Filippo Silvestri facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Filippo Silvestri
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| Born | June 22, 1873 Bevagna
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| Died | June 10, 1949 (aged 75) Portici
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| Nationality | Italian |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Entomology |
Filippo Silvestri (born June 22, 1873 – died June 10, 1949) was an important Italian scientist who studied insects. He was an entomologist, which is a scientist who specializes in bugs! He was especially interested in tiny insects like Protura, Thysanura, Diplura, and Isoptera (termites).
He also studied other insects like Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants) and Diptera (flies). Silvestri even discovered and named a new group of insects called Zoraptera. Later in his life, in 1938, he became a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, a special science group connected to the Vatican.
Early Life and Career
Filippo Silvestri was born in Bevagna, a town in Italy. From a young age, he loved nature. He became an assistant to Giovanni Battista Grassi, a famous scientist who directed the Institute of Anatomical Research at the University of Rome.
In 1904, Silvestri became the Director of the Institute of Entomology and Zoology. This institute was part of an agricultural college in Portici, Italy. He held this important position for 45 years, until he died.
Discoveries and Collections
In the 1930s, Silvestri made an interesting discovery while studying a type of wasp called Litomatix truncatellus. He found out about polyembryony. This is when a single egg splits into many embryos, creating many identical offspring.
Silvestri collected many insects during his career. His main collection is kept at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova in Italy. Some of his termite samples are also found in the Swedish Museum of Natural History. A few of his Diplopoda (millipede) samples are in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany.
Honors and Legacy
Filippo Silvestri is remembered in several ways. A square in his hometown of Bevagna is named after him. A high school in Portici, where he worked and died, also carries his name. There is even a street in Rome named Borgo Lotti, which honors him.
A species of South American worm lizard, called Amphisbaena silvestrii, was also named in his honor. This shows how much his work was valued by other scientists.
See also
In Spanish: Filippo Silvestri para niños
