Ferdinand Morawitz

Ferdinand Ferdinandovich Morawitz (Russian: Фердинанд Фердинандович Моравиц, German: Ferdinand Carl Joseph Morawitz; 3 August 1827 in St. Petersburg – 5 December 1896 in St. Petersburg) was a Russian entomologist.

His parents were German emigrant’s from Silesia. He was brought up in a closed school for boys. In 1853, Morawitz graduated from the 'Dorpat' (part of Tartu University), Estonia with a 'Doctor of Medicine' degree. With a final year dissertation on the anatomy of Blatta germanica. After he graduated, he moved to St Petersburg. He then had a Doctors practise for 15 years until 1879.

But in his spare time he was interested in entomology. He was one of founders of the Russian Entomological Society in 1859. He first published scientific work on Coleoptera in 1860.

Morawitz also studied the collection of naturalist Alexei Fedchenko, who had collected significant numbers of insects from three explorations from 1869 to 1873 of Central Asia. He recorded 438 species belonging to 36 genera from Central Asia. 68 species of Andrena, 17 species from Europe and 51 new species.

Dr. Ferdinand Morawitz worked mainly on Hymenoptera. He is best known for his work on the bees of Russia and Central Asia. He was one of the prominent entomologists associated with the Zoological Museum of the Russian Academy of Science where his brother August Feodorovitsh Morawitz (22 August 1837 in St. Petersburg – 16 September 1897 in Blankenburg) was Curator of the insect collections. He was a member of the Russian Entomological Society. His collection is shared between the Zoological Museum in St. Petersburg and the Zoological Museum of Odessa University.

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