Nález rukopisu F. A. Nickerla o denních motýlech Čech

Abstract

In 2014, F. A. Nickerl´s manuscript titled Böhmens Tagfalter was unexpectedly discovered during relocation of the entomological department of the National Museum Prague. The find is mainly one of great cultural-historical significance, as it was already published in full in 1837. The publication in question (Nickerl 1837) has a high professional level for its time, and is considered the first scientifically written work in the field of entomology in the Czech Republic. F. A. Nickerl was one of the most important Central European naturalists, being instrumental to the development of entomology and museology in Bohemia. From 1850 he worked as custodian of zoological collections at the Czech Museum in Prague, then later at the Museum of the Kingdom of Bohemia (1854–1919, today the National Museum). Among other things, he was a member of the German natural science association Lotos, which published a (at the time prestigious) journal of the same name, of which he was also the editor. Several species of moths were named in his honor, and he himself described several new Lepidoptera species from Bohemia. He is the author of several publications, of which his Synopsis (Nickerl 1850) which loosely follows (and significantly expands upon) the work discussed here, is most notable. At the same time, he was a person of extraordinary character, which is pointed out by a number of contemporary and later authors, cf. e.g. Tykač (1937). It is due to all of the above that any finding closely related to F. A. Nickerl’s life or work should be considered exceptional and worthy of the attention of our generation.