The Scarab Beetles Of Florida

This is the Part II of The Scarab Beetles of Florida, initiated in 1973 by Dr. Robert E. Woodruff with Volume 8 of Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas,( Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Part I. The Laparostici (Subfamilies: Scarabaeinae, Aphodiinae Hybosorinae Ochodaeinae Geotrupinae, Acanthocerinae). The high standards of accuracy and attention to detail are continued in this volume. The difficult task of preparing a treatment of the subject that is understandable to the novice and at the same time a scholarly and comprehensive presentation for other systematics authorities is accomplished.

This volume is based on more than 30 years of extensive collecting in many parts of Florida in all seasons of the year by the senior author, using a variety of collecting techniques. As in the first volume, virtually all known collection records for the group studied are given, and questionable and potential Florida records are considered. Over 100,000 specimens were examined.

In their treatment of the large and difficult to understand genus Phyllophaga, the authors have made extensive use of genitalia as the most reliable means of species identification. Genitalia of all known Florida species and those of some closely related species are exceptionally well illustrated through the use of scanning electron microscope photographs of the highest quality. An extensive bibliography documents information presented in this volume and presents references for anyone who wants to study the subject further, although the present volume gives a comprehensive treatment of what is known about Florida Phyllophaga.

The present faunal study, like that treated in Part I, is provided primarily as a manual to assist in the identification of the Florida species. Specific identification of an organism is essential to understanding the role it plays in the environment and in determining the course of action for controlling those species that become a problem to humans. The name is the “key” to the published literature and is essential before controls are attempted. Illustrated keys for the identification of the Florida species are provided along with an adequate description of each species.

Dr. Robert Eugene Woodruff or “Bob” as he is called by his friends and associates, was born in Kennard, Ohio, on 20 July 1933, son of Marvin C. and Thelma B. Woodruff. On 27 June 1954 he and Nina Evelyn Gunsaulies were married in Urbana, Ohio, where Bob’s parents still reside. They have 2 children, Kris Eugene Woodruff, 29, now living in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Cheri Ellen Taylor, 33, now residing in Silver Spring Shores, Florida. Bob and Evelyn have 2 grandchildren. Bob was educated in the public schools of Ohio. From early childhood he expressed an interest in the natural sciences. In 1950 and 1951 he entered the Junior Science Fairs of the Ohio Academy of Science, receiving superior awards both years and a scholarship to any of the IO state universities. Following graduation from Urbana High School in 1951, he enrolled at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. During 1951-1952 he served as Curator of the insect collection at Wabash College. The following year he transferred to Ohio State University where he received the Bachelor of Science degree with a major in entomology in 1956.

From 1952 to 1955 he was an assistant in the Department of Natural History of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society Museum where he gained valuable experience and training under Dr. Edward S. Thomas and Mr. Robert Goslin. From 1955 to 1957 he held a graduate assistantship in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at Ohio State University, under Professor Josef N. Knull, Curator of the Entomological Museum. This experience led him to specialize on the beetle family, Scarabaeidae. Prof. Knull introduced him to the “scratch board” technique of beetle drawings which he has used in most of his publications, including 32 habitus drawings in Part I of The Scarab Beetles of Florida, published in 1973.

From 1957 to 1958 he was employed as a medical entomologist with the Kentucky State Health Department, in Louisville, working on St. Louis Encephalitis and related mosquito projects. He attended special courses of instruction on insects of medical importance at the U. S. Public Health Service, Communicable Disease Center, in Atlanta, and at the Tennessee Valley Authority, Wilson Dam, Alabama. In March 1958 he joined the staff of entomologists at the State Plant Board of Florida (now Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services). He was initially employed as the “Survey Entomologist” to coordinate the federal-state Cooperative Economic Insect Survey, in Florida, which he fulfilled until 1963. The responsibilities included field surveys, identifications, and reports for pests of turf, field crops, vegetables, fruit, pastures, and ornamental plants.

From 1963 more emphasis was on detection of foreign pests and primary identification for beetles (Coleoptera) and grasshoppers (Orthoptera). Biological control and pest management have been investigated with pests introduced from Latin America. Responsibilities included curating the Coleoptera and Orthoptera for the Florida State Collection of Arthropods, now the fifth largest arthropod collection in the United States, and the development of the entomological portion of the DPI library. Consultancies were interspersed with this position from 1978. Retirement after 30 years of service for the State of Florida was effective 31 July 1988. He continues to serve the program as an Emeritus Entomologist.

In September 1963 Bob entered the Graduate School of the University of Florida, from which he received the Doctor of Philosophy degree with a major in entomology in 1967. As a part of his studies he attended a session of the Organization for Tropical Studies at the University of Costa Rica. His research has taken him to much of the U. S. and the following countries where he has collected and studied specimens: Antigua, Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Nevis Island, Nicaragua, Paraguary, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Uruguay, and Venezuela. He has received grants and contracts from the Ohio Academy of Sciences, United States Public Health Service, National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Australian Academy of Sciences, Florida State Museum (since July 1988 the Florida Museum of Natural History), Illinois Natural History Survey. In 1988 he held a consultancy with FAO (United Nations) in Barbados, St. Lucia, and Grenada; and Agro Delta in the Dominican Republic. In 1989 he held a consultancy with Texas A. & M. University in College Station, Texas and Dallas, Texas. He is currently consulting with United Nations, FAO and has a 6-month Fulbright Fellowship for research in Paraguay.

