Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes

The Eccentric Life of Harrison Dyar

Marc Epstein

A compelling narrative that details both Dyar's illustrious scientific career and his complex personal life
A well-researched biography of a fascinating yet little-known American scientist
A new look at the man who revolutionized insect classification

Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes

The Eccentric Life of Harrison Dyar

Marc Epstein

Description

On September 26, 1924, the ground collapsed beneath a truck in a back alley in Washington, D.C., revealing a mysterious underground labyrinth. In spite of wild speculations, the tunnel was not the work of German spies, but rather an aging, eccentric Smithsonian scientist named Harrison Gray Dyar, Jr. While Dyar's covert tunneling habits may seem far-fetched, they were merely one of many oddities in Dyar's unbelievable life.
For the first time, insect biosystemist Marc E. Epstein presents a complete account of Dyar's life story. Dyar, one of the most influential biologists of the twentieth century, focused his entomological career on building natural classifications of various groups of insects. His revolutionary approach to taxonomy, which examined both larval and adult stages of insects, brought about major changes in the scientific community's understanding of natural relationships and insect systematics. He was also the father of what came to be known as Dyar's Law, a pragmatic method to standardize information on insect larval stages as they grow. Over the course of his illustrious career at the U.S. National Museum, Smithsonian Institution from 1897-1929, Dyar named over 3,000 species, established the "List of North American Lepidoptera," an unrivaled catalog of moths and butterflies, and built one of the nation's premier lepidoptera and mosquito collections.
However, Dyar's scientific accomplishments are a mere component of this remarkable biography. Epstein offers an account of Dyar's complicated personal life, from his feuds with fellow entomologists to the scandalous revelation that he was married to two wives at the same time. Epstein also chronicles Dyar's exploration of the Baha'i faith, his extensive travels, his innumerable works of unpublished fiction, and the loss of his wealth from bad investments. Comprehensive and engaging, Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes will delight entomologists and historians alike, as well as anyone interested in exploring the zany life of one of America's virtually unknown scientific geniuses.

Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes

The Eccentric Life of Harrison Dyar

Marc Epstein

PART I: PREPARATORY STAGES
Ch. 1: The Dyars and the Hannums: An Earlier Generation
Ch. 2: Dyar, Jr: Early Growth Stages and Development
Ch. 3: Collecting and Rearing Lepidoptera, and Dyar's Law: 1882-1891
Ch. 4: Long Collecting Trips and Sawflies: 1889-1897
Ch. 5: Postgraduate Education: Classification of Moths and Bacteria
Ch. 6: Genealogy of the Limacodidae and the Dyars
Ch. 7: Last Days in New York, L.O. Howard, and a Move to the U.S. National Museum
PART II: BEGINNING A NEW LIFE AT THE USNM AND IN WASHINGTON
Ch. 8: Life in the District of Columbia and Wellesca Pollock
Ch. 9: Building the National Collection, Dyar's "List of Lepidoptera, " and the Entomological Society of Washington
Ch. 10: Battle of the Titans Smith and Dyar, and Their New Love - The "Skeets "
Ch. 11: Collecting Moths, Mosquitoes, and Travels: 1901-1909
Ch. 12: Literature Wars and Last Battles with Smith
Ch. 13: Advances and Conflicts in Professional Life as a Lepidopterist: 1907-1914
PART III: MRS. ALLEN, DIVORCES, AND THE AFTERMATH OF THE
SCANDAL
Ch. 14: Wellesca's Baha'i Faith, New Wealth and Growing Concerns by Zella as Dyar's Life Begins to Unravel: 1906-1908
Ch. 15: Marriage Troubles
Ch. 16: The Separation: 1915
Ch. 17: Divorce Wranglings in Reno
Ch. 18: Divorces, Appeals, and Bigamy
Ch. 19: After the Scandal, Dismissal, and Friend Knab: 1917-1918
PART IV: THE FINAL DECADE: ATTEMPTS AT REINSTATEMENT
Ch. 20: The National Collection of Lepidoptera, its Workers, and Their Tiffs: 1920s
Ch. 21: Mosquitoes and Pursuit of Reinstatement
Ch. 22: Dyar and His Tunnels
Ch. 23: Personal Life and Baha'is in the 1920s
Ch. 24: Unity in the UNSM Lepidoptera Section and Acquiring the Barnes Collection
Ch. 25: Final Days: Trip West, Projects, and as Custodian
Ch. 26: Financial Collapse and Final Push for Reinstatement
Epilogue

Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes

The Eccentric Life of Harrison Dyar

Marc Epstein

Author Information

Marc Epstein, Senior Insect Biosystematist (Lepidoptera) for the Plant Pest Diagnostics Branch, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, CA

Marc E. Epstein is Senior Insect Biosystematist for Lepidoptera at the California Department of Food and Agriculture and Research Associate at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Smithsonian Institution. He researches and writes on evolution and classification of moths and their biodiversity, and develops identification tools for moths that threaten agriculture. At the NMNH he was in the Department of Entomology (1988-2003), cofounding the Department's Archives and Illustration Archives. His research on caterpillars, including images and videos, is currently featured in the NMNH exhibit "More than Meets the Eye " and has been a guest on NPR's "Fresh Air " about his work on the book "Night Visions: the Secret Design of Moths. ".

Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes

The Eccentric Life of Harrison Dyar

Marc Epstein

Reviews and Awards

"Historians of science - especially those interested in the development of natural history, systematics, and museums - and anyone drawn to scientific biography will find much that is appealing in this accessible and engaging volume." - Mark V. Barrow, Jr., Isis Journal

"Combining the professional publications with personal and public resources, the author reveals a depth not only to Dyar's personality but to the entire field of entomology in the latter half of the 19th century. ...Epstein successfully weaves together the personal, professional, and quirky dimensions of Dyar's life, providing readers with a more complete context for understanding his contributions." - Anthony J. Dellurefcio, THE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY

"To write Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes, Epstein dug deep into the Smithsonian's holdings of publications, correspondence, diaries, unpublished short stories and novellas, newspaper articles and marriage certificates, providing rich context for Dyar's intellectual and scientific milieu. Epstein's descriptions of Dyar's collecting trips and battles with colleagues are particularly evocative." - William Foster, Nature

"Epsteins writing is clear and enthralling, drawing the reader from one surreal event in Dyars life to another [...] The acknowledgements are extensive, showing the level of research and scholarship that went into the books production [...] I highly recommend this book [...] If you are looking for a biography that puts reality television to shame, search no further." - John V. Calhoun, News of The Lepidopterists Society

"[A] fascinating biography and valuable scientific account of entomologist Harrison Dyar Jr. ... This entertaining, well-researched volume includes numerous photos (some previously unpublished). Recommended." - K. B. Sterling, CHOICE

"Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes is very well written, and for most of its length, a fairly compelling read." - Clyde E. Sorenson, American Entemologist

"[This] book is as informative as it is entertaining. Once I started reading...I was seized with an undeniable fancy to keep going." - Martin J. Andree, Newsletter of the Michigan Entomological Society

Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes

The Eccentric Life of Harrison Dyar

Marc Epstein

From Our Blog

A Flame as a Moth: How I began chronicling the life of Harrison G. Dyar, Jr., Part 2

I joined the staff in the Smithsonian's Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History in 1992, at the time Pam Henson and I published 'Digging for Dyar: The Man Behind the Myth'. Having stayed in Washington, DC long enough to complete the article, my job at the Museum would give me roughly a dozen years to accumulate information on Dyar, while performing other duties.

Posted on August 27, 2016

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A flame as a moth: how I began chronicling the life of Harrison G. Dyar, Jr., Part 1

I first became acquainted with Dyar's work on the moth family Limacodidae, my chosen entomology dissertation topic, in 1983 at the University of Minnesota. It was in the Hodson Hall library on the St. Paul campus where I noted how Dyar's authorship dominated the Journal of the New York Entomological Society in the middle to late 1890s. Particularly notable was his running series from 1895-1899

Posted on August 24, 2016

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