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Harrison Gray Dyar Jr.

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287:, the biological rule named for him in recognition of his original observations on the geometric progression in head capsule widths during the larval development of Lepidoptera, is a standard approach for identifying the stage of immature insects or to predict the number of molts. His training in maths and chemistry made him organize the information in a tabular form. An earlier publication in 1886 by W.K. Brooks independently described the same phenomenon in 204:). His father made a fortune as a chemist and inventor, and upon his death in 1875, left Dyar and the family financially independent. He wrote ghost stories for his sister Perle while his mother took a keen interest in spiritualism. The household also included Lucy Hudson, a homeopath who had a relative, George Henry Hudson (1855-1934) who inculcated Dyar with an interest in natural history. He also learned music and playing the piano from the Hudson family. 400: 240:, and a doctorate in 1895, with his dissertation on airborne bacteria in New York City under the supervision of Theophil Mitchell Prudden. He was also encouraged by his sister Perle's husband S. Adophus Knopf as careers in insect taxonomy were rare. After his PhD he worked on the classification of Lepidoptera based on caterpillar morphology. 838: 407:
Dyar married Zella M. Peabody of Los Angeles, a music teacher in 1889. They had two children. He went on a "collecting honeymoon" for fifteen months with his wife around the country, making long trips by train and collecting insects from various localities. Dyar was discovered later to be a
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and chose the latter. He graduated from MIT in 1889 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. He had begun to study insects as a young teenager, and soon after his graduation from college began publishing scientific papers about them, in particular moths of the family
185:, a pattern of geometric progression in the growth of insect parts, is named after him. He was also noted for eccentric pursuits which included digging tunnels under his home. He had a complicated personal life and along with his second wife he adopted the 44: 207:
In 1880 the family moved to Boston and he attended Roxbury Latin School. Dyar went to DeGarmo Institute around 1882, founded by James M. DeGarmo who also maintained a large collection of butterflies. Dyar passed the entrance to
897: 334:). Dyar was independently wealthy and for a major part of his 31 years at the USNM he worked without compensation; his independence also made it possible for him to travel and collect extensively within North America. 412:, "for fourteen years he was married to two women, maintaining two families with five children in all." His marriage to Peabody ended in 1920. But in 1906, using the alias of Wilfred P. Allen, Dyar had married 902: 345: 867: 339: 927: 922: 376:
who was not careful in his application of taxonomic principles. A myth was born from the feud with Smith that the latter had named a genus of moth as
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He joined a course in embryology at the Woods Hole Biological Station in 1893, and subsequently Columbia University where he trained under
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Dyar was also noted for his intellectual and at times acerbic exchanges with fellow entomologists, for example, in correspondence with
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was discovered when a truck broke through into a labyrinth of tunnels near his former home at 1512 21st Street NW in the
423:. After his legal marriage to Pollock, Dyar became active in the Baháʼí Faith, and edited an independent Baháʼí journal, 573:
Kenneth L. Knight & Ruth B. Pugh. 1974. A Bibliography of Mosquito Writings of H. G. Dyar and Frederick Knab.
372:, he engaged in a "protracted, spectacularly belligerent feud with fellow entomologists". Another feud was with 743:
Terry L. Carpenter and Terry A. Klein. 2011. 2011 AMCA Memorial Lecture Honoree: Dr. Harrison Gray Dyar Jr.
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Dyar was born in Linwood Hill, Rhinebeck, New York, to Harrison Gray Dyar and his wife Eleonora Rosella (
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Brooks WK 1886. Report on the Stomatopoda collected by H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873–76. In:
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to describe the life-histories of north American Limacodidae. His later studies were mainly on
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from 1895 to 1897. From 1897 until his death he was honorary custodian of Lepidoptera at the
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His first job was as assistant bacteriologist of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
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19(3): 251–258, edited reprinting of information first published by James B. Kitzmiller:
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A cave-in in Washington, D.C., in 1924 revealed the existence of a tunnel built by Dyar.
