Herbert Osborn (March 19, 1856-September 20, 1954) was an American entomologist.

Biography

He was born in

Lafayette, Walworth County, Wisconsin Lafayette is a town in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,039 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Bowers is located in the town. The unincorporated community of Abells Corners is also located partiall ...

. He held various posts at

Iowa State College Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

, eventually becoming head of the Department of

Zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and

Entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

from 1882 to 1897, and was the first State Entomologist of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

in 1898. He left Iowa in 1898 to become chairman of the Department of Zoology and Entomology at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

(1898-1916), where he was later named emeritus professor. He died in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. Much of Professor Osborn's research was concerned with the

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

, especially the leafhoppers of the Cicadellidae. He also studied economically important insects of the

Anoplura Sucking lice (Anoplura, formerly known as Siphunculata) have around 500 species and represent the smaller of the two traditional superfamily (taxonomy), superfamilies of lice. As opposed to the paraphyletic chewing lice, which are now divided amo ...

and

Thysanoptera Thrips ( order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Different thrips species feed mostly on plants by puncturing and sucking up the contents, although a few are ...

. More than 500 publications bear his name.

Some Principal Works

* The Chinch Bug in Iowa (1888) * The

Hessian Fly The Hessian fly or barley midge, ''Mayetiola destructor'', is a species of fly that is a significant pest of cereal crops including wheat, barley and rye. Though a native of Asia, upon its discovery it was believed to have been transported into ...

in the United States (1898) * Insects Affecting Domestic Animals: An Account of the Species of Importance in North America, with Mention of Related Forms Occurring on Other Animals (1896) * Economic Zoology: An Introductory Text-Book in Zoology, with Special Reference to its Applications in Agriculture, Commerce, and Medicine (1909) *

Leafhopper A leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family Cicadellidae. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified for jumping, and a ...

s of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

(1915) * Agricultural entomology for students, farmers, fruit-growers and gardeners (1916) * The Leafhoppers of Ohio (1928) * Fragments of Entomological History (1937) * Meadow and pasture insects (1939) * Recent Insect Invasions in Ohio (1948)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborn, Herbert 1856 births 1954 deaths American entomologists People from Walworth County, Wisconsin