Societies in which Dr. Woodruff holds membership include: Association for Tropical Biology, Coleopterists Society (President, 1978; Editor, 1972-1977), Entomological Society of America, Florida Entomological Society (Associate Editor, 1971-1977), Gamma Sigma Delta, Phi Kappa Psi, Sigma Xi, Sociedad Mexicana de Entomologia, Society of Systematic Zoologists, and Gainesville (Florida) Gem & Mineral Society. He is an Adjunct Professor, Department of Latin American Studies, University of Florida, Adjunct Professor, Department of Entomology & Nematology, University of Florida; Courtesy Associate Professor, Department of Entomology & Structural Pest Control, Florida A. & M. University, in Tallahassee; Adjunct Curator, Department of Natural Science, Florida Museum of Natural History (since 1972); Research Associate, Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and Collaborator, USDA, APHIS ( 1960 to present). In 1986 he received an award (with H. A. Denmark, F. W. Mead, and H. V. Weems, Jr.) from the Insect Behavioral Ecology unit for ~onomic service, Florida Entomological Society. Smee 1983 he has served on the Board of Directors, (Chairman) Caribbean Center for Scientific Research (non-profit). Since 1986 he has served on the Board of Directors of PhytoTechnica Floridana consulting corporation. He is a member of the Bo~d of Dir.~tors of the “North American Beetle Fauna Project . In 1986-1987 he served as the first President V of the Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc. He received an Honorary Award from the Eastern Federation of Mineral & Lapidary Societies, to select scholarships by the American Federation of Mineral Societies Scholarship Foundation for 1989.

Dr. Woodruff has served as Editor of The Journal of the Newell Entomological Society (President, 1965- 1966); Editor, Coleopterist’s Newsletter, 1970; Associate Editor, Florida Entomologist, 1969-1975; Editor, Coleopterist’s Bulletin, 1971-1975; Associate Editor, 1975-1982; Managing Editor, Insect World Digest, 1971-1974; on Council ofBiological Editors, 1972-78; member, Editorial Board, Colemania, Indian Journal of Taxonomic Entomology, 1981-present; member Editorial Board, Insect Mundi, 1985-present. He has attended more than 30 national and international scientific meetings, including the 14th International Congress of Entomology, in Washington, D. C. (for which he designed the logo). In 1964 he attended two months of training atthe Organization for Tropical Studies, San Jose, Costa Rica. In 1971 he attended the Summer Institute for Systematics, Smithsonian Institution. He has presented papers at meetings of the Entomological Society of America, National Pest Control Association, Ohio Academy of Sciences, Sociedad Mexicana de Entomologia, International Congress of Entomology, Florida Entomological Society, and other scientific organizations. He has published over 150 papers, primarily in the field of taxonomic and economic entomology.

Dr. Woodruff is listed in American Men of Science, Directory of Zoological Taxonomists, The Naturalists Directory, International Scholars Directory, Personalities of the South, Who’s Who in the South and Southeast, and Directory of North American Entomologists. He is a Methodist. His hobbies include archaeology, paleontology, scientific illustration, tropical biology, lapidary, jewelry, and music (trumpet, guitar, voice). He has served as merit badge counsellor for the Boy Scouts in all natural history subjects.

Brenda Miller Beck was born in Key West, Florida on 23 October 1948, daughter of GeorgeP. and Bonnie S. Miller. Brenda and Dennis A. Beck were married 1 July 1970 in Gainesville, Florida. They have one daughter, Jessica Denise, age 5. Brenda received her elementary and high school education in the public schools of Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas, graduating from Gainesville High School in 1967. Brenda worked at the University of Florida during the summer prior to her last year of high school. In March 1974 she received the Associate of Arts degree from Santa Fe Community College, in Gainesville, Florida. She began work with the Division of Plant Industry in 1968 and has worked continuously in the Bureau of Entomology for 21 years. Currently a Laboratory Technologist IV, Brenda has worked extensively with Coleoptera, particularly in the preparation of genitalia of scarabaeid beetles for study, involving scanning electron photomicroscopy, and identification of Scarabaeidae and tera. For many years, under the tutelage of Dr. Woodruff, and also for the past year under Dr. Michael Thomas, Brenda has served as the principal, active curator of the Coleoptera and Orthoptera collections of the Florida State Collection of Arthropods. She also has worked extensively in the curating of the large alcohol-preserved, compactor-stored collections of the FSCA, and the computerization of collection data. In recent years she has worked also with Dr. Howard Weems on the annual summary of all donations to the FSCA, the computing of estimated values of these donations, and preparation of several thousand formal letters of acknowledgment which have been sent to donors. Working with Dr. Woodruff, Brenda has acquired a considerable knowledge of the identification of Scarabaeidae and other Coleoptera. Her current research interest is centered on the Phyllophaga of the United States and the West Indies. In February 1989, at the request of Dr. Robert L. Crocker of Texas A. & M. University, Brenda spent a week at Texas A. & M. training personnel on the extraction of Scarabaeidae genitalia and their preparation for study. Brenda was raised as a Baptist Her hobbies are raising horses and dogs and working with plants. She also enjoys writing poetry and some fiction.

Bureau of Entomology
Division of Plant Industry
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

1 August 1989

Howard V. Weems, Jr.
Editor