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from 1909 to 1912; from 1913 to 1926 he published and edited his own taxonomic journal,
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Marc E. Epstein and Pamela M. Henson. 1992. Digging for Dyar, The Man Behind the Myth.
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The Bizarre Tale of the Tunnels, Trysts and Taxa of a Smithsonian Entomologist
833: 721: 311: 302:, Washington, D.C. The position, though unsalaried, had been made possible by 288: 261: 199: 178: 690: 391:
Reserve Officers Corps because of his background in the study of mosquitoes.
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In 1924, Dyar was commissioned a captain in the Sanitary Department of the
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Dyar's most notable work was on the number of molts of larvae published in
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Dyer Families of New England, Descendants of Thomas Dyer of Weymouth, Mass
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and the Boston Society of Natural History where he was in contact with
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Ronald R. Ward. 1987. Biography of Clara Southmayd Ludlow 1852–1924.
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Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes: The Eccentric Life of Harrison Dyar Jr
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Pamela M. Henson: Dyar, Harrison Gray Jr., Baháʼí Library Online,
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The Mosquitoes of North and Central America and the West Indies
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni
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Foster, William (January 14, 2016). Campbell, Philip (ed.).
644:, The Thomas Say Foundation, Vol. VIII, 1982, pp. 316–321. 248:
Dyar's lepidoptera collecting brought him in contact with
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were primarily responsible for the taxonomic portions of
232:. He was awarded a Master of Arts degree in biology from 785:, Gibson Bros., Printers, Washington, D.C., 1903, p. 16. 706:"Description of a peculiar new Liparid genus from Maine" 610:
Crosby, T.K. 1973 Dyar's rule predated by Brooks' rule.
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http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~dyer/
177:(February 14, 1866 – January 21, 1929) was an American 346:
Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
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Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
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Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association
864:(1932) featuring a diagram of one of Dyar's tunnels 419:Pollock was an educator and ardent disciple of the 161: 153: 142: 134: 101: 93: 85: 69: 50: 34: 675:(7585). London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd.: 152–3. 236:in 1894, with his thesis on the classification of 642:Anopheline Names, Their Derivations and Histories 221:, starting a lifelong interest in entomology. 824:. Rutgers University Press. pp. 323–326. 498:http://bahai-library.com/henson_harrison_dyar 340:Journal of the New York Entomological Society 8: 569: 567: 565: 563: 561: 559: 557: 783:A Preliminary Genealogy of the Dyar Family 42: 31: 680: 508: 506: 157:Harrison Gray Dyar, Eleonora Rosella Hunt 468: 658: 656: 654: 652: 650: 623:Daly, H.V. 1985 Insect morphometrics. 