Louis Mensse Schoonhoven (born 30 June 1931) is a Dutch

entomologist Entomology () is the 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 as arach ...

. He was a professor of general and comparative animal physiology and later entomology at

Wageningen University and Research Wageningen University & Research (also known as Wageningen UR; abbreviation: WUR) is a public university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally ...

between 1972 and 1991. He is a specialist in insect-plant relationships.

Early life

Schoonhoven was born on 30 June 1931 in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. Although raised in an urban environment Schoonhoven became interested in biology at an early age. He started his secondary school at the gymnasium. During the

Dutch famine of 1944–45 Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

he moved to Groningen. Upon return to The Hague he switched his secondary school type to the Hogere Burgerschool. In 1950 he moved to Groningen to study biology at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...

. During this period he had internships under biologist

Gerard Baerends Gerardus Pieter Baerends (30 March 1916, The Hague – 1 September 1999, Groningen) was a Dutch biologist and one of the most important representatives of the so-called classical ethology in the tradition of Nikolaas Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz. Ba ...

and ecologist

Luuk Tinbergen Luuk Tinbergen (7 September 1915, in The Hague – 1 September 1955, in Groningen) was a Dutch ornithologist and ecologist. Tinbergen was the youngest of three eminent brothers — both Jan and Nikolaas won Nobel Prizes, for economics an ...

. Schoonhoven was trained as an animal ecologist and behavioural biologist. He obtained his degree in 1957. He continued his studies at

in 1957. In 1962 he obtained his PhD under professor Jan de Wilde with a thesis titled: "Diapause and the physiology of hostparasite synchronization in ''Bupalus piniarius'' L. eometridaeand ''Eucarcelia rutilla'' Vill. achinidae. In his research he confirmed De Wilde's theory that the relationship between the moth ''

Bupalus piniaria __NOTOC__ The bordered white or pine looper (''Bupalus piniaria''), is a moth of the family Geometridae. Among these, it belongs to tribe Bupalini of the subfamily Ennominae. ''B. piniaria'' is a common species throughout the western Palearctic ...

'' and the parasite ''Eucarcelia rutilla'' was based on hormones. Schoonhoven subsequently moved to the United States where he was a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

under

Vincent Dethier Vincent Gaston Dethier (February 20, 1915 – September 8, 1993) was an American physiologist and entomologist. Considered a leading expert in his field, he was a pioneer in the study of insect-plant interactions and wrote more than 170 academic ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. There he studied

chemoreceptor A chemoreceptor, also known as chemosensor, is a specialized sensory receptor which transduces a chemical substance (endogenous or induced) to generate a biological signal. This signal may be in the form of an action potential, if the chemorecept ...

s in caterpillars. Back in the Netherlands De Wilde encouraged Schoonhoven to study insect-plant relations. Schoonhoven subsequently performed research on various caterpillars and the

Colorado potato beetle The Colorado potato beetle (''Leptinotarsa decemlineata''), also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle, or the potato bug, is a major pest of potato crops. It is about long, with a bright yellow/o ...

Career

In 1972 Schoonhoven became professor of general and comparative animal physiology at Wageningen University. After two years he was asked to become professor of insect-plant relations at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He declined, fearing he would not fit in with the English university culture. From 1979 to 1980 he was

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the journal ''Vakblad voor biologen''. Between 1982 and 1985 Schoonhoven was

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the Faculty of

Agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

. In 1985 he became professor of entomology. He retired in 1991. Schoonhoven considers himself a generalist within entomology. In 1998 he wrote the book ''Insect-Plant Biology'' together with Joop van Loon and Tibor Jermy. In the 2005 edition Marcel Dicke took the place of Jermy. The book inspired the general audience book ''Niet zonder elkaar - bloemen en insecten'', which Schoonhoven wrote with several others. He has also written a biography of German naturalist

Christian Konrad Sprengel Christian Konrad Sprengel (22 September 1750 – 7 April 1816) was a German naturalist, theologist, and teacher. He is most famous for his research on plant sexuality. Sprengel was the first to recognize that the function of flowers was to ...

. Schoonhoven was elected a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

in 1982. In 2015 he was the winner of the for the book ''Niet zonder elkaar - bloemen en insecten''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schoonhoven, Louis 1931 births Living people Dutch entomologists Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Scientists from The Hague University of Groningen alumni Wageningen University and Research alumni Academic staff of Wageningen University and Research