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lecturing on insects at the
Illinois State Fair where he also displayed his collection of 1,650 insects he had recently collected. In 1860 Walsh delivered a very well-received lecture on insect pests to the Illinois State Horticultural Society. Later he wrote several articles for various farm periodicals. Initially, perhaps influenced by his own farming experience, Walsh focused on the practical aspects of insects as agricultural pests. However, starting in 1862 he published several scholarly papers in the journals of scientific societies such as the Boston Society of Natural History and the Entomological Society of Philadelphia. These works provided detailed observations of insect metamorphosis and natural history; compared morphological characters for a given taxon; or described new species.
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a member of the Boston
Society of Natural History. Walsh was also closely affiliated with the influential Illinois State Agricultural Society. It was this organization that successfully lobbied the state legislature to appoint Walsh as the first Illinois State Entomologist. In 1868 Illinois became only the second state to appoint an official entomologist. Although his official appointment was not ratified by the legislature until nearly a year later, Walsh began work immediately.
205:, with C.V. Riley as junior editor. Targeting farmers, this monthly journal featured illustrations and clear descriptions to help readers identify insect pests and apply the most effective controls. Two significant findings by Walsh and Riley appeared in this journal: the discovery of the 13-year form of the periodical cicada, and the first reference to mimicry of the North American monarch butterfly by the viceroy.
165:, twenty miles from the nearest village. For the next twelve years, Walsh and his wife lived in a mud-plastered log cabin and farmed their 300-acre property. His desire to live the solitary life of a philosopher-farmer came to an end when new settlements in the region brought about an outbreak of malaria. Worried for his health, Walsh moved to
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In his new-found career as an entomologist, Walsh was an active participant in several scientific societies. In 1858 he became a founding member of the
Illinois Natural History Society. In 1861 he was elected a corresponding member of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia, and in 1863 he became
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to admit Kansas as a free state. In 1856 he helped to establish a local chapter of the Kansas
Settlers Society which sought to encourage and support the settlement of Kansas by people who opposed slavery. In 1858 he suspected the Little Rock city council was embezzling city funds and in order to gain
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and Mary
Bidwell Clarke, he was the fifth of thirteen children. When Walsh was a boy, his father, a member of parliament, was charged with embezzlement and caught attempting to flee to America without his wife and children. He was jailed at Newgate and saved from hanging by a royal pardon issued in
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who served as the first official state entomologist in
Illinois. He was a leading influence during a time of significant transition in American entomology. Walsh championed the application of scientific methods to control agricultural pests. He was a proponent of biological control as an effective
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Around 1858 Walsh sold his business and earned his living from a number of rental properties that he owned and managed. Although he had studied natural history and collected insects while at
Cambridge, it was only at this point that he devoted himself full-time to entomology. By 1859 Walsh was
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and one of its most enthusiastic proponents. He later wrote to Darwin: "Allow me to take this opportunity of thanking you for the publication of your Origin of
Species... The first perusal staggered me, the second convinced me, and the oftener I read it the more convinced I am of the general
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Once Walsh became convinced of Darwin's theory, he championed the cause vigorously in the
American scientific community through his lectures, publications and private correspondence. With Darwin's encouragement, he challenged the views of prominent opponents of evolution, including
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Walsh had been classmates with
Charles Darwin at Cambridge and both received their baccalaureate degrees in 1831. Although not close friends, they were acquaintances, held a shared interest in natural history, and were mentored by two prominent Cambridge professors: geologist
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Walsh also incorporated evolutionary thinking into his own entomological studies and made several original contributions supporting Darwinism. In 1864 Walsh noted that 15 similar species of gall-inducing insects differed primarily in their preference for different species of
280:, Rock Island. His insect collection, numbering 30,000 specimens, was purchased by the state of Illinois and stored in the "fireproof" facilities of the Chicago Academy of Sciences for safekeeping. Nevertheless, almost all of Walsh's collection was destroyed in the
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146:, receiving a B.A. degree in 1831 and a master's degree three years later. In 1833 he became a fellow of Trinity, where he resided for 12 years with the intention of entering the Anglican ministry. A scholar of classic languages and literature, Walsh wrote
252:. Within a few years, most entomologists (including Scudder and Packard) were expressing their support for evolutionary theory, while the remaining holdouts, like Agassiz, experienced a diminished reputation with their peers.
