Doris Holmes Blake

American entomologist and scientific illustrator (1892-1978)

Doris Holmes Blake

Born|

Doris Mildred Holmes

(1892-01-11)January 11, 1892

Stoughton, Massachusetts[1]

Died| December 3, 1978(1978-12-03) (aged 86)
Nationality| American
Alma mater|

* Boston University
* Radcliffe College

Scientific career
Fields| Entomology
Institutions| United States Department of Agriculture
United States National Museum
Smithsonian Institution

Doris Holmes Blake, née Doris Mildred Holmes[2] (January 11, 1892 - December 3, 1978),[3] was an American entomologist and scientific illustrator.

She was an expert on chrysomelidae (leaf beetles).[1][3]

## Life

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Doris Holmes was raised in a middle-class family in Stoughton, Massachusetts. She earned a B.A. from Boston University in 1913 and an M.A. in Zoology and Psychology from Radcliffe College in 1917.[1][3] While at Boston University she became a member of Alpha Delta Pi.[4] Marrying the botanist and plant taxonomist Sidney Fay Blake in 1918, she worked for the Bureau of Entomology of the United States Department of Agriculture from 1919 to 1928. From 1928 she worked at the Department of Entomology of the United States National Museum. Forced to resign in 1933 by her husband's employment at the Department (the law prohibited more than one member of a family holding a government position), she continued studying beetles as an unpaid Associate of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, D.C. until her death.[1]

Some of Blake's entomological and botanical sketches, as well as her non-academic writing, are also included. The papers also include a number of photographs of Blake and her family and of entomologists, both at the Smithsonian and at USDA.[1] Her papers are held by the Smithsonian Institution.[1][5]

## Works

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Doris Holmes Blake

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* A review of the beetles of the genus Disonycha occurring in America north of Mexico, 1934. Smithsonian Institution.
* A study of LeConte's species of the chrysomelid genus Graphops with descriptions of some new species, 1955
* A review of the beetles of the genus Neobrotica and some closely related genera, 1966. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, v. 118, no. 3529.
* A review of the beetles of the genus Metachroma Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), 1970. Smithsonian contributions to zoology, no. 57.
* The costate species of Colaspis in the United States (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), 1974. Smithsonian contributions to zoology, no. 181.
* The brown semicostate and costate species of Colaspis in Mexico and Central America (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), 1976. Technical bulletin (United States. Dept. of Agriculture), no. 1534.

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f "Record Unit 7310, Blake, Doris Holmes, 1892-1978, Doris Holmes Blake Papers". Smithsonian Institution Archives. 1899–1985. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
2. ^ Full maiden name information sourced from Library of Congress Authorities data, via corresponding WorldCat Identities linked authority file (LAF). Retrieved on 2012-03-31.
3. ^ a b c Froeschner, R.C.; Froeschner, E.M.L; Cartwright, O.L. (1981). "Doris Holmes Blake, January 11, 1892–December 3, 1978". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 83 (3): 544–564.
4. ^ The Adelphean of Alpha Delta Pi, Vol. 9, p 137. 1916 article about her working on a degree at Radcliffe after graduating from BU. Also Adelphean, Vol. 11, p. 263 has the announcement of her marriage to Sidney Fay Blake, Ph.D.
5. ^ Margaret W. Rossiter (15 September 1998). Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action, 1940-1972. JHU Press. p. 487\. ISBN 978-0-8018-5711-9. Retrieved 12 December 2012.

## External links

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* Doris Holmes Blake Papers, 1899-1985 from the Smithsonian Institution Archives
* Transcriptions of Doris Holmes Blake Papers, 1899-1985, from the Smithsonian Transcription Center
* Doris Blake: The Courtly Coleopterist

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