Grigory Grum-Grshimailo facts for kids
Grigory Grum-Grshimailo (born 1860, died 1936) was a famous Russian scientist who studied insects. He was an entomologist, which means he focused on insects, especially butterflies and moths. Grigory is best known for his many trips, called expeditions, to places like Central Asia (including the Pamir and Tian-Shan mountains), western Mongolia, and the Russian Far East. He explored these areas and collected many new types of insects.
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Early Life and Interest in Insects
Grigory Grum-Grshimailo was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. From a young age, he was very interested in insects. When he was just 21, he wrote his first scientific paper. This paper was about some Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) he found in the Crimea region.
He worked closely with Professor M. N. Bogdanov at the St. Petersburg Museum. Grigory gave many of his own insect collections to the museum. He also studied the insects that other famous explorers had collected from Central Asia. These explorers included Nikolai Przhevalsky and Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky.
Exciting Expeditions and Discoveries
Grigory Grum-Grshimailo became very interested in how different insects are found in different parts of the world. This is called zoogeography. He met a German collector named Rückbeil and also the Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanov. The Grand Duke encouraged Grigory to publish his work and even offered to support an expedition to the Pamir Mountains.
First Pamir Expedition (1884)
In 1884, Grigory started his first big trip to the Pamir Mountains. He explored the Alai Mountains and reached the Fedchenko's glacier. He also visited Lake Karakul. On this trip, he collected an amazing 12,000 insect specimens! Thirty of these were completely new to science.
Second Pamir Expedition (1885)
Because his first trip was so successful, he went on a second expedition in 1885. This time, he visited many places like Karateghin, Darvaz, and Bukhara. He collected even more insects, bringing back 20,000 specimens!
Third Expedition (1886)
His third major trip in 1886 took him along the Kara-Darya River and through the Naryn valley. He traveled south towards At-Bashi and followed the ancient Great Silk Route to Lake Chatyr-Kul. He even reached Kashgar before returning.
Expeditions for Przewalski's Horse (1889-1890)
Between 1889 and 1890, Grigory went on more expeditions with his younger brother. Their main goal was to find and bring back specimens of Przewalski's horse, a rare wild horse. They managed to capture two wild horses. During these trips, they also collected 1,048 bird specimens. They traveled a huge distance of 8,600 kilometers (about 5,344 miles)!
Later Life and Collections
Grigory Grum-Grshimailo continued to go on expeditions in the following years. However, he later faced some disagreements with the person who sponsored his trips. There was a rule that the things he collected should go to Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhaylovich Romanov, but Grigory also wanted to keep some for his own collection. Because of these issues and some money problems, he ended up selling part of his collection to another scientist, Henry John Elwes.
In 1907, he was given the Constantine Medal by the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. This was a very important award for his work in geography and exploration.
Where Are His Collections Now?
Many of the butterflies, moths, and beetles that Grigory Grum-Grshimailo collected are now kept at the Zoological Museum in St. Petersburg. Other parts of his collection were sold to H.J. Elwes.
See also
In Spanish: Grigor Efimowitsch Grumm-Grzhimailo para niños
