Ralph H. Hopping (April 8, 1868, New York City – October 29, 1941) was an American-born Canadian
entomologist
Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
who specialized in
Coleoptera
Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
(beetles and weevils).
Biography
Hopping was born in New York City. From an early age he collected and studied insects, especially Coleoptera. In 1891, he relocated with his father, George W. Hopping, to California.
In 1905, Ralph entered the
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...
. In 1912, he held the post of Forest Entomologist, and was based in San Francisco. In 1919, he was offered, and accepted, the post of Entomologist-in-Charge at the Vernon Laboratory in
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, Canada. He remained at
Vernon until he retired in 1939, with the title of Senior Agricultural Scientist. He was a member of several learned societies, including the
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, that is among the largest List of natural history museums, museums of natural history in the world, housing over ...
(from 1913), the
Pacific Coast Entomological Society, and the
Entomological Society of British Columbia. He collected, and
described, numerous species of beetle. He directed his energies not simply towards scientific inquiry, but especially towards control of
bark beetle
A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although th ...
s; a notorious pest in the Canadian forestry industry.
In 1948, his widow, Eltha Edwards, donated his beetle collection to the Entomology Department of the California Academy of Sciences.
His son, G. R. Hopping, was an entomologist also.
Taxa described
* ''
Clytus canadensis
''Clytus canadensis'' is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae
The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns (whose larvae are often referred to as roundheaded borers), are a large family of beetles, wit ...
'' (1928)
* ''
Judolia swainei'' (1922)
* ''
Leptura sequoiae'' (1934)
* ''
Ortholeptura obscura'' (1928); see ''
Ortholeptura''
* ''
Phymatodes fulgidus'' (1928)
* ''
Pissodes terminalis'' (date unknown); see ''
Pissodes''
* ''
Pidonia quadrata'' (1931)
* ''
Xylotrechus bowditchi'' (1928)
* ''
Xylotrechus robustus'' (1941)
Taxa named in honor
* ''
Atimia hoppingi'' (
Linsley, 1939); see
Atimiini
* ''
Callidium hoppingi'' (Linsley, 1957)
* ''
Pseudopilema hoppingi'' (
Van Dyke, 1920)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopping, Ralph
1868 births
Scientists from New York City
1941 deaths
Place of death missing
American entomologists
Canadian entomologists
American emigrants to Canada