Ross Harold Arnett Jr. (April 13, 1919 – July 16, 1999) was an American

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 ...

noted for his studies of

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

s, and as founder of the '' Coleopterist's Bulletin''. Born in

Medina, New York Medina is a village in the Towns of Shelby and Ridgeway in Orleans County, New York, United States. It is located approximately 10 miles south of Lake Ontario. The population was 6,065 at the 2010 census, making it the county's most populous ...

, he was a star student at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, where he became interested in beetles and started on a revision of the Nearctic

Silphidae Silphidae is a family of beetles that are known commonly as large carrion beetles, carrion beetles or burying beetles. There are two subfamilies: Silphinae and Nicrophorinae. Nicrophorines are sometimes known as sexton beetles. The number of sp ...

. He graduated in 1942, the same year that he married his high school sweetheart Mary Ennis. His first job was at the New York State Conservation Department, studying the stomach contents of

game bird Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are often ...

s, but in July 1942 he joined the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

(as a private) and was sent to

Lowry Air Force Base Lowry Air Force Base (Lowry Field in 1938–1948) is a former United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) training base during World War II and a United States Air Force (USAF) training base during the Cold War, serving as the initial 1955–1958 si ...

to study the

Sperry bombsight The gyroscopic autopilot was a type of autopilot system developed primarily for aviation uses in the early 20th century. Since then, the principles of this autopilot has been the basis of many different aircraft control systems, both military an ...

. After this diversion into non-insect work, he went to

Avon Park Air Force Range Avon may refer to: *River Avon (disambiguation), several rivers Organisations * Avon Buses, a bus operating company in Wirral, England * Avon Coachworks, a car body builder established in 1919 at Warwick, England, relaunched in 1922, followin ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

to survey the

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

population and control it, and from there to the Army School of Malariology in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

to teach mosquito taxonomy. In October 1945 he was discharged and returned to Cornell for graduate study, where he studied under Robert Matheson and Walter Muenscher, receiving a master's degree in 1946 and the doctorate in 1948, where he returned to beetle work, revising the

Oedemeridae The family Oedemeridae is a cosmopolitan group of beetles commonly known as false blister beetles, though some recent authors have coined the name pollen-feeding beetles. There are some 100 genera and 1,500 species in the family, mostly associate ...

. He started the ''Coleopterist's Bulletin'' in 1947, while still a grad student. In July 1948, the newly minted Dr. Arnett moved to

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

and went to work for the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

as a beetle taxonomist. He returned to academia in 1954 however, as head of the biology department of

Saint John Fisher College St. John Fisher University is a private liberal arts college in Pittsford, New York. It is named after John Fisher, an English Catholic cardinal and saint. It was named St. John Fisher College until July 1, 2022. History St. John Fisher Unive ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, then to

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

in 1958, where he published his best-known work ''Beetles of the United States'' (1963). In 1966 Arnett moved to

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, later spending three years as Henry L. Beadel Fellow at the

Tall Timbers Research Station Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy is a research and learning facility located in northern Leon County, Florida, just off County Road 12 (Florida), County Road 12 on the north side of Lake Iamonia, Florida, Lake Iamonia. Tall Timber ...

near

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

, and then in 1973 moving to

Siena College Siena College is an American private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York. Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher. St ...

Loudonville, New York Loudonville is a hamlet in the town of Colonie, in Albany County, New York, United States. Loudonville was a census-designated place in the 1970, 1980, and 1990 US Census, but ceased to be in the 2000 Census, but became a CDP again in 2020. Hist ...

. In 1979 he resigned his position to write full-time, publishing several books, then in 1982 founding

Flora and Fauna Publications Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Sometimes ba ...

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

. The company was bought by E.J. Brill Publishers, but in 1989 they stopped doing biology, and he formed Sandhill Crane Press to continue with his work. He also founded the Center for Systematic Entomology during this time. He died at his home in Gainesville, while working on a new handbook ''American Beetles'', which was published posthumously.

Books

* ''Beetles of the United States'' (1963) * ''An Introduction to Plant Biology'' (1970) * ''Plant Biology: A Concise Introduction'' (1977) * ''The Naturalists' Directory and Almanac'' (1979) * ''How to Know the Beetles'' (1980) * (with Richard L. Jacques, Jr.) ''Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects'' (1981) * ''Insect Life: A Field Entomology Manual for the Amateur Naturalist'' (1985) * ''American Insects: Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico'' (1985, 2nd ed. 2000) * (with Eugene Gerberg) ''Florida Butterflies'' (1989) * ''The Insect & Spider Collections of the World'' (1993) * (with N. M. Downie) ''The Beetles of Northeastern North America'' (1997) * (with

Michael C. Thomas Michael Charles Thomas (May 5, 1948 – October 14, 2019) was an American entomologist who co-authored the book series ''American Beetles''. Born in Miami, Florida, Thomas graduated from the University of South Florida in 1970 with a Bachelor o ...

) ''American Beetles'' (

CRC Press The CRC Press, LLC is an American publishing group that specializes in producing technical books. Many of their books relate to engineering, science and mathematics. Their scope also includes books on business, forensics and information tec ...

, 2001)

References

External links

''Florida Entomologist'' obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnett, Ross H. 1919 births 1999 deaths American entomologists Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni Catholic University of America faculty Purdue University faculty People from Medina, New York People from Gainesville, Florida Siena College faculty 20th-century American zoologists Scientists from New York (state) Coleopterists United States Army personnel of World War II