492: 490: 488: 486: 484: 482: 480: 478: 476: 474: 472: 214:Massachusetts Institute of Technology 198: 106:Massachusetts Institute of Technology 7: 384:and was not in any way derogatory. 365:, in four volumes from 1912–1917. 250:Ferdinand Heinrich Herman Strecker 25: 438:neighborhood of Washington, D.C. 228:, and where he was influenced in 928:20th-century American zoologists 923:19th-century American zoologists 836: 757:ghostsofdc (November 9, 2023). 598:The voyage of H.M.S. Challenger 918:Smithsonian Institution people 1: 908:Scientists from New York City 427:, from 1922 until his death. 351:Insecutor Inscitiae Menstruus 343:from 1904 to 1907 and of the 264:and published extensively on 361:, published, with co-author 852:"Tunnel Digging as a Hobby" 805:. Oxford University Press. 665:"A life of insects and ire" 625:Annual Review of Entomology 944: 857:February 18, 2020, at the 722:10.4039/S0008347X00177776 430:During the 1920s, Dyar's 41: 781:Harrison Gray Dyar Jr.: 612:New Zealand Entomologist 542:. Retrieved Nov 5, 2010. 500:. Retrieved Nov 5, 2010. 432:hobby of tunnel building 893:American lepidopterists 820:Mallis, Arnold (1971). 337:Dyar was editor of the 306:. He collaborated with 18:Harrison Gray Dyar, Jr. 822:American Entomologists 799:Epstein, Marc (2016). 704:Neumoegen, B. (1893). 404: 370:Clara Southmayd Ludlow 226:Henry Fairfield Osborn 175:Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. 80:Washington, D.C., U.S. 36:Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. 710:Canadian Entomologist 514:American Entomologist 402: 254:Joseph Albert Lintner 27:American entomologist 638:Mosquito Systematics 575:Mosquito Systematics 374:John Bernhardt Smith 304:Leland Ossian Howard 300:U.S. National Museum 600:, report 45, vol.16 296:Columbia University 234:Columbia University 124:Columbia University 115:Columbia University 64:New York City, U.S. 525:Mallis 1971 p. 324 457:Harrison Gray Otis 447:American Civil War 405: 382:Berthold Neumoegen 258:Charles H. Fernald 166:Harrison Gray Otis 172: 171: 135:Years active 61:February 14, 1866 16:(Redirected from 935: 913:American Bahá'ís 846: 844:Biography portal 841: 840: 839: 825: 816: 786: 779: 773: 772: 770: 768: 754: 748: 741: 735: 732: 726: 725: 701: 695: 694: 684: 660: 645: 634: 628: 621: 615: 608: 602: 593: 587: 584: 578: 571: 552: 549: 543: 532: 526: 523: 517: 510: 501: 494: 414:Wellesca Pollock 203: 76: 73:January 21, 1929 60: 58: 46: 32: 21: 943: 942: 938: 937: 936: 934: 933: 932: 873: 872: 862:Modern Mechanix 859:Wayback Machine 842: 837: 835: 832: 819: 813: 798: 795: 793:Further reading 790: 789: 780: 776: 766: 764: 756: 755: 751: 742: 738: 733: 729: 703: 702: 698: 682:10.1038/529152a 662: 661: 648: 635: 631: 622: 618: 614:: 5 (2):175-176 609: 605: 594: 590: 585: 581: 572: 555: 550: 546: 534:Frank E. Dyer: 533: 529: 524: 520: 511: 504: 495: 470: 465: 397: 308:Emily L. Morton 246: 195: 168:(second cousin) 122: 113: 102:Alma mater 81: 78: 74: 65: 62: 56: 54: 37: 28: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 941: 939: 931: 930: 925: 920: 915: 910: 905: 900: 895: 890: 885: 875: 874: 871: 870: 865: 848: 847: 831: 830:External links 828: 827: 826: 817: 811: 794: 791: 788: 787: 774: 749: 747:27(3):336–343. 736: 734:Epstein:36-37. 727: 716:(9): 213–215. 696: 646: 629: 616: 603: 588: 586:Epstein:21-25. 579: 553: 551:Epstein:34-35. 