Citizenship United States Nationality United States | Fields Entomology Name Nathan Banks | |
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Died January 24, 1953
Holliston, Massachusetts Institutions United States Department of Agriculture, Museum of Comparative Zoology Alma mater Cornell University (B.S. 1889, M.S. 1890) | ||
Nathan Banks (April 13, 1868 – January 24, 1953) was an American entomologist noted for his work on neuroptera, megaloptera, hymenoptera, and acarina (mites). He started work on mites in 1880 with the USDA. In 1915 he authored the first comprehensive English handbook on mites: A Treatise on the Acarina, Or Mites (Smithsonian Institution, Proceedings Of The United States National Museum, 1905, 114 pages). Banks left the USDA in 1916 to work at the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) where he did further work on hymenoptera and neuroptera. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1922. He authored more than 440 technical works over the years 1890 to 1951. He was married to Mary A. Lu Gar and they had eight children. (One son was named Gilbert, but no other offspring are known by name.)