Andrew Delmar Hopkins (August 20, 1857 – 1948) was an American entomologist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, becoming head entomologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1904. His research was primarily on bark beetle population dynamics and impacts, and he also developed the Law of Bioclimatics. Hopkins’s research is the cornerstone of entomology in North America. Hence, he is referred as the “Father of North American entomology.”
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A.D. Hopkins was born in Jackson County, Virginia (which later became Jackson County, West Virginia). Hopkins, who first developed the scope of forest entomology in North America as we know it today, obtained little formal education to begin with. Yet, he started at a young age in his industrious career, with an intense desire to study forest insects and their effectual changes in forests. Amount of pay was not important to him as he started work in the field of entomology at one dollar a day. His main experience before this had been farm work, where nature had been his teacher.
Starting in the late 1880s, his work gradually shifted from farming to scientific research. His first main entomology job was based at his own farm in Wood County. Working for free, he investigated which insects were causing the worst damage in the State of West Virginia. To do this, he made local and statewide trips to get the data he needed, sometimes by interviewing state residents. He found that a major bark beetle outbreak was taking place in the eastern part of the state. Along with the Hessian fly's effects on wheat, these were the main focuses of his early work, which not only gave him a very positive reputation but also improved scientific understanding of entomology.
Also, he then taught Economic Entomology at the University of West Virginia, where he obtained his doctorate. Through the 1890s and into the 20th century, he would acquire only more expertise, which led him being elevated to higher positions of status, which gave him even more opportunity to excel in his profession and for other entomologists to elaborate on his work. Leaving his work with the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, being the vice-director, he soon resumed his work with the US Department of Agriculture, where he stayed for the rest of his career.
However, his position started with being a special agent, where most of his work was in the Wester United States studying the impact of bark beetles; then, in 1904, becoming the head of the Division of Forest Insects (Bureau of Entomology) in Washington D.C.. The year of 1923 marked Hopkins' retirement, at which time he returned to where he started his career; his farm in Wood County, West Virginia. He continued the independent study of bioclimatics, and the Department of Agriculture established a field station which was given the title "the Kanawha Farms Intercontinental Base Station for Bioclimatic Research." Another activity that he undertook in his older age was breeding different plants. He died from unknown causes in 1948.
During his lifetime, he was a member of many scientific organizations and held leadership positions in many of them. He was a fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science, having become a member in 1893, and an emeritus member in 1938, a fellow of the Entomological Society of America, a member of the Association of Economic Entomologists (vice-president in 1900 and president in 1902), first president of the West Virginia Academy of Sciences, president of the Entomological Society of Washington, president in 1920 of the Biological Society of Washington, vice president of the Washington Academy of the Sciences, life member of the American Meteorological Society, honorary member of the Society of Economic Biologists of England, and member of the Cosmos Club. andrew was elected to the Washington Biologists’ Field Club in 1904 and ended his membership in 1912.
During his time as an entomologist, Andrew Delmar Hopkins’ personal study also included bioclimatics. Hopkins described bioclimatics as the attempt to correlate phenological phenomena of plants and animals with the various elements which make up the climate of the region. In 1889, Hopkins formulated the relationship of elevation, latitude and longitude to seasonal events such as the coming of spring. The relationship was coined the “Hopkins Law of Bioclimatics”. Many horticulturalists and other plant enthusiasts use this law to determine a planting schedule. As an entomologist, his research was primarily focused on the control methods of beetles, especially the western pine beetle. Hopkins also described 196 new species and six genera of insects Hopkins Law of Bioclimatic
While living in West Virginia in 1889, A.D. Hopkins discovered that spring advances one day for every 15 minutes of latitude northward, 1.25 days for each degree of longitude westward, and one day for every 100 feet higher in elevation. Thus, for a site located 15 minutes of latitude north, one degree west and 200 meters higher than another chosen site, spring should arrive 4.25 days later. For example, according to the Hopkins Law, flowers should bloom, trees should bud, and geese should appear around 11 days later in Omaha, Neb. than in Kansas City, Kansas. The calculation is expressed in the appendix.
Many of Hopkins early research consisted of qualitative observations of the beetle family. Hopkins most famous bark beetle observation was coined the Hopkins' host-selection principle (HHSP), which refers to the observation that many adult insects demonstrate a preference for the host species on which they themselves developed as larvae. However, the practicality of HHSP has been debated significantly since its first proposal in 1916. Many modern scientists have even discounted the evidence that supports HHSP as speculation. Although he has written dozens of well renowned publications, Hopkins most popular on bark beetles include the “Catalog of West Virginia Scolytidae (Bark Beetles) and Their Enemies" and "Catalog of West Virginia Forest and Shade Tree Insects."
The diversity and volume of publications that Hopkins produced is unmatched by any other entomologist. Hopkins’ breakthrough research on North American beetles and quantifying Hopkins Law are still highly regