Florence Eugenie Bemis (1861?–?) was a late 19th and early 20th century American

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 ...

and expert in

whiteflies Whiteflies are Hemipterans that typically feed on the undersides of plant leaves. They comprise the family Aleyrodidae, the only family in the superfamily Aleyrodoidea. More than 1550 species have been described. Description and taxonomy The A ...

Scientific career

Bemis worked at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in the laboratory of entomologist

Vernon Lyman Kellogg Vernon Lyman Kellogg (December 1, 1867 – August 8, 1937) was an American entomologist, evolutionary biologist, and science administrator. A major contribution was his study of bird lice and their hosts. He established the Department of Zoology ...

and in the field collecting specimens and making biological observations. She studied insects of the

Aleyrodidae Whiteflies are Hemipterans that typically feed on the undersides of plant leaves. They comprise the family (biology), family Aleyrodidae, the only family in the superfamily Aleyrodoidea. More than List of whitefly species, 1550 species have been ...

family, which are known as

and at the time were also called mealy-winged flies for the waxy white secretion that covers their wings. In 1904, she published a long monograph on a subset of these insects, entitled ''The Aleyrodds, or Mealy-Winged Flies, of California, with References to Other American Species''. In it she described 19 new species of whiteflies found in California, together with a catalogue of whitefly species found elsewhere in America. Although she placed them all in the genus Aleyrodes, many of them have since been moved into other whitefly

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

, including Aleuropleurocelus, Aleuroparadoxus, Aleurothrixus, Pealius, Tetraleurodes, and Trialeurodes. Her work is credited with greatly advancing knowledge of California species of whiteflies. The taxonomic genus ''

Bemisia ''Bemisia'' is a genus of whitefly in the family Aleyrodidae. Species *'' Bemisia afer'' Priesner & Hosny, 1934 *'' Bemisia alni'' Takahashi, 1957 *'' Bemisia antennata'' Gameel, 1968 *'' Bemisia bambusae'' Takahashi, 1942 *'' Bemisia berberic ...

'' within the family Aleyrodidae, comprising some of the whiteflies, is named in her honor.

Species discovered

*'' Aleyrodes amnicola'' *'' Aleyrodes diasemus'' *''Aleyrodes errans'': now '' Tetraleurodes errans'' *''

Aleyrodes extraniens Aleyrodidae is a large hemipteran family comprising the whiteflies. It contains the following species: Aleyrodinae Westwood, 1840 *'' Acanthaleyrodes'' Takahashi, 1931 :*'' Acanthaleyrodes callicarpae'' Takahashi, 1931 :*'' Acanthaleyrodes styrac ...

'' *''Aleyrodes glacialis'': now '' Trialeurodes glacialis'' *''Aleyrodes hutchingsi'': now '' Trialeurodes hutchingsi'' *''Aleyrodes interrogationis'': now '' Aleurothrixus interrogationis'' *''Aleyrodes iridescens'': now '' Aleuroparadoxus iridescens'' *''Aleyrodes kelloggi'': now '' Pealius kelloggi'' *''Aleyrodes madroni'': now '' Trialeurodes madroni'' *''Aleyrodes maskelli'': now '' Pealius maskelli'' *''Aleyrodes merlini'': now '' Trialeurodes merlini'' *''Aleyrodes nigrans'': now '' Aleuropleurocelus nigrans'' *'' Aleyrodes pruinosus'' *'' Aleyrodes quaintancei'' *''

Aleyrodes stanfordi Aleyrodidae is a large hemipteran family comprising the whiteflies. It contains the following species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can pr ...

'' *''Aleyrodes splendens'': now '' Tetraleurodes errans'' *''Aleyrodes tentaculatus'': now ''

Trialeurodes tentaculatus ''Trialeurodes'' is a large genus of whiteflies in the family Aleyrodidae Whiteflies are Hemipterans that typically feed on the undersides of plant leaves. They comprise the family (biology), family Aleyrodidae, the only family in the superfam ...

'' *'' Aleyrodes wellmanae''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bemis, Florence Eugenie 20th-century American zoologists American women entomologists 20th-century American women scientists 19th-century American zoologists 19th-century American women scientists Stanford University people

Scientific career

Species discovered

See also

References