Haris Attila: Hymenoptera Research in the Carpathian Basin - Natura Somogyiensis 29. (Kaposvár, 2016)
History of the Aculeata research in the Romanian part of the Carpathian Basin from 1920
136 Natura Somogyiensis Stefan Negru (27th January 1923 Epureni - 21st November 1970). Researcher at the Zoological Station of Sinaia, later at Grigori Antipa Natural History Museum in Bucharest, Chrysididae and Cleptidae specialist. Stefan Negru studied at the Faculty of Forestry at Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest. After his graduation, he was appointed teacher-researcher at Forestry Research Institute. Other stations of his career were the Department of Zoology at Faculty of Forestry of Bucharest Polytechnic Institute, Forestry Research Institute of Cimpulung Moldovenesc, Institute of Forestry in Brasov (Brassó), Zoological Station Sinaia. Finally, in 1963, Stefan Negru joined to the Natural History Museum Bucharest. He published the Chrysididae collection of the Kolozsvár (now Cluj Napoca) University (Negru 1960) in which high amount of valuable faunistic data were provided (193 specimens of 56 species). Only sporadic data on cuckoo wasps we may find in Negru 1955, 1957, 1959 and 1963 from Transylvania, Hungary and the Carpathian Mts. Victoria Iuga-Raica (23rd April 1900 Tulcea - 1991-1992?) She received her teacher degree at Bucharest University, Faculty of Natural Sciences. After her graduation, she remained at the university, where she became professor. In 1929, she defended her PhD thesis titled "L'excrétion par l'entremise des chromatocites chez les invertebrates". In the same year, she started her activity (parallel with her university occupation) at the Natural History Museum Grigori Antipa. In 1940, she decided for the Museum and left her university position. Victoria Iuga-Raica became the first head of entomological department. In the hardest years of the museum, between 1944 and 1947, she worked for restoring and rearranging the systematic collection of the museum which was destroyed by the bombardment. Victoria Iuga Raica has 3 important books and monographs on Anthophoridae and Apidae bees on the fauna of Romania in which we find valuable data on the Carpathian Basin and Romanian Carpaths (Iuga 1944, 1958, 1960). One of them is the Anthophorinae part of "Fauna Republica Socialista Romania". E. V. Sanduléac (Central Research Station for Sericulture and Apiculture, Bucarest- Baneasa, Statiunea Centrala de Cercetari pentru Sericicultura si Apicultura). In his paper, "Les insectes anthophiles Romanie" Sanduléac provides a short analysis on the pollination activity of various Apoidea species of the Carpathian-Danube region in genera Bombus, Halictus, Andrena, Anthophora, Megachile, Eucera, Tetralonia, Osmia and Colletes comparing the Hungarian data with Romanian (Sanduléac 1966). Xenia Scobiola-Palade (12th January 1911 Moseni - ?, curator of Hymenoptera of Grigore Antipa Museum, Bucuresti, Symphyta and Aculeata specialist). She graduated at University of Iasi at the Faculty of Natural Sciences. After few years practice as high school teacher in Falesti, she was employed by the Kisinau Museum as preparator. From 1945, she worked for the Natural History Museum Grigore Antipa in Bucharest where she became, after one and half decade, head of Department of Entomology and later deputy director of the museum. After 21 years service, she retired but still continued her scientific activity. Xenia Scobiola-Palade with Victoria Iuga - Raica (head of the Entomological department of Grigore Antipa Museum, Bucuresti) established the Hymenoptera collection after the Second World War cooperating with Romanian and foreign specialists. Victoria Iuga - Raica suggested the acquisition of Hymenoptera collection of Eugen Worell (doctor of medicine in Sibiu). Thus, in 1953, they established the comparative Hymenoptera collection and the museum’s collection was enriched with 758 Hymenoptera species and subspecies. Xenia Scobiola-Palade intensively studied the aculeata fauna of Transylvania and the Romanian Carpathians and published the most interesting Sphecoidea specimens from the collection of G. Antipa Museum, the Brukenthal
