Lewis Hart Weld (1875-1964) was an 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 ...

, who worked for the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

(USDA).Weld, Lewis Hart at Smithsonian Institution Archives
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Education

Lewis Weld attended the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, and

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, where he studied entomology. In 1904, Weld went to teach at Evanston Academy, where he began his lifelong research of

gall wasps Gall wasps, also wikt:gallfly#Usage notes, traditionally called gallflies, are hymenopterans of the family Cynipidae in the wasp superfamily Cynipoidea. Their common name comes from the galls they induce on plants for larval development. About 1 ...

Career

Weld made several field trips during his career; in 1919, and another from 1923 to 1924. During this time he worked for the

Bureau of Entomology The Bureau of Entomology was a unit within the Federal government of the United States from 1894 to 1934. It developed from a section of the Department of Agriculture which had been working on entomological researches and allied issues relating to ...

of the USDA. Lewis Weld resigned his official position in 1924, but continued to independently pursue his interests, and continued to collaborate with the USDA for over 40 years.

Personal life

Weld married

plant pathologist Plant pathology or phytopathology is the scientific study of plant diseases caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Plant pathology involves the study of pathogen identification, disease ...

Clara Octavia Jamieson in 1915; they did not have any children.

References

American entomologists Smithsonian Institution people 1875 births 1964 deaths University of Michigan alumni University of Rochester alumni Cornell University alumni {{Smithsonian-stub