1790 Butterflies, Bombix, silk moths, Latreille, hand colour, quarto, engraving

The domestic silk moth is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of Bombyx mandarina, the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically important insect, being a primary producer of silk. 

Fine engraving from Pierre André Latreille's exceptionally beautiful collection of prints, of insects and butterflies. 

This hand color engraving published in Paris between 1798 under the supervision of Panckoucke.

29 x 20.6 cm

Fine hand colour.

Pierre André Latreille (November 20, 1762 - February 6, 1833) was a French entomologist. His works describing insects assigned many of the insect taxa still in use today. Latreille was born into a humble family of Brive-la-Gaillarde, Corrèze, and in 1778 entered the College Lemoine in Paris. He was ordained a priest in 1786 and then went back to Brive, where he spent all of his free time studying insects. In 1788 he returned to Paris and became active in the scientific community there, his Mémoire sur les mutilles découvertes en France gaining him admission to the Society for Natural History. In 1798 he was given the task of arranging the entomological collection at the recently organized Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris.

Light age toning to outer margins.