Marta Grandi (1915–2005)

In the autumn of 2005 we lost Marta Grandi, who will always be remembered as an entomologist devoting her research activity to Italian mayflies.

Marta Grandi was born in Bologna on 3 July 1915. Her uncle Guido Grandi was a great entomologist and founded the Institute of Entomology of the University of Bologna, which he directed for more than 30 years. He was able to pass his interest in insects on to Marta, thus fascinating the young girl with his detailed description of the variety of forms, colours and behaviours characterising the insect world. The uncle had a particular relevance in Marta's childhood and later on she cultivated her initial interest and curiosity in insects. After her classical studies, she enrolled at university and graduated in natural sciences in 1938.

After graduation she accepted her uncle's offer to enter the Institute of Entomology as a voluntary researcher. At that time, Italian Ephemeroptera were almost completely ignored and she decided to begin her research activity studying this group. She worked for years on mayflies with an incredible passion, also collecting and rearing these insects. She accumulated a lot of data on systematics, behaviour and life-cycle, mainly on species living in Emilia Romagna. Thanks to the material she collected herself or supplied by other researchers, she extended her studies to mayflies from other Italian regions and even from the African Continent. She described several new species and published numerous articles on this peculiar group of insects considered as minor by others.

Her special attention to the morphology of larval and adult organisation becomes evident from the illustrations, which constitute a relevant component of her articles. This proves that Marta devoted a particular attention to the organisational details useful not only for taxonomy but also for comparative anatomical investigations she carried out in numerous representatives of this order.

On the basis of field observations, she also gathered interesting data on the flight behaviour of adult mayflies, a poorly investigated research sector due to the short life of these insects and the difficulty of observing them in their natural environment.

She published the most relevant results in the book Ephemeroidea, a monograph of the series of essays devoted to the knowledge of the Italian fauna. This treatise, dated 1960, goes beyond mere taxonomy because it includes remarkable notes on the ecology and behaviour of numerous species. It continues to be a reference book not only for taxonomists but also for students and hydrobiologists, notwithstanding its publication almost half a century ago.

In 1962, to acknowledge her scientific credit, she was awarded by the National Academy of Lincei with the Ministry of Education Prize for Natural Sciences and, against her will, she was appointed as Member of the Italian National Academy of Entomology.

Her last article was published in 1973 and afterward, probably because of some health problems, she decided to conclude her studies and to devote herself to charity, looking after poor people. She dedicated them attention and affection, with the same intensity that guided her previous activity.

I met Marta in 1973. I was at the beginning of my research on Ephemeroptera. I was initially intimidated by her competence and experience, but my feeling was rapidly driven away by her affability and warmest welcome. She expressed her appreciation that ‘another woman’ was interested in widening the knowledge on mayflies. In the course of our friendly conversation she was happy to show me some intriguing species, and she repeatedly stressed the difficulties she faced in identifying them. Confidentially she told me that her eyes had gradually deteriorated, thus limiting the time she could devote to observe specimens under the microscope. There was a sort of acceptance of this fate in her voice. ‘I exploited them too much’, she said slightly smiling and continued ‘Now, I must pass the torch to other younger persons interested in this group because research is an endless revolution and we need active fighters’.

Before I left she gave me some articles useful for solving my first taxonomic problems. She encouraged me to investigate the morphological traits by using the modern electron microscopy approach, because ‘you can take advantage from this modern technique to see better and deeply’, she said. Probably, she grasped my attitude in this research field.

Marta was a quiet and shy person, happy to give advice and personal help to anyone. She donated the specialised library and collection of Ephemeroptera to the Institute where she had worked for almost 30 years. Her articles and her book will always be a valuable reference for our entomological studies.

Marti Grandi will always be fondly remembered within her discipline and she will also forever remain in our memory.