in the vicinity of Saratov, in the Lower Volga region, as well as in the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia, by young Andrey A. Richter while he was studying at school and Saratov University (1926–1930). The collection (185 specimens) was not processed, with most insects left unidentified. Nevertheless, it has been well preserved. Its examination has already produced first results important for better understanding of A. A. Richter biography. Further species identification may reveal the entomofauna composition not yet affected by environmental changes at the time, hence facilitating ecological research in the area. Collector – Andrey Andreevich Richter (1911–1950), prominent entomologist, Doctor of Biological Sciences (1945), professor, head of the coleopterology laboratory at the Institute of Zoology, Russian Academy of Sciences. In 1938–1939 he was arrested and imprisoned on false allegations. His life and scientific career were cut short by terminal illness at the age of 39. His main studies were focused on elytral venation and its role in phylogenetics, and on the detailed jewel beetles taxonomy (Buprestidae). The article is based on the documents and correspondence from Russian state archives, as well as from Richter family archive.