In memoriam: Fidel Fernández-Rubio (13 Dec 1928–20 Apr 2022)

Fidel Fernández-Rubio (Fig. 1) passed away on April 20th 2022 at Madrid (Spain), at the age of 93. Born in the city of Granada (Spain), 13th December 1928, Fidel studied medicine in his city of birth (1946–1951) gaining excellent marks and obtained his MD Degree in 1954. He also got a diploma in biology (1952; by this time, the Biology degree did not yet exist in Spain). In a relatively short time, he became a Hospital Director (Vigo, Galicia 1956–1958) and was promoted to positions of high responsibility in the Spanish regional and national health systems (1956–1987). In 1986 he stood as the official medical doctor for foreign dignitaries in official visits as well as the accompanying medical doctor as part of the King of Spain’s crew during visits to foreign countries until his retirement in 1994. Nota Lepi. 45 2022: 355–362 | DOI 10.3897/nl.45.95740 In Memoriam

Together with his professional activity Fidel had a genuine interest for nature and mountains since he was a youngster. He practiced speleology and mountain climbing; together with other colleagues he opened several new pathways in the Sierra Nevada cliffs, which presently retain his name. He was qualified as a high mountain guide ("Frente de Juventudes", 1950) and was designated as the head of the services of Speleology and High Hountain of Granada's student trade union (SEU) (1949)(1950)(1951)(1952)(1953)(1954)(1955). This intimate contact with nature probably prompted his interest in the diurnal Lepidoptera, which would represent a central item in his activities since the 1960s.
Together with the late Miguel R. Gómez Bustillo, Fidel was involved in what would represent two relevant milestones in the development of Spanish lepidopterology: the foundation of SHILAP ("Sociedad Hispano-Luso-Americana de Lepidopterología") and the publication of the volumes 1-3 of the series "Mariposas de la Península Ibérica". SHILAP, which he directed for several years, was an ambitious project founded (as the society's name states) to promote the study of the Lepidoptera, not just in Spain but in the Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries. Despite several technical deficiencies, these resources promoted the publication of abundant faunistic information on the Spanish Lepidoptera and facilitated the identification of at least the butterflies and some groups of the most popular macro-moths, triggering a remarkable increase in the knowledge of the regional Lepidoptera fauna. It also facilitated a network of relationships among local lepidopterists.
Fidel's main interests were the Papilionoidea (particularly, the Lycaenidae) and the Family Zygaenidae. Over the years he accumulated a relevant private collection of nicely preserved specimens from those taxa including Iberian, Macaronesian and Palaearctic material, with an emphasis on mountain species.
Fernández-Rubio was a prolific writer, having authored or co-authored more than 150 papers. These include the subjects of medicine (1952-1965 on radiation, diabetes, prophylaxis and preventive medicine) of which several books remain reference manuals, but also on Arthropods and disease, poisonous terrestrial and aquatic fauna, photography as well as mountain climbing and speleology and the etymology of arthropod scientific names.
Focusing on Lepidoptera and after his co-authorship within the volumes 1-3 of the series "Mariposas de la Península Ibérica" by Gómez Fernández-Rubio (1974a, 1976b), his booklets on the male genitalia of the Spanish butterflies (1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982) and Zygaena (1975cZygaena ( , 1977 represented efficient resources for the identification of several families in the area, in times when the access to the specialized literature was difficult. Later, Fidel would publish what would become the 'reference' local field guides to the Iberian (and Macaronesian) butterflies and burnets during the 1990s (1990b, 1991a). One of his contributions was the volume on Zygaenidae in the series Fauna Ibérica (2005a), the first in that series to cover any family of the Order Lepidoptera. In all, he published around 100 works on lepidopterology (98 in the list presented here, where some serial contributions have been condensed as single items). Being a skillful and creative entomologist, some of his writings dealt with technical aspects such as light trapping (1985b, 1985c, 1992), techniques for genitalia preparation (1980, 1986b), and digital identification keys (1986a, 1987, 1191b, 1994cFernández-Rubio and Olano 2000). Other subjects in addition to faunistic studies, included zygaenid fossils (Peñalver Mollá and Fernández-Rubio 1991;Fernández-Rubio 1993b, 1994a, 1994e, 1995b, 1998b, 2000a and the etymology of the scientific names of moths and butterflies (2001a, 2001b, 2001c, 2001d, 2001e, 2018). Most of the genitalia images from his publications (as well as digitized photos of adult burnets and butterflies) are available from Fernández-Rubio (2012c).
Fidel was a member of six entomological or lepidopterological societies (including SEL which he quit in the early 1980s).
Fidel was a polite person, cultivated, smart and cooperative as well as an excellent host who did not hesitate to help with geographical locations, or to check for specimens in his collection. Conversations with him were never boring, and perhaps many of us will remember some of his odd anecdotes which resulted from his varied professional and personal activities.

Lepidopterological bibliography
References prefaced by an asterisk* are those cited in the obituary above. Fidel used his two family names (Fernández Rubio) as such in his early publications but subsequently used the composed form "Fernández-Rubio" in most of his writings; this is retained here for simplicity.