Eugène Le Moult

Who was Eugène Le Moult?

Eugène Le Moult was a French naturalist and entomologist. He lived, for a long time, in Guyana where his father worked. Le Moult specialised in Lepidoptera. He was one of the most important insect dealer of his time. In addition, he was a renowned specialist of Morpho butterflies, and wrote — in association with Pierre Réal — the first revision of the taxon: Les Morpho d'Amérique du Sud et Centrale, Paris 1962-1963. This two volume work with 20 plates in colour and 62 in black and white was until recently the classic monograph on the butterfly subfamily Morphinae. 75 species are placed in eight subgenera, and the work generated 409 new names and made 750 names available as subspecific and varietal names. This is far more than most Morpho specialists accept and the motivation may have been commercial. It is, however, a meticulous species-level classification, describes dozens of subgeneric taxa, illustrates the adults and male genitalia for all species, and gives an account of type specimens.

He also ensures the publication of journals Miscellanea Entomologica and Novitates entomologicae from 1931 to 1946. But above all he will publish a French edition of the work of Adalbert Seitz under the title Les Macrolépidoptères du Globe in 16 volumes and 4 supplements.