Ernst Gustav Kraatz

Ernst Gustav Kraatz (13 March 1831 – 2 November 1909) was a German entomologist. He collected and described numerous beetles including Staphylinidae. Kraatz was a founding member of the Berlin Entomological Club (Berliner Entomologischer Verein) and the German entomological society (Deutsche Entomologische Gesellschaft) and the first editor of its journal, the Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift. Kraatz was involved in improving the standards of taxonomic description in German entomology and he was a proponent of a national collection that allowed public access to specimens.

Life and work

Kraatz was born in Berlin on 13 March 1831. Kraatz worked on the beetle fauna of the whole world using the vast collections in the Natural History Museum of Berlin and described numerous species. The German entomological collection that he dreamt of was finally achieved in 1904. In 1905 the Prussian government gave him the title of professor. Loss of eyesight led to stoppage of work and he died in Berlin. His collection is held by Deutsches Entomologisches Institut. His last years were lonely and he wished that his ashes were kept among his collections of staphylinids.

Kraatz's major publications include: Kraatz, G. (1856-1857) Naturgeschichte der Insecten Deutschlands. Abt. 1. Coleoptera. Zweiter Band. Berlin: Verlag der Nicolaischen Buchhandlung, viii+1080 pp. Kraatz, G. (1859) Die Staphylinen-Fauna von Ostindien, inbesondere der Insel Ceylan. Archiv für Naturgeschichte, 25(1):1-193. Kraatz, G. (1879) Neue Käfer vom Amur. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, 23:121-144.