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User:Mill 1/Donald R. Davis (entomologist)

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Donald Ray Davis (Oklahoma City, 28 March 1934) is an American entomologist, specializing in Lepidoptera.[1][2]

Biography

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In 1956 Davis earned his bachelor's degree in Entomology at the University of Kansas. He received his Ph.D. at Cornell University in 1962.[1] Since 1961 Davis has been active as a research entomologist in Microlepidoptera for this museum.[1]

The Lepidopterists' Society awarded him the Karl Jordan Medal for his work on Prodoxidae In 1977.

His research has focused on the phylogeny of the more primitive groups of Lepidoptera. He has published references on many of these, in particular the families Acanthopteroctetidae, Acrolophidae, Andesianidae, Carposinidae, Eriocottidae, Eriocraniidae, Gracillariidae, Neopseustidae, Ochsenheimeriidae, Opostegidae, Palaephatidae, Paleosetidae, Prodoxidae, Prototheoridae, Psychidae, and Tineidae.[1]

Much of his research emphasizes the biology of his subjects and their immature stages. He has concentrated on the biology and biodiversity of plant-mining and cave-dwelling moths and focuses on Acrolophidae, Adelidae, Epipyropidae, Gracillariidae, Nepticulidae, and Tineidae. Since 2005 he has been a collaborator on the Lepidoptera ATOL (Assembling the Tree of Life), an online database maintained at the University of Maryland. The primary objective for this program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and based at the University of Maryland, will be to estimate a "backbone" phylogeny for the entire order. Davis' various activities has involved him in fieldwork over much of the United States and in 40 countries that has resulted in the addition of nearly one million insect specimens to the National Museum of Natural History. Davis served as president of the Entomological Society of Washington (1977), the Lepidopterists' Society (1985), and the Biological Society of Washington (1985-86).[1]

Publications (selection)

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "National Museum of Natural History". naturalhistory.si.edu. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  2. ^ "Profile of Donald R. Davis on ResearchGate". researchgate.net. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
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Category:Living people Category:Lepidopterists Category:Taxon authorities Category:American entomologists Category:American biologists Category:American zoologists Category:American academics