Vernon Antoine Brou, Jr.

Winner of the 2000 John Abbott Award, Vernon specializes in moths, from the state of Louisiana and has designed and operated a series of light traps every night since 1969. He currently has a scientific collection of about 350,000 Louisiana insect specimens in approximately 600 cornel-size drawers. In addition, Vernon has officially donated over 169,000 insects to numerous institutions.

Vernon has been collecting insects for 50 years and studying Sphingidae for 35 years ultimately recording about 84,000 Louisiana sphingidae in a study over 30 consecutive years published in two parts in the Journal of the Lepidopterists Society.

He is credited with the discovery and species description of a new Saturniidae, two new Sphingidae and several new Noctuidae including three new Catocala species, and Vernon has published over one-hundred and twenty articles in various scientific journals and newsletters.

Five species of moths have been named in honor of Vernon Antoine Brou Jr. (patrynyms): Eupithecia broui Rindge “Geometridae”, Dichrorampha broui E.C. Knudson “Tortricidae”, Bagisara brouana Ferguson “Noctuidae”, Isoparce broui Eitschberger, - “Sphingidae”, and Dichagyris broui Lafontaine “Noctuidae”.

As of August 2005 Vernon is credited with the naming of three Catocala species: atocala, Brou, 1985, a name he chose "just to be different and [it] rhymes with Catocala," and charlottae, Brou, 1988, a name he chose for "my (Vernon's) wife Charlotte."

Vernon also named/described Catocala umbrosa Brou, 2002.

Email Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com.

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