Career
He served as a chaplain in the Prussian army. He was the joint editor, with Carl Gustav Jablonsky, of Naturgeschichte der inund ausländischen Insekten (1785–1806, 10 volumes), which was one of the first attempts at a complete survey of the order Coleoptera. Herbst"s Naturgeschichte der Krabben und Krebse, released in installments, was the first full survey of crustaceans.
Herbst"s other works included Anleitung zur Kenntnis der Insekten (1784-1786, 3 volumes), Naturgeschichte der Krabben und Krebse (1782–1804, 3 volumes), Einleitung zur Kenntnis der Würmer (1787-1788, 2 volumes) and Natursystem der ungeflügelten Insekten (Classification of the unwinged insects) (1797–1800, 4 parts).