Reece Ivan Sailer (8 November 1915 – 8 September 1986) 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 specialized in classical

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or o ...

and the systematics of the bugs in the family

Pentatomidae Pentatomidae is a family of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera, generally called shield bugs or stink bugs. Pentatomidae is the largest family in the superfamily Pentatomoidea, and contains around 900 genera and over 4700 species.Robert G ...

. Sailer was born in

Roseville, Illinois Roseville is a village in Warren County, Illinois, United States. The population was 892 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Galesburg, Illinois, Galesburg Galesburg micropolitan area, Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...

where he went to school. He attended Western Illinois State Teacher's College followed by

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

, where he received an A.B. in 1938 and a Ph.D. in 1942. His doctoral work was on the systematics of the genus '' Trichocorixa'' (Hemiptera) under H.B. Hungerford. Sailer worked as an assistant entomologist for the

State of Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and then joined the

US 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 ...

specializing in the taxonomy of

true bugs Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They ...

. He also worked on the effects of

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

on forest insects and studied biting flies and mosquitoes in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. In 1960 Sailer moved to Paris to work in the European Parasite Laboratory. He moved back to the US in 1966 and worked for the USDA's Insect Identification and Parasite Introduction Research branch, in

Beltsville, Maryland Beltsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in northern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The community was named for Truman Belt, a local landowner. The 2020 census counted 20,133 residents. Beltsville includes the unincorporate ...

. He joined the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in 1973 and worked as a professor of entomology, teaching courses in biological control.

References

External links

Smithsonian Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sailer, Reece American entomologists People from Roseville, Illinois University of Kansas alumni Western Illinois University alumni 1915 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American zoologists Presidents of the Entomological Society of America