Photos from the WFIWC Archives:
Personnel
Coeur d'Alene Lab personnel and F.C. Craighead at Wetzsteon cabin, East Fork Bitterroot R., MT, July 5, 1928. L to R: DeLeon, Balch, Craighead, Evenden, Terrell, England, Gibson. DeLeon studied mountain pine beetle parasites, predators, and other associated insects at this location. WFIWC Archives Coeur d'Alene FIL #409.
Donald DeLeon (1902-1966) graduated from Syracuse University (B.S 1926, MS 1927). After graduation, he was employed at the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Forest Insect Laboratory (1928-31) studying the parasites, predators, and other insects associated with the mountain pine beetle (MPB) in western white pine and lodgepole pine (DeLeon 1929, 1930, 1931a, 1931b). He evidently took leave to study at Cornell University where he received his PhD in 1933. His thesis was entitled: "A study of the parasites & predators of the mountain pine beetle and an annotated list of its associated insects." The external & internal anatomy, biology, & habits of Coeloides dendroctoni & Medetera aldrichii were studied in detail. Included was an annotated list of 129 species of insects associated with the beetle with notes on their biology, occurrence & habits. Life stages of many of these insects were illustrated with drawings by DeLeon.
Drawing presumed to be by DeLeon of life stages of Medetera aldrichii Wh., a predator of mountain pine beetle larvae. On back is written: "Plate I. DeLeon: The Biology and Economic Value of Medetera aldrichii Wh." Such a publication has not been found. WFIWC Archives
Drawing of life stages of Coeloides dendroctoni, a parasite of the mountain pine beetle. The artist is not identified but the words are in DeLeon's handwriting. The masterful style of this drawing greatly exceeds the one of Medetera aldrichii (Fig.2), which is thought to be by him. A dorsal drawing of this Coeloides appeared in DeLeon 1934 and is credited there to "Miss Mary Foley of the Bureau of Entomology." Her drawing and this one appear to be by the same artist. On back: "Plate I. DeLeon: The biology and economic importance of Medetera aldrichii Wh." Such a publication has not been found. WFIWC Archives
After receiving his PhD, he worked at the Berkeley Forest Insect Laboratory from where he wrote to Henry Rust at Coeur d'Alene in April 1934 that: "Am leaving for the Sequoia (National Forest) for 4 weeks on a topographic survey (of bark beetle-killed pines). D.b. (Dendroctonus brevicomis) and D.m. (Dendroctonus monticolae) are pretty thick but the country is so rough it's a heller to cruise."
He had spent a year in post-doctoral studies in France & Germany. During my employment at the Berkeley FIL (1950-54), I remember seeing a description by him of a procedure for inflating Lepidoptera larvae that he had learned in Germany. I took him to be a brainy, different kind of guy. For one thing, PhD's were scarce in Forest Insect Investigations at the time and no others had studied in Europe. I have always wondered about the lack of information about him. His obituary was written by Martin Muma, a mite/spider authority rather than by a forest entomologist. The only story that I heard was by R.L. Furniss, a student at Syracuse with DeLeon. It was something to the effect that DeLeon was bunking in an attic room and maintained that he could, by willing his mind, walk the length of the room in the dark. Dared, he immediately bumped his head on a rafter.
Western personnel of Division of Forest Insect Investigations at Pingree Park, Colorado ca 1937-38. Front row from left: F. C. Craighead, Chief, Washington, D.C.; D. De Leon; J. A. Beal; C. L. Massey, J. C. Evenden; unknown; W. Howe. Back row: G. R. Hopping; unknown; F. P. Keen; J. M. Miller; N. D. Wygant. Photo courtesy of J. M. Schmid.
DeLeon is said (by Muma 1966) to have had 5 positions (not identified) with USDA, Bureau of Entomology from 1928 - 1950 and 2 positions with U.S. Foreign Aid Program in the Philippines from 1950-1953 when he retired. He was at the Fort Collins Forest Insect Lab after its re-opening in 1935 (Furniss 2007), which would be his 3rd known Bur. Ent. assignment. There, he was involved again with the mountain pine beetle but details are lacking. There are only 5 photos taken by him that are in the Fort Collins FIL file, all taken in 1938: MPB cages at Elk Mtn., WY, and St Vrain, CO; and spruce budworm damage at Big Thompson, CO. The Fort Collins lab was closed in 1940 and no further mention is made of DeLeon having worked at any western FIL.
Fig. 5. Personnel of Fort Collins, Colorado, Forest Insect Laboratory - 1939. (From left) Front: James A. Beal, in Charge (later Chief of Forest Insect Investigations, Washington, D.C.); Rachel Overing, Sec.; Donald DeLeon. Back: Dwight Hester; Calvin L. Massey; Wayne How; Noel D. Wygant (later Head of the Laboratory). Photo provided by J. M. Schmid.
He apparently continued to jump around if he had 2 other USDA jobs (according to Muma) in the following decade after closing of the Fort Collins FIL. Inexplicably, he studied mite taxonomy after retirement and published often on mites in the Florida Entomologist between 1956-1966. At the time of his death, he was completing manuscripts on plant mites of Trinidad and the Ascas of the Caribbean area. Two of his publications (not seen) have intriguing titles (DeLeon 1937, 1963). Muma (1966) remembered his "quick, gently caustic, humor and sedate, humanistic, philosophy." DeLeon did not marry and lived the last years with his sister, Miss Gertrude De Leon "in a cabin on the creek" in the mountains above Erwin, Tennessee (Muma 1966). -- Malcolm Furniss --
Selected reports (on file at USDA-Forest Service R-1, Missoula, MT) and publications by DeLeon:
1929. Introductory study of the parasites, predators, and some other associated insects of the mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine. Coeur d'Alene FIL. 20 pp., illus.
1930. The parasites, predators, and associated insects of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus monticolae Hopk.) in lodgepole pine. Cd'A FIL. 75 pp., illus.
1931a. An annotated list of the fauna associated with the mountain pine beetle in western white and lodgepole pine. Cd'A FIL. 23 pp.
1931b. The important parasites, predators, and associated insects of the mountain pine beetle in western white pine. Cd'A FIL. 65 pp., illus.
DeLeon, D. 1937. An interesting hoax perpetuated in an early scientific bulletin. Science, 2243: 588-589.
DeLeon, D. 1963. A new Dermatophagoides: It prevents the rising of self-rising flour (Acarina: Epidermoptidae). The Florida Entomologist, 46: 247-250.
Furniss, M. M. 2007. A history of forest entomology in the Intermountain and Rocky Mountain areas, 1901 to 1982 . USDA Forest Service, Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-195. Fort Collins, CO. 40 pp.
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