201:, the first American journal devoted to economic entomology. Walsh was appointed an associate editor and quickly became editor of the short-lived but influential publication. In September 1868 Walsh became senior editor of
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While at Cambridge, Walsh developed a great dislike for religion and in particular came to despise the clergy as hypocrites and fools. He was also critical of university policies and wrote a pamphlet in 1837,
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among insects and argued that it was best explained as an example of natural selection. Darwin was delighted to learn of Walsh's studies and incorporated his findings in later editions of the
260:. He went on to argue that these wasps shared a common ancestor that evolved into distinct species based on the species of willow they preferred. Walsh also investigated the phenomena of
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soundness of your theory." This was the first letter in what became a regular correspondence. Over the next several years more than 30 letters were exchanged between them.
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150:(the first of an intended three volumes). In addition he showed an interest in journalism and wrote numerous articles for newspapers and periodicals.
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access to the financial records, he successfully campaigned for election to the council. Once the corruption was exposed he resigned his position.
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Walsh died on November 18, 1869, from injuries sustained when struck by a train while walking along the tracks. He is buried in the
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Walsh married Rebecca Finn in 1838 and the couple emigrated to the United States. They settled in the remote and sparsely populated
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he was opposed to slavery and frequently expressed his strong opinions in print. He was actively involved in the
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On the insects, coleopterous, hymenopterous, and dipterous, inhabiting the galls of certain species of willow
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Sheppard, Carol A. (2004). "Benjamin Dann Walsh: Pioneer Entomologist and Proponent of Darwinian Theory".
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On phytophagic varieties and phytophagic species, with remarks on the unity of coloration in insects
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in 1861. He had initially approached the book with skepticism but quickly became a convert to
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Walsh authored 385 works during his career and co-authored an additional 478 works with
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In 1865 the Entomological Society of Philadelphia established a monthly periodical, the
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and was instrumental in securing its broad acceptance in the entomological community.
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means to manage insects. He was also one of the first American scientists to support
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Bibliography of the More Important Contributions to American Economic Entomology
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On certain entomological speculations of the New England school of naturalists
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Kuehn, Faith B. (2009). "The Life and Legacy of the Practical Entomologist".
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109:(September 21, 1808 – November 18, 1869) was an English-born American
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The Comedies of Aristophanes, Translated into Corresponding English Metres
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After his move to Little Rock, Walsh became active in politics. As a
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A Historical Account of the University of Cambridge and its Colleges
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First annual report on the noxious insects of the state of Illinois
677:"Benjamin Dann Walsh's insects: A Darwinian bulldog in America"
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After graduation from St. Paul's School in 1827, Walsh entered
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America's Darwin: Darwinian Theory and U.S. Literary Culture
660:"Benjamin D. Walsh--First State Entomologist of Illinois"
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Anelli, Carol (2004). Gianquitto, T.; Fisher, L. (eds.).
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Brethren of the Net: American Entomologists, 1840-1880
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Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society
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535:Transactions of the American Entomological Society
507:. University of Georgia Press. pp. 59–85.
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570:. Rutgers University Press. pp.
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769:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
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699:Smithsonian Institution Archives
589:O'Danachair, Donal, ed. (2009).
658:Tucker, Edna Armstrong (1920).
653:. University of Alabama Press.
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824:Accidental deaths in Illinois
722:Darwin Correspondence Project
675:Valauskas, Edward J. (2014).
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622:Annual Review of Entomology
592:The Newgate Calendar, Vol 5
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