Curt Schrottky (1874-1937): South American entomology at the beginning of the 20th century (Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera)

Curt Schrottky was one the early European entomologists to reside in South America. Caught in the midst of personal and political conflicts, he still amazed to propose 593 new names in Hymenoptera (from sawflies to bees), Diptera (black flies, Simuliidae) and Lepidoptera (tiger moths, Arctiidae) between 1901 and 1922. Many of his primary types (syntypes and holotypes) were originally in his private collection, which were partially destroyed, and the remaining part scattered among multiple institutions. Other type specimens were exchanged before the destruction of his main collection to institutions in South America, USA, and Europe. The present catalog provides a complete list of the taxa proposed by Schrottky, including a bibliography of his 86 entomological publications. The catalog also lists all valid names proposed by Schrottky with details on the nomenclature, sex, type locality, and type repository for 126 known surviving types, representing 23% of all species-group taxa proposed by Schrottky. The remaining types (77%) are most likely lost. A brief biography is followed by a discussion of where to locate and how to treat original types and neotypes of Schrottky.