544: 527: 518: 502: 467: 466: 464: 461: 396: 393: 355:Frederick Knab 245: 242: 194: 191: 170: 169: 163: 159: 158: 155: 151: 150: 144: 143:Known for 140: 139: 136: 132: 131: 103: 99: 98: 95: 91: 90: 87: 83: 82: 79: 77:(aged 62) 71: 67: 66: 63: 52: 48: 47: 39: 38: 35: 26: 24: 14: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 940: 929: 926: 924: 921: 919: 916: 914: 911: 909: 906: 904: 901: 899: 896: 894: 891: 889: 886: 884: 881: 880: 878: 869: 866: 863: 860: 856: 853: 850: 849: 845: 834: 829: 823: 818: 814: 812:9780190215279 808: 804: 803: 797: 796: 792: 784: 778: 775: 763: 760: 753: 750: 746: 740: 737: 731: 728: 723: 719: 715: 711: 707: 700: 697: 692: 688: 683: 678: 674: 670: 666: 659: 657: 655: 653: 651: 647: 643: 639: 633: 630: 626: 620: 617: 613: 607: 604: 601: 599: 592: 589: 583: 580: 576: 570: 568: 566: 564: 562: 560: 558: 554: 548: 545: 541: 537: 531: 528: 522: 519: 515: 509: 507: 503: 499: 493: 491: 489: 487: 485: 483: 481: 479: 477: 475: 473: 469: 462: 460: 458: 455: 451: 448: 444: 443:second cousin 439: 437: 436:Dupont Circle 433: 428: 426: 422: 417: 415: 411: 401: 395:Personal life 394: 392: 390: 385: 383: 379: 375: 371: 366: 364: 360: 356: 352: 348: 347: 342: 341: 335: 333: 329: 325: 321: 317: 313: 309: 305: 301: 297: 292: 290: 286: 282: 277: 275: 271: 267: 263: 259: 255: 251: 243: 241: 239: 235: 231: 227: 222: 220: 215: 211: 205: 201: 192: 190: 188: 184: 180: 176: 167: 164: 160: 156: 152: 149: 145: 141: 137: 133: 129: 125: 120: 116: 111: 107: 104: 100: 97:United States 96: 92: 88: 84: 72: 68: 53: 49: 45: 40: 33: 30: 19: 861: 821: 801: 782: 777: 765:. Retrieved 762:Ghosts of DC 761: 752: 744: 739: 730: 713: 709: 699: 672: 668: 641: 637: 632: 624: 619: 611: 606: 597: 591: 582: 577:6(1): 11–26. 574: 547: 535: 530: 521: 513: 440: 429: 424: 421:Baháʼí Faith 418: 406: 386: 377: 367: 363:L. O. Howard 358: 350: 344: 338: 336: 293: 280: 278: 247: 223: 206: 202: Hannum 196: 187:Baháʼí Faith 179:entomologist 174: 173: 148:entomologist 75:(1929-01-21) 29: 888:1929 deaths 883:1866 births 767:November 9, 627:30: 415-438 516:38:148–169. 441:Dyar was a 353:. Dyar and 328:Hymenoptera 289:crustaceans 274:Lepidoptera 270:butterflies 238:Lepidoptera 219:Limacodidae 146:Scientist, 94:Citizenship 86:Nationality 877:Categories 463:References 312:mosquitoes 285:Dyar's Law 262:taxonomist 193:Early life 183:Dyar's Law 57:1866-02-14 691:0028-0836 454:publisher 389:U.S. Army 320:Culicidae 283:in 1890. 162:Relatives 154:Parent(s) 138:1889–1929 855:Archived 410:bigamist 332:Symphyta 324:sawflies 244:Taxonomy 230:eugenics 212:and the 89:American 450:soldier 425:Reality 322:), and 316:Diptera 210:Harvard 809:  689:  669:Nature 378:Dyaria 281:Psyche 266:moths 128:Ph.D. 807:ISBN 769:2023 687:ISSN 452:and 268:and 256:and 119:M.A. 110:B.S. 70:Died 51:Born 718:doi 677:doi 673:529 445:of 276:). 200:née 879:: 714:25 712:. 708:. 685:. 671:. 667:. 649:^ 556:^ 538:, 505:^ 471:^ 459:. 330:: 318:: 189:. 181:. 815:. 771:. 724:. 720:: 693:. 679:: 326:( 314:( 272:( 130:) 126:( 121:) 117:( 112:) 108:( 59:) 55:( 20:)

Index

Harrison Gray Dyar, Jr.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
B.S.
Columbia University
M.A.
Columbia University
Ph.D.
entomologist
Harrison Gray Otis
entomologist
Dyar's Law
Baháʼí Faith
née
Harvard
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Limacodidae
Henry Fairfield Osborn
eugenics
Columbia University
Lepidoptera
Ferdinand Heinrich Herman Strecker
Joseph Albert Lintner
Charles H. Fernald
taxonomist
moths
butterflies
Lepidoptera
Dyar's Law
crustaceans

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