20 Winter 2012 Applegater
Notes from a Rogue entomologist
Louis Gentner and the naming of species:
More than a fritillary
by RiChARD j. hiltON
Louis Gentner was no stranger to
finding and naming new species. From
1930 to 1962, he was the entomologist at
Oregon State University’s (OSU) Southern
Oregon Experiment Station (now part
of the Southern Oregon Research &
Extension Center). Not only did Louis
(pronounced “Louie”) study agricultural
pests and investigate control measures as
part of his job, he was also a prodigious
insect collector and taxonomist. By my
count, Louis has eight insect species named
after him, and he also named at least seven
other species of insects. Locally, however,
the Gentner name is recognized primarily
due to the Gentner’s fritillary.
The story of the how Louis Gentner
and his daughters collected one of our
local wildflowers and then recognized it
was an unusual and unique species is a
great example of biological diversity and
discovery right in our backyard. It also
serves as an illustration of taxonomy in
action. Taxonomy, also referred to as
systematics, is the branch of biology that
deals with identifying and naming species,
attempting to create an orderly system to
classify the vast array of living things. You
might think that the definition of what
constitutes a valid species would have been
worked out by now, but biologists are still
arguing over the precise details.
The simple definition of a species
is a population of individuals that can
successfully interbreed and reproduce.
Thus, horses and donkeys are in the same
genus, Equus, but are considered separate
species because when they interbreed, their
offspring (mules) are sterile. The idea of
having a unique genus-species name for
all the different types of living things dates
back to the 1750s and was initiated by a
Swedish botanist/naturalist, Linnaeus. The
fact that this system is still operating after
250 years with the naming of well over a
million and a half species is a testament to
its utility and versatility.
This wildflower,
...found only
in southwest
Oregon and
two locations
in northern
California, is...
considered
endangered...
Nevertheless, the first species of
insect to bear the Gentner name illustrates
how mistakes are made and corrected in
the world of taxonomy. The two most
common mistakes that occur in the
naming of species are “synonyms,” having
multiple names for a single species, and
“homonyms,” having one name refer to
more than one species. As it happened, a
species originally named by Louis Gentner
resulted in a homonym.
Louis’s specialty was flea beetles,
particularly those in the genus
Photos, left to right: Fritillaria gentneri;
flea beetle named by Louis Gentner.
Chaetocnema. In 1928, through studying
flea beetles collected by himself and
others, he identified and described a new
species, naming it Chaetocnema parvula.
“Parvula” means small in Latin, and since
flea beetles are small to begin with, this
species was quite small. Years later, in
1940, a Hungarian researcher studying
the same genus discovered that another
species of flea beetle found in Ceylon had
already been named Chaetocnema parvula.
Communication being what it was in
the first half of the last century, it is no
surprise that Louis was unaware that he
had chosen a name that had already been
claimed. The rules of nomenclature are
heavily based on precedence, so the oldest
name stands and the newer name has to
be changed. The researcher who unearthed
this problem gets to come up with a new
name. In this case the species that Louis
had identified was renamed Chaetocnema
gentneri, recognizing Louis’ initial work.
Altogether, I found a total of 14 species
of flea beetles that Louis described and
named, seven of which are still considered
valid species names. Louis’s final scholarly
work on taxonomy was a description of
all the species of Chaetocnema north of
Mexico, 36 species in all. This work served
as his PhD thesis, and Louis was awarded
his doctoral degree from OSU in 1953
when he was 61 years old. In 1979, the
year before he passed away, Louis dispersed
his personal collection of insects, including
50,000 specimens representing 1,000
different species, most of which were given
to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of
Natural History.
In addition to being an authority on
flea beetles, Louis was simply an incredible
insect collector and he was alert enough to
know when he collected something that
was distinct or unusual. New species are
often named after the person who first
collects them, which is why there are at
least eight insect species named gentneri.
While Louis was primarily a coleopterist,
or beetle expert, only four of the species
named for him are beetles: one weevil, two
click beetles, and the aforementioned flea
beetle. The other four species consist of
two aphids and two fly species.
Louis Gentner was a keen observer
OSU entomologist Louis Gentner has eight
insect species named after him. In this 1957
photo, he was Chairman, Pacific Branch of
the Entomological Society of America.
of nature and it was no accident that
he recognized the fritillary his daughter
collected as being distinct from the
fritillaries that are most often observed.
After the Gentner family searched and
found more specimens, Louis passed
them on to the botanist at Oregon State
University, who determined that they
represented an entirely new species and
gave it the name Fritillaria gentneri.
This wildflower, which is found only in
southwest Oregon and two locations in
northern California, is currently considered
endangered due to human development
and competition from exotic weeds. But
the Gentner legacy goes beyond our native
fritillary and extends to flies and aphids
and flea beetles. Louis cast a wide net,
and in doing so he helped to put in place
a few new pieces of the puzzle that is life
on earth.
Richard Hilton • 541-772-5165
Senior Research Assistant/Entomologist
Oregon State University
Southern Oregon Research
and Extension Center
richardhilton@oregonstate.edu
Keep leaves out of the burn pile
Leaf exchange program—Jackson
County Air Quality: The Leaf Exchange
Program gives residents an alternative
to burning leaves, which contributes to
particulate matter and other pollutants
in the air. Jackson County Air Quality
compiles a contact list of people who have
leaves to dispose of, and another list of
those who are looking for leaves to make
compost. Leaf donors and leaf recipients
can then contact each other to arrange
for pick up and delivery of the leaves. To
add your name to the list, contact Jackson
County Air Quality at 541-774-8207.
•
and grass clippings become a useful
soil amendment for your garden, lawn
or houseplants. Abundant instructions
are available on the Internet, or contact
Jackson County Recycling Partnership,
www.jcrecycle.org. 541-494-5488.
Compost in your own backyard:
Year-round. Composting is easy,
inexpensive and fun. Watch your leaves
Rogue Disposal Transfer Station—
Free leaf drop-off: 8001 Table Rock
•
Road, drop off leaves and other green
waste free of charge. Bags, cans and
other receptacles must be emptied in the
designated area; do not mix them with
green waste. Hours: Monday - Friday
8 am - 4 pm, Saturday 7 am - 4 pm,
closed Sundays. Contact Rogue Disposal
Transfer Station at 541-779-4161 or
www.roguedisposal.com.