Observations on nature

On his travels Acerbi continuously took notes of the fauna, flora and minerals and collected and dried plants. He also preserved bird skins in sulphur and camphor. After his journey he based his drawings and water colours of Lappish insects, butterflies and birds on the collections of the university of Uppsala.

Acerbi tried to find special birds like the bluethroat whose song he praised. As an example of ornithological observations Acerbi gives an account on how people get eggs from the merganser by making it lay eggs

"The egg catcher lays somewhere near the river bank a rotten trunk of either spruce or pine. The trunk has a hole in the middle. The birds goes there to lay its eggs, but soon the peasant arrives to take the eggs leaving one or two left, however." Acerbi: Matka halki Suomen, s. 152

Acerbi showed an interest in the pearly freshwater mussels. He even opened a few without finding pearls of any significance.

As a token of appreciation of Acerbi's achievements as a natural scientist the Finnish entomologists have named the spinner moth after Acerbi who described it as Bombyx Alpina on his expedition. The next observation of the moth after Acerbi was made on the fell Saanatunturi as late as 1961.

Among Acerbi's botanic observations mention must be made of the list of blossoming flowers seen on the way to Ylitornio. The list includes the following plants: bogbean, chickweed wintergreen, dwarf birch, red bog rosemary, dogwood, dandelion, cloudberry and arctic bramble. Angelica was praised in Acerbi 's writings as tasty and especially good for health which was considered a great delicacy by the Lapps.

Observations on nature | Music and poetry | Observations on ways of life
Route | Scientific interests | Pictures from travels | On Acerbi's footsteps
Travellers in Lapland