John Nietner (died 1874) was a German naturalist chiefly interested in botany and entomology. Born in Potsdam, he was a plantation owner in Ceylon and described many new insect species from the island. Having a special interest in insects, he made large collections and sent specimens for study by experts abroad. Interested in insect pests, he wrote a booklet on pests of the coffee tree in 1861.
Entomological papers, being chiefly descriptions of new Ceylon Coleoptera with such observations on their habits etc., as appear in any way interesting. J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 25: 381-394, 523-554 (1856).Descriptions of new Ceylon Coleoptera. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (2)19: 241-249, 374-388 (1857).Entomological papers, being chiefly descriptions of new Ceylon Coleoptera with such observations on their habits etc., as appear in any way interesting. J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 26: 132-153 (1857).Descriptions of new Ceylon Coleoptera. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3)2: 175-183, 418-431 (1858).Observations on the enemies of the coffee tree in Ceylon. Colombo, Ceylon : Publisher unknown 31 pp. (1861).The coffee tree and its enemies: being observations on the natural history of the enemies of the coffee tree in Ceylon. Colombo : A.M. & J. Ferguson (1880).His insect collection is in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin and the Deutsches Entomologisches Institut
