Ashmead, William H. (William Harris) - Pennsylvania Photos and Documents
Ashmead, William H. (William Harris)
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About
Title
Ashmead, William H. (William Harris)
Subject
Braconidae
Chalcid wasps
Gall wasps
Hymenoptera
Description
This folder primarily consists of correspondence written by William H. Ashmead, an entomologist who served as the assistant curator in the Division of Insects at the United States National Museum, known today as the Smithsonian Institution, until his death in 1908. Ashmead was also a publisher of The Florida Dispatch, an agricultural newspaper that was located in Jacksonville, Florida.
A significant portion of Ashmead’s correspondence detail his work surrounding chalcid flies. In 1880, Ashmead discovered a new chalcid fly preying upon a scale insect in Jacksonville, Florida. He wrote a letter to the American Entomological Society (AES) with a detailed description of this specimen and included sketches of its anatomy. In addition to his fieldwork, Ashmead published numerous papers on a variety of insect species. One paper provided a synopsis of the North American bumblebee while another focused on Alaskan Hymenoptera. He considered his Monograph of the Braconidae his magnum opus. Ashmead also collaborated heavily with E.T. Cresson and Henry Skinner of the AES on conducting exchanges of insect specimens between the American AES and the U.S. National Museum. Ashmead, William H. (William Harris) (42) 1880-1908.
This Digital Object is provided in a collection that is included in POWER Library: Pennsylvania Photos and Documents, which is funded by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries of Pennsylvania/Pennsylvania Department of Education.
