François Huber (2 July 175022 December 1831), also known as Francis in English publications and Franz in German publications, was a Swiss entomologist who specialized in honey bees. His pioneering work was recognized all across Europe, and based on thorough observation with the help of several assistants due to his blindness.

Life

Early life

François Huber was born in Geneva on 2 July 1750 in a well respected and well-off family of merchants and bankers with important ties to Geneva, Lyon and Paris. The Huber family had members in the highest institutions in the local community and was linked to other prominent local families. The family made significant contributions to the scientific and theological literature. His great-aunt, Marie Huber, was known as a voluminous writer on religious and theological subjects, and as the translator and epitomizer of The Spectator (Amsterdam, 3 vols., 1753). His father Jean Huber (1721–1786) was a prominent member of the coterie at Ferney. He was a well-known artist who left several portraits of Voltaire, who was a close friend.

thumb|150px|Portrait of young François Huber by his father, [[Jean Huber]]

From his early childhood, Francois was instructed in the field of literature as well as natural history, a passion he shared with his father. He attended the Collège de Saussure but his health soon deteriorated. His sight started failing at the age of fifteen. His father requested the assistance of Théodore Tronchin to treat him. He sent the young Huber to the village of Stains near Paris to recover. There, he lived the simple existence of a peasant away from the pressure of high society. The treatment was very successful for his health, and he had fond recollections of the simple life there and of the hospitality throughout his life. The 800-page volume was made of the letters that François had sent to Charles Bonnet, who happened to be his uncle. It was translated into English in 1806, and into German. He also mentions Pierre Huber.

The poet Jacques Delille in his Chant VII, Règne Animal celebrated Huber's blindness and discovery:

Further research

thumb|150px|Drawing by Pierre Huber for his father's book

He started studying wax and its production. It had been speculated without sufficient proof that it came from the honey. He had already explained the origin of propolis and was able to determine through observation with Burnens that wax came out from between the rings of the abdomen as laminated sheets. These initial findings were published in ('First memoir on the origin of wax') in 1804.

Burnens left in 1795 to go back to his village. There, he got married and became a farmer, along with becoming a local judge.

He studied the damage caused by the Sphinx atropos<!-- Is it Sphinx Atropos or Acherontia Atropos? Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acherontia_atropos --> in hives, and looked into the question of smell and its importance in the hive. He also studied the respiratory system of bees. He was able to prove that bees consume oxygen like other animals. This begged the question of how they survived with such a large population in enclosed hives with only a small entrance for fresh air. He was able to prove for the first time that bees used their wings to circulate the air, creating adequate ventilation. In order to analyse the air, he worked with Jean Senebier, another Geneva scientist who was researching this question with regard to vegetables. The two became friends, and they published the ('Memoirs on the Influence of Air and of Various Gaseous Substances on the Germination of Different Seeds') in which they demonstrated the need for oxygen in germination. Reprinted in 1796. The English translation was published in London in 1806.

  • Mémoires sur l'Influence de l'Air et de Diverses Substances Gazeuses dans la Germination de Différentes Graines (Geneva, 1801) co-published with Jean Senebier.
  • Premier Mémoire sur l'origine de la Cire (1804)
  • Mémoire sur la construction des cellules (1804) in the Journal Nicholson and republished in 1814.
  • Lettre de Mr. Huber au Prof. Pictet sur certains dangers que courent les Abeilles dans leurs ruches, et sur les moyens de les en préserver (Geneva, October 29, 1804) This is a letter that was published.
  • Nouvelles Communications relatives au sphinx atropos et à l'industrie des abeilles à s'en défendre (27 November 1804) This is a letter that was published as a follow-up to the previous letter.
  • Nouvelles Observations sur les Abeilles (Second Edition) published in two volumes in 1814 in Geneva and Paris. This publication was edited by his son, Pierre Huber.
  • Lettres inédites de François Huber pour faire suite aux Nouvelles Observations (sur les Abeilles) published posthumously in 1897 in Nyon (Switzerland) edited by Edouard Bertrand and published in La Revue Internationale d'Apiculture. These letters were sent by Huber to his young cousin, Elisa de Portes, who was interested in his work. She kept the letters for most of her life until giving them to Mr. Bertrand to be published.

Legacy

  • Augustin de Candolle who was a close family friend and one of the first biographers, gave François Huber's name to a genus of Brazilian trees Huberia, including Huberia laurina.
  • A book was published in Paris in 1829 titled Fragments d'Hubert sur les abeilles with an introduction by Dr. Mayranx. It is unclear if François Huber or Pierre Huber was involved in this publication, but the last name is misspelt throughout.
  • A novel by Sara George The Beekeeper's Pupil was published in 2002, inspired by the team of Huber and Burnens. It is written as the fictional journal of François Burnens from his arrival at the Huber household at the age of 19 years old in 1784 to his departure 10 years later in 1794. Her novel is based on the writings of Huber but also those of Augustin de Candolle. A French version was published in 2018 in Geneva by Slatkine.