Boris Balinsky


Borys Ivanovych Balinsky was a Ukrainian-South African biologist, embryologist, entomologist.
A professor at Kiev University and later the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Balinsky was a pioneer researcher in the field of experimental embryology, electron microscopy and developmental biology and the author of a popular textbook in embryology An Introduction to Embryology.

Early life and education

Balinsky was born 23 September 1905, in Kiev, then part of the Russian Empire. His father, Ivan Balinsky, was a historian, lawyer and teacher at Galen College. His mother, Elizaveta Radzymovska was a biology teacher. Her aunt, Valentyna Radzymovska, was a biologist who was involved in Ukrainian independence movements. His parents loved English literature and spoke Ukrainian, Russian and English at home. His love of etymology began with a book he received in 1916 on collecting butterflies, as well as with the summers he spent in the village of Severinovka, where his grandfather kept bees.
He was a student of the Soviet zoologist and evolutionary biologist, Ivan Schmalhausen, and one of the first people to conduct experiments inducing organogenesis in amphibian embryos. His distinguished himself by having his first scientific paper published while he was only 20 and still an undergraduate.
He married his first wife Katya Syngayevskaya in 1928, after meeting her during an embryology seminar. Balinsky's son John Balinsky was born in 1934.

Career

Balinsky became a full university professor at Kiev University in 1933 at age 28 and the deputy director of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences two years later in 1935. He became a recognised expert in fish and amphibian development.
His wife was arrested October 7, 1937 for engaging in counter-revolutionary propaganda and was sentenced to ten years in a gulag. Therefore Balinsky lost his post as professor and as deputy director of the Institute. His wife, Syngayevskaya would die of peritonitis in 1943.
A victim of Soviet repressions, Balinsky remained in Kiev under German occupation during World War II while others evacuated. He and his family fled to Poznań, Poland after the German evacuation and later Munich, Germany. From 1945 to 1947, he worked as a professor of Histology at the temporary UNRRA University in Munich. After the closing of the UNRRA University in 1947, Balinsky also briefly worked in Scotland in Conrad Hal Waddington's laboratory on mice embryology from 1947 to 1949.
Later, in 1949, he migrated to South Africa where he become one of the founders of South African experimental bioscience. In 1949, Balinsky accepted a lecturer position at the University of the Witwatersrand. He was appointed Head of Zoology at the school, serving from 1954 to 1973. In 1960, drawing from the courses he taught at Witwatersrand, Balinsky published the An Introduction to Embryology, which became one of the most widely used Embryology textbook worldwide and served as a foundational textbook in the field for years to come. He also served as Witwatersrand's Dean of the Faculty of Science from 1965 to 1967 He served as the President of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa in 1966.
Balinsky also worked in entomology and described new species of Plecoptera, Odonata and moths from the family Pyralidae, mainly from Caucasus and South Africa.

Death and legacy

He died at home in Johannesburg on 1 September 1997, aged 91. His son John Balinsky also studied and became a scientist. John Balinsky went on to work for the University Witwatersrand and served as the chairman for the Department of Zoology at Iowa State University.

Insects described

Plecoptera

Pontoperla teberdinica Balinsky, 1950Pontoperla katherinae BalinskyBalinskycercella gudu Balinsky, 1956Balinskycercella tugelae Balinsky, 1956Balinskycercella fontium Balinsky, 1956

Dragonflies

Agriocnemis pinheyi Balinsky, 1963Agriocnemis ruberrima Balinsky, 1961Ceratogomphus triceraticus Balinsky, 1963Chlorolestes draconicus Balinsky, 1956Orthetrum robustum Balinsky, 1965Pseudagrion helenae Balinsky, 1964Pseudagrion inopinatum Balinsky, 1971Pseudagrion vumbaense Balinsky, 1963Urothemis luciana Balinsky, 1961

