George Carter Bignell

He worked as a clerk, followed by service in the Royal Navy and then as in a public office in Devon, and in his spare time collected insects and was a Fellow of the Entomological Society.

He saw action in the Portuguese "Little Civil War" in 1847, as part of a British squadron sent to support Queen Maria II.

[1] Bignell was then appointed Registrar of Births and Deaths, and Poor Law Officer for Stonehouse in Plymouth, Devon.

Although he studied and collected a wide range of insects, it was his work with the Ichneumonidae or parasitic wasps that was outstanding; discovering nineteen species that were entirely new to science, two of which are named after him.

Bignell knew other collectors of the period including James Higman Keys (1855-1941) and exchanged specimens with Claude Morley.