Nationality American Name G. Edwards | Role Entomologist | |
Born 24 November 1948
Aberdeen, Maryland, United States ( 1948-11-24 ) Institutions Florida State Collection of Arthropods Alma mater B.S., University of Maryland, M.S., Ph.D. University of Florida | ||
Dr. Glavis Bernard "G.B." Edwards, Jr. (1948 - ) is a taxonomic entomologist specializing primarily in spiders, with broader interests in butterflies, centipedes, millipedes, and thrips. He is the Curator of Arachnida and Myriapoda for the Florida State Collection of Arthropods. His curatorial responsibilities include Arachnida (except Acari): spiders, scorpions, harvestmen, and relatives; Crustacea (terrestrial species only): pillbugs, sowbugs; Myriapoda including centipedes, millipedes, and symphylans; Onychophora; and Thysanoptera. He has authored more than 60 scientific publications in his research field.
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Education
Edwards earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Entomology from the University of Maryland, College Park. While in undergraduate school, he worked in the Entomology Department as a part-time curator of the arachnid collection developed by Martin H. Muma, which provided him his first opportunity to examine many kinds of identified spiders. He also developed an interest in the use of spiders for biological control.
During his undergraduate years, Edwards learned that a professor doing research on the use of spiders for biological control, Dr. Willard H. Whitcomb, was at the University of Florida. After graduation, he took a graduate assistantship at the university, and worked towards the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Entomology while working on spiders in soybeans, and on the life history, ecology, mimicry, predatory behavior, courtship behavior, and taxonomy of the jumping spider genus Phidippus.
Research and professional affiliations
Edwards' research interests focus on the use of spiders as biocontrol agents, and the behavior, biodiversity, biogeography, ecology, and systematics of the spider family Salticidae, the jumping spiders.
His professional activities and affiliations include membership secretary of the Peckham Society and editor of its publication, Peckhamia; editorial board member of the American Tarantula Society; member of the Committee on Common Names, American Arachnological Society; and Courtesy Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida.
Personal
Edwards was born in Aberdeen, Maryland on November 24, 1948. In his teen years, he became interested in the behavior of spiders, especially jumping spiders, which were usually victorious when pitted against other spiders of similar size. He graduated from Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, where he was well known for his interest in "bugs."