Credit: © The Royal Society
Image number: RS.8501
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Termites
Date
ca. 1781
Creator
Henry Smeathman (1742 - 1786, British) , Naturalist
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Dimensions
height (painting): 224mm
width (painting): 165mm
width (painting): 165mm
Subject
Biology
> Entomology
Biology
> Natural history
Politics & Government
> Political doctrines
> Colonialism
> Entomology
Biology
> Natural history
Politics & Government
> Political doctrines
> Colonialism
Content object
Description
Twenty-five figures illustrating different species of termite, identified by Smeathman as: Termes bellicosus; Termes mordax; Termes atrox; and Termes destructor. The figures show queens, males, workers and soldiers with occasional details of insect heads and mandibles.
The painting is headed “Tab 10” with publication, plate and figure details inscribed. Inscribed in pencil, lower left “Hen: Smeathman, del” and “Basire sc”.
Plate 10 from the paper “Some account of the termites, which are found in Africa and other hot climates”, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society vol.71 part 1 1781 pp.139-192.
Henry Smeathman (1742–1786) English naturalist, known for his work in entomology and colonial settlement in Sierra Leone.
In 1771 Quaker Physician John Fothergill, along with two other members of the Royal Society, Sir Joseph Banks and Marmaduke Tunstall, sponsored Smeathman to spend four years in and around the Sierra Leone peninsula studying its natural history, specifically its insects. His research relied heavily on individuals involved in slave-trading networks for support and assistance.
The painting is headed “Tab 10” with publication, plate and figure details inscribed. Inscribed in pencil, lower left “Hen: Smeathman, del” and “Basire sc”.
Plate 10 from the paper “Some account of the termites, which are found in Africa and other hot climates”, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society vol.71 part 1 1781 pp.139-192.
Henry Smeathman (1742–1786) English naturalist, known for his work in entomology and colonial settlement in Sierra Leone.
In 1771 Quaker Physician John Fothergill, along with two other members of the Royal Society, Sir Joseph Banks and Marmaduke Tunstall, sponsored Smeathman to spend four years in and around the Sierra Leone peninsula studying its natural history, specifically its insects. His research relied heavily on individuals involved in slave-trading networks for support and assistance.
Associated place