Norman Criddle, born in 1875 in
Addlestone
Addlestone ( or ) is a town in Surrey, England. It is located approximately southwest of London. The town is the administrative centre of the Runnymede (borough), Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement.
Geography
Addlesto ...
, Surrey, England, died in 1933 in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
, Manitoba, Canada, was an
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 ...
active in the early development of control strategies for
agriculturally important
grasshopper
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grassh ...
s (Insecta:
Orthoptera
Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – gras ...
) in the
prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
croplands of
western North America, as well as a
naturalist
Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
-artist.
Career
In 1902, faced with
food crop devastation from a peak in the population of grasshoppers, Criddle developed a mixture of
pesticidal toxins
A toxin is a naturally occurring poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. They occur especially as proteins, often conjugated. The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919), derived ...
called the "Criddle Mixture" to combat them, and was hired by the
provincial government to demonstrate its use to farmers. In 1913 the Manitoba government hired him as an entomological field officer, and in 1919 he was appointed the provincial entomologist. Gifted with considerable artistic ability, Criddle illustrated a number of agricultural books; his and Dr.
James Fletcher's ''Fodder and Pasture Plants'' and ''Farm Weeds of Canada'' are especially noteworthy.
Education & Honors
Criddle was awarded an
honorary diploma from the
Manitoba Agricultural College, was
honorary president of the
Natural History Society of Manitoba from 1925 to 1933, and a member of the
Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame. His family's homestead in Aweme, Manitoba, the
Criddle/Vane Homestead, has been declared a Manitoba Provincial Heritage Park.
[Holliday, 2006, ''op.cit.'']
Publications
Criddle authored and illustrated a number of works between 1906 and 1934.
*
See also
List of entomologists
References
External links
Norman Criddle (1875-1933) Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Criddle, Norman
Canadian entomologists
1875 births
1933 deaths
People from Addlestone
People from Westman Region, Manitoba
Scientists from Manitoba