FABRE, JEAN-HENRI. - Entomologist, b. at St-Léon (Aveyron) on 22 Dec. 1823, d. at Sérignan (Vaucluse) on 1 Oct. 1915. After a period of teaching at Carpentras, Ajaccio and Avignon, he retired in 1878 to Sérignan to devote himself entirely to botany and above all to entomology, directing his research to the instincts and behavior of insects; he thus succeeded in correcting various errors accepted even by entomologists and in presenting some particular discoveries, for example, on the paralization, by the sphecids, of the nerve centers of the prey, in order to keep it motionless but alive as food for the larvae; on the sex of the eggs of solitary apoideans, on the hypermetamorphosis of meloid beetles. Toward the end of his life F.'s merits were publicly recognized, including by the government; of those jubilee celebrations his answer to the question whether he believed in God has remained famous: "Do I believe in Him? I see Him. Without Him I understand nothing. And not only have I preserved this conviction, but I have increased it." In the scientific field he is a convinced anti-evolutionist and finalist.
The fruit of his studies is contained in the Souvenirs entomologiques (10 vols., Paris 1879-1907; definitive ed., ibid. 1919-25; Italian trans., Milan 1922-27), which earned him the title of "poet of insects" for the charm of his style, combined with a high scientific probity and a patient and meticulous observation. He also wrote many other works of popularization, which, animated by a lively and witty style, cooperated in making known and appreciated by an extraordinary number of readers the wonders of creation; it is worth citing: Les ravageurs, récits de l'oncle Paul sur les animaux nuisibles à l'agriculture (Paris 1870); Les auxiliaires, récits... sur les animaux utiles à l'agriculture (ibid. 1873); Les serviteurs, récits... sur les animaux domestiques (ibid. 1875).
Bibliography2 works
Celestino Testore