GEORG FREY
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Georg Frey was a dedicated and
prolific worker with the Scarabaeidae, and he published primarily
on the groups Melolonthinae and Rutelinae. As a wealthy businessman,
Frey was able to create (in 1950) his own Coleoptera museum,
the Museum G. Frey, which has long been recognized as
the world's largest and most extensive private collection of
beetles. Its scientific value is equal to that of many of the
world's largest museums. Frey also began the journal Entomologische
Arbeiten aus dem Museum G. Frey. It was published in 56
volumes, and the last one was published in December 1987. Georg
Frey spent nearly 50 years collecting and amassing a collection
of approximately 150,000 species (!) of beetles, and 20,000
of those are types! Part of the museum's three million specimens
were collected during 36 expeditions to all parts of the world,
with a number of them led by Frey himself. Scarab beetles, especially
the Melolonthinae and Rutelinae, are well represented in the
museum's collections.
The Frey collection resided in
exquisite collections facilities at the Zoologische Staatssammlung
in Munich for several years after Frey's death. After a somewhat
acrimonious battle over possession of the collection, it was
moved to the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel in Switzerland in
1996.
Reference:
Scherer, G. 1976. Dr. h. c. Georg
Frey. Die Entomologie war sein Leben 1902-1976. Entomologische
Arbeiten aus dem Museum G. Frey 27: vii-xxii. |
