William L. Peters (1939–2000) 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 ...

specializing in mayflies, especially those in the family

Leptophlebiidae Leptophlebiidae is a family belonging to the Ephemeropterans that are commonly known as the prong-gilled mayflies or leptophlebiids. It is the only family in the superfamily Leptophlebioidea. There are around 131 genera and 640 described specie ...

Biography

William Lee Peters was born in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

. His father was an electrical engineer; the family moved to New Orleans so that he could work on military aircraft during the Second World War. He gained his B.A. degree at the University of Kansas in 1960. He earned his M.S. in zoology 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 ...

at the University of Utah in 1962. In 1966, under George F. Edmunds Jr., he completed his PhD, also at Utah, on the taxonomy of the

, a family of mayflies. During his studies he travelled to Peru, Jamaica, New Guinea, Thailand and then India to collect mayfly specimens. He immediately joined the faculty at Florida A&M University, tasked with creating a program in entomology there, following the work of

Margaret S. Collins Margaret James Strickland Collins (September 4, 1922 – April 27, 1996) was an African-American child prodigy, entomologist ( zoologist) specializing in the study of termites, and a civil rights advocate. Collins was nicknamed the "Termite ...

at the university. He headed that program there until his death, serving also as research director of the university's College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture. He became a full professor there in 1974. He organized the first International Conference on Ephemeroptera in 1970, and chaired the conference's committee for the rest of his life, helping to organize all eight of the 4-yearly conferences held in that period. He served, too, as president of the Florida Entomological Society. He wrote 108 papers on Ephemeroptera, mainly on their taxonomy. He defined more than 60 new

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

or subgenera of mayflies, and published formal descriptions of many new mayfly species. Among his many specialist studies was that of the ecology of ''

Dolania americana ''Dolania'' is a monotypic genus of mayfly in the family Behningiidae containing the single species ''Dolania americana''. It is found in the southeastern United States, as far south as Florida, and is generally uncommon. The adult insects emer ...

'', a "strange" and rare sand-burrowing mayfly that needs a short Arctic year for its egg to develop, and a second year for the nymphs, while the adult lives for only about one hour. Peters was for 36 years married to the entomologist Janice G. Peters, who went on collecting trips with him and wrote some 20 papers together with him. She, their daughter, and four grandchildren survived him.

References

{{Authority control 1939 births 2000 deaths American entomologists University of Kansas alumni University of Utah alumni Florida A&M University faculty