Lepidoptera

New species

Abachausia grisea Balinsky, 1994Acrobasis africanella Balinsky, 1994Afromyelois communis Balinsky, 1991Afromylea natalica Balinsky, 1994Afropsipyla pictella Balinsky, 1994Afropsipyla similis Balinsky, 1994Ambetilia crucifera Balinsky, 1994Ancylosis aeola Balinsky, 1987Ancylosis eugraphella Balinsky, 1987Ancylosis eurhoda Balinsky, 1989Ancylosis glaphyria Balinsky, 1987Ancylosis melanophlebia Balinsky, 1989Ancylosis mimeugraphella Balinsky, 1989Ancylosis montana Balinsky, 1989Ancylosis namibiella Balinsky, 1987Ancylosis obscurella Balinsky, 1989Ancylosis perfervid Balinsky, 1989Ancylosis similis Balinsky, 1987Apomyelois bicolorata Balinsky, 1991Arsissa transvaalica Balinsky, 1991Aspithroides minuta Balinsky, 1994Azanicola adspersa Balinsky, 1991Bahiria defecta Balinsky, 1994Bahiria durbanica Balinsky, 1994Bahiria flavicosta Balinsky, 1994Bahiria latevalvata Balinsky, 1994Bahiria macrognatha Balinsky, 1994Bahiria magna Balinsky, 1994Bahiria similis Balinsky, 1994Bahiria ximenianata Balinsky, 1994Cabotella inconspicua Balinsky, 1994Candiopella dukei Balinsky, 1994Cantheleamima excisa Balinsky, 1994Ceuthelea umtalensis Balinsky, 1994Cunibertoides nigripatagiata Balinsky, 1991Emporia melanobasis Balinsky, 1991Encryphodes ethiopella Balinsky, 1991Epicrocis abbreviata Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis ancylosiformis Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis arcana Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis brevipalpata Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis complicata Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis coriacelloides Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis crassa Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis flavicosta Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis furcilinea Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis gracilis Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis imitans Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis insolita Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis intermedia Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis noncapillata Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis ornata Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis ornatella Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis picta Balinsky, 1991Epicrocis plumbifasciata Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis punctata Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis sacculata Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis spiculata Balinsky, 1994Epicrocis vansoni Balinsky, 1994Eucarphia anomala Balinsky, 1994Eurhodope nyctosia Balinsky, 1991Euzophera crassignatha Balinsky, 1994Euzophera crinita Balinsky, 1994Euzophera cullinanensis Euzophera minima Balinsky, 1994Euzophera termivelata Balinsky, 1994Euzopherodes capicola Balinsky, 1994Faveria dubia Balinsky, 1994Faveria fusca Balinsky, 1994Faveria ignicephalis Balinsky, 1994Faveria minima Balinsky, 1994Faveria minuscula Balinsky, 1994Faveria nonceracanthia Balinsky, 1994Faveria onigra Balinsky, 1994Faveria poliostrota Balinsky, 1994Flabellobasis montana Balinsky, 1991Gaana minima Balinsky, 1994Gaana quatra Balinsky, 1994Getulia maculosa Balinsky, 1994Hobohmia paradoxa Balinsky, 1994Homoeosoma masaiensis Balinsky, 1991Joannisia heterotypa Balinsky, 1994Joannisia jansei Balinsky, 1994Joannisia poliopasta Balinsky, 1994Joannisia semiales Balinsky, 1994Kivia longisacculata Balinsky, 1994Laodamia affinis Balinsky, 1994Laodamia glaucocephalis Balinsky, 1994Laodamia grisella Balinsky, 1994Laodamia homotypa Balinsky, 1994Laodamia hortensis Balinsky, 1994Laodamia inermis Balinsky, 1994Laodamia injucunda Balinsky, 1994Laodamia karkloofensis Balinsky, 1994Laodamia lugubris Balinsky, 1994Laodamia nigerrima Balinsky, 1994Laodamia nonplagella Balinsky, 1994Laodamia pulchra Balinsky, 1994Laodamia salisburyensis Balinsky, 1994Laodamia sarniensis Balinsky, 1994Laodamia similis Balinsky, 1994Laodamia spissa Balinsky, 1994Laodamia squamata Balinsky, 1994Laodamia zoetendalensis Balinsky, 1994Leviantenna ferox Balinsky, 1994Macrovalva quadrielevata Balinsky, 1994Magiriamorpha superpalpia Balinsky, 1994Miliberta gnathilata Balinsky, 1994Nakurubia sacculata Balinsky, 1994Namibicola simplex Balinsky, 1994Namibicola splendida Balinsky, 1991Namibiopsis punctata Balinsky, 1994Nonphycita lineata Balinsky, 1994Nyctegretis cullinanensis Balinsky, 1991Oncocera affinis Balinsky, 1994Oncocera cenochreella Ragonot, 1888Oncocera dubia Balinsky, 1994Oncocera glaucocephalis Balinsky, 1994Oncocera grisella Balinsky, 1994Oncocera homotypa Balinsky, 1994Oncocera horrens Balinsky, 1994Oncocera hortensis Balinsky, 1994Oncocera ignicephalis Balinsky, 1994Oncocera inermis Balinsky, 1994Oncocera injucunda Balinsky, 1994Oncocera karkloofensis Balinsky, 1994Oncocera lugubris Balinsky, 1994Oncocera nigerrima Balinsky, 1994Oncocera nonplagella Balinsky, 1994Oncocera pulchra Balinsky, 1994Oncocera salisburyensis Balinsky, 1994Oncocera sarniensis Balinsky, 1994Oncocera similis Balinsky, 1994Oncocera spiculata Balinsky, 1994Oncocera spissa Balinsky, 1994Oncocera squamata Balinsky, 1994Oncocera zoetendalensis Balinsky, 1994Ortholepis polyodonta Balinsky, 1991Ortholepis pyrobasis Balinsky, 1991Ortholepis unguinata Balinsky, 1994Paralaodamia haploa Balinsky, 1994Paralaodamia angustata Balinsky, 1994Paralaodamia fraudulenta Balinsky, 1994Paralaodamia modesta Balinsky, 1994Paralaodamia pretoriensis Balinsky, 1994Paralaodamia serrata Balinsky, 1994Paralaodamia subligaculata Balinsky, 1994Paralaodamia transvaalica Balinsky, 1994Phycita attenuata Balinsky, 1994Phycita exaggerata Balinsky, 1994Phycita ligubris Balinsky, 1994Phycita randensis Balinsky, 1994Phycita singularis Balinsky, 1994Phycita spiculata Balinsky, 1994Phycita spissoterminata Balinsky, 1994Phycita suppenditata Balinsky, 1994Phycitophila obscurita Balinsky, 1994Phycitopsis insulata Balinsky, 1994Pretoria nigribasis Balinsky, 1994Proancylosis argenticostata Balinsky, 1991Pseudogetulia luminosa Balinsky, 1994Pseudographis dermatina Balinsky, 1989Pseudographis mesosema Balinsky, 1989Psorosa africana Balinsky, 1991Pylamorpha albida Balinsky, 1994Pylamorpha cristata Balinsky, 1994Quasiexuperius rhodesianus Balinsky, 1994Ramosignathos inconspicuella Balinsky, 1994Samaria inconspicuella Balinsky, 1994Sematoneura africana Balinsky, 1994Shebania grandis Balinsky, 1991Shebania maculata Balinsky, 1991Spatulipalpia monstrosa Balinsky, 1994Staudingeria mimeugraphella Balinsky, 1989Trachypteryx victoriola Balinsky, 1991Ulophora flavinia Balinsky, 1994

New genera

Abachausia Balinsky, 1994Afromyelois Balinsky, 1991Afromylea Balinsky, 1994Afropsipyla Balinsky, 1994Ambetilia Balinsky, 1994Aspithroides Balinsky, 1994Azanicola Balinsky, 1991Bahiria Balinsky, 1994Cabotella Balinsky, 1994Candiopella Balinsky, 1994Cantheleamima Balinsky, 1994Ceuthelea Balinsky, 1994Cunibertoides Balinsky, 1991Flabellobasis Balinsky, 1991Hobohmia Balinsky, 1994Joannisia Balinsky, 1994Kivia Balinsky, 1994Leviantenna Balinsky, 1994Macrovalva Balinsky, 1994Magiriamorpha Balinsky, 1994Miliberta Balinsky, 1994Nakurubia Balinsky, 1994Namibicola Balinsky, 1991Namibiopsis Balinsky, 1994Nonphycita Balinsky, 1994Paralaodamia Balinsky, 1994Phycitophila Balinsky, 1994Proancylosis Balinsky, 1991Pseudogetulia Balinsky, 1994 Balinsky, 1989Pylamorpha Balinsky, 1994Quasiexuperius Balinsky, 1994Ramosignathos Balinsky, 1994Shebania Balinsky, 1991