Stanley E. Flanders, Biological Control: Riverside 1894-1984
Professor of Emeritus
Entomologist in the Experiment Station Dr. Stanley E. Flanders, Professor of Biological Control, Emeritus, died June 7, 1984, at the age of 90. He was born in Chula Vista, California, January 4, 1894, and died at Mt. McGill Covenant Village, Spring Valley, only about two miles from the house in which he was born.
Stan moved with his family to Tilton, New Hampshire, in 1900 when he was about 6 years old. He attended primary and secondary school there, moving back to Chula Vista in 1913. He graduated from National City High School, National City (adjacent to Chula Vista), California, in 1915. Stan started classes at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1917, obtaining his A.B. degree in zoology from there in 1923 and his Ph.D. degree in entomology in 1935.
He served in the United States Army from October, 1917, to July, 1919, attaining the rank of Second Lieutenant.
Stan began his studies in entomology at the University of California, Berkeley, in January, 1922. His first full-time employment in entomology was as entomologist for the Saticoy Walnut Growers Association, Saticoy (Ventura County), California, in 1923-24. Prior to enrolling in graduate studies at the University, he served as parasite collector at the U.C. Citrus Experiment Station in Riverside during 1929-32 and as Associate there during 1932-36. Stan was appointed Assistant Entomologist in the Division of Beneficial Insect Investigations (forerunner of the Department of Biological Control) in 1936 and advanced through the successive steps to Entomologist and Professor in Biological Control in 1951. He retired June 30, 1959, after 30 years with the University.
Stan married Hilma Louise Magnusson in December, 1923, in Pomona, California. They lived on a small citrus acreage in Riverside at 957 Massachusetts Street from 1935 until 1971 when they moved to Lake San Marcos in San Diego County. In August, 1980, they moved to Spring Valley where Hilma died in October, 1981, at the age of 87. During 58 years of marriage, Hilma often accompanied Stan on his foreign exploration trips and research assignments in other countries.
Professor Flanders specialized in research on entomophagous insects and their utilization in the control of insect pests of agricultural crops in California. He was world renowned as an authority on the biology of parasitic Hymenoptera. One of his most important contributions was the discovery during the 1930s of the complex host relationships of several species of Aphelinidae, micro-Hymenoptera which parasitize insect scales and mealybugs. The immature stages of the two sexes of aphelinid species were found to differ markedly, both morphologically and biologically; males often develop as parasites of their sisters. This discovery ranked in importance with that of polyembryony in parasitic insects, demonstrated dramatically by Marchal in France in the 1890s. Stan's discovery had a very practical application in that it permitted successful development of methods of mass rearing and field colonization of many imported species that previously had defied efforts to effect their establishment. Stan also was the first to recognize the adaptive nature of ovisorption in the economy of many Hymenoptera. In later years his interests extended to the subjects of sex and caste determination in the honey bee and other social insects, sex determination in parasitic insects, and to population dynamics. He made important contributions to science in each of these fields. Y In his recommendation for promotion of Dr. Flanders to Entomologist, Professor Harry Scott Smith, Chairman, Division of Beneficial Insect Investigations, wrote the following in October, 1946: "He (Flanders) is the leading authority in the world on the biology of the parasitic Hymenoptera, by far the most important group of insects concerned with biological control of pests, the principal responsibility of this Division. Some of his contributions, such as the discovery that males of several groups of parasitic Hymenoptera develop only on other parasites and not on the primary host insect, and that the sex ratio of parasites can be regulated by manipulation of their physical environment, have been almost revolutionary and have been of inestimable practical value in the mass production of beneficial insects. He has originality and initiative and is a hard worker, being one of the most productive entomologists in the country."
Stan was a prolific writer in a wide range of subjects. By the time he retired, he had published 167 scientific papers of a technical nature and more than 100 papers of semi-technical or popular content. He published an additional 36 papers after retirement, most being technical in nature. His first publication was in 1924 in the Journal of Economic Entomology, the last in 1978 in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America. His failing eyesight in the last few years of life ended this facet of his professional career.
Recognition of Professor Flanders' research contributions was evidenced by his election in 1937 as Fellow of the Entomological Society of America and his selection as its representative to the A.A.A.S. (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Council in 1940, and by his election as President of the Entomology Club of Southern California in 1951. In 1955, Stan received a Fulbright fellowship to Italy where he delivered a series of lectures at the University of Naples. In 1956, he was special consultant to the Colombian National Federation of Coffee Growers, and to the National Institute of Agricultural Technology of Argentina in 1958. Stan presented invitational papers at the Fourth, Tenth, and Eleventh International Congresses on Entomology. In 1961 Professor Flanders was recognized for his scholarly achievements by being selected as the Tenth Annual Research Lecturer, University of California, Riverside. His lecture was entitled The Parasitic Hymenoptera, Specialists in Population Regulation.
In the applied phase of biological control, Stan's contributions were outstanding. He traveled to Australia in 1931, South China in 1953-54, and Brazil in 1958 to search for natural enemies of insect pests for importation into California. In January, 1965, he travelled to Hong Kong at his own expense to obtain a live culture of a specific parasite of California red scale which he had collected there during his earlier trip. Stan was responsible for the development of many ingenious techniques and equipment for economical mass production in the insectary of numerous species of parasites for practical mass release programs that have since become widely practiced in countries throughout the world, the most notable example being the mass production and release of Trichogramma spp. for control of lepidopterous pests.
Stan was a member of the Entomological Society of America, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Ecological Society of America, International Union for Study of Social Insects, Western Society of Naturalists, and Sigma Xi. He was a member of the Editorial Board of the Annals and the Journal of Economic Entomology during 1937-39 and 1946-51, respectively, and was Vice President of the Entomological Society of America in 1950-51.
Stan and Hilma donated 65 acres of land to Riverside County in 1974 to help create the Box Springs Regional Park, a natural area adjacent to Riverside and the Campus.
Stan is survived by an adopted son, Philip; a sister, Harriet; and a brother, Raymond. His accomplishments and his life, especially his enthusiasm, warmth, sincerity, and originality, will be long remembered by friends and colleagues everywhere.
G. Gordh T. W. Fisher C. A. Fleschner E. F. Legner R. F. Luck J. A. McMurtry E. R. Oatman
