Insect Life 3 Vol. Set 1888 -1891 Science Entomological Society Insect Zoology

Description: Insect Life. Devoted to the economy and life-habits of insects, especially in their relations to agriculture. Riley, C. V. and L. O. Howard (Eds.) Washington, DC, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Entomology, 1888-18 Charles Valentine Riley Collection Introduction Charles Valentine Riley pioneered the field of entomology in the United States. The impact of Riley's work of more than a century ago is still being felt today, not only in the fields of entomology and agriculture, but also in other natural sciences. The Charles Valentine Riley Collection, part of the National Agricultural Library's (NAL) Special Collections, illustrates Riley's vision to enhance the success of agriculture through new scientific knowledge. The collection of papers and significant artifacts, also tells the story of Riley's love of nature, his keen ability to observe relationships in nature, and his devotion to recording his observations through drawing and writing. The collection complements a number of other significant manuscripts and rare books in Special Collections such as the USDA History Collection, manuscripts of Townend Glover and William Saunders, and early publications by Riley and others which provide historians and researchers a broad picture of the field of entomology in the 1800s. Charles Valentine Riley's Vision A vital and colorful personality, Charles Valentine Riley was a major 19th century figure possessed by a vision for enhancing the success of agriculture through new scientific knowledge. Born in London in 1843, Riley immigrated to the United States at age 17 and worked as a farm laborer, writer and illustrator. Riley was named Missouri's first State Entomologist in 1868. His eminent career continued as Riley was named the Chief of the U. S. Entomological Commission in 1876, and Chief Entomologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1878. He was responsible for one of the first outstanding successes in the biological control of pests. In 1888 he helped save the California citrus industry by introducing the Australian vedalia beetle to combat scale insects. He also was a key figure in research that led to the rescue of the French wine industry from an insect pest. France recognized this accomplishment by awarding Riley the Cross of the Legion of Honor. The impact of Riley's work of more than a century ago is still being felt today, not only in the fields of entomology and agriculture but also in other natural sciences. For example, he was the first, in a speech delivered before the National Agricultural Congress in 1879, to recommend the establishment of the Office of Experiment Stations. He also advocated establishment of the Branch of Economic Ornithology as part of the Entomology Division at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which evolved into the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, that is now in the Department of Interior. Riley was truly a "whole-picture" person - an artist, a poet, a writer, a journalist, a linguist, a naturalist, and a philosopher as well as a scientist. He also added cultural aspects to his work through his charter membership in the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C. In 1878, Riley joined with Alexander Graham Bell, John Wesley Powell, and fifty-seven other men in science, literature, and arts to found the Cosmos Club as a "social club for individuals of distinction and sociability." Riley was Curator of the U.S. National Collection of Insects at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History when he died in 1895 of injuries in a Washington, D.C. accident. Upon the death in 1978 of Riley's last surviving child, Dr. Cathryn Vedalia Riley, a modest trust was established to further Riley's memory. This trust assisted in the founding of the Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation. Thus, the singular characteristic of Riley as a "whole-picture" person is reflected in the precepts and goals of the Riley Memorial Foundation. Riley's vision, and ability to see the role of agriculture (and forestry) in the productive use of the landscape, as an artistry upon which all society depends, is perhaps his greatest legacy. Leland Ossian Howard (June 11, 1857 – May 1, 1950) was a pioneer American entomologist who worked in the US Department of Agriculture. Serving as the chief of the bureau of entomology, a successor to C.V. Riley, he helped establish economic entomology as a profession in the United States and strengthened research activities, helping establish laws to prevent the introduction of agricultural pests. He was a specialist on the Hymenopteran family Chalcididae, which are parasitic and contributed to the introduction of biological control agents for pest management. Howard also took an interest in medical entomology. Early life Howard was born to Ossian Gregory Howard, a lawyer, and Lucy Denham Thurber on 11 June 1857. His relatives from his mother's side included the Harvard astronomer E.C. Pickering while other distant relatives included Senator J.M. Howard and President William Howard Taft. Shortly after his birth, the family moved from Rockford, to Ithaca, New York where his father worked with a law firm.[1] An interest in insect collecting was encouraged by his parents with the gift of The Butterfly Hunters by Mary Treat at the age of 10, followed by more books. At the age of 13, along with another collector friend, he recorded the introduction of the European cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapae) in the Catskill region. Howard attended Ithaca Academy. Along with his friends, he founded the Ithaca Natural History Society to meet and discuss papers and insects.[1] While out collecting one day, Howard met John Henry Comstock, who invited him to his lab at Cornell University. Howard enrolled in Cornell in September 1873, three years after the death of his father, and following the advice of his mother's friends, went to study civil engineering. Doing poorly in differential calculus made him drop engineering and he began to study other subjects including French, German, and Italian. He then joined Comstock's lab as the first research student and graduated in June 1877 with a thesis on respiration in the larva of Corydalis cornutus. Howard worked with Burt Green Wilder and Simon Henry Gage and received a masters at Cornell.[1] In the 1880s, Howard also attended Columbian College (now George Washington University) for medicine, although he didn't complete it. He however received an honorary MD from the same university in 1911 for his contribution to medical entomology.[1] Career In July 1878, on the recommendation of Professor Comstock, Howard applied for a post in the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an assistant entomologist to C.V. Riley despite the low salary ($100/month) and advice against joining it from many friends and family, he took up the job. Among his first tasks was to prepare a manual on sericulture which was published with Riley as the author. Riley was replaced by Professor Comstock and again many of his writings went under the authorship of Comstock. This was accepted practice and Howard changed this practice when he rose in authority and ensured that all his co-workers were appropriately credited. He eventually became chief of the Bureau of Entomology in 1894. He held the position until 1 October 1927. He continued to consult the Bureau until officially retiring on 30 June 1931. He worked on the systematics of the parasitic Hymenoptera, biological control, and medical entomology of mosquitoes and flies.[1] Howard was the editor of Insect Life, a lecturer on entomology at several colleges and universities, and a contributor to reference books on the subject of entomology. He was made permanent secretary of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, honorary curator in the United States National Museum, and consulting entomologist of the Public Health Service. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 and since 1907 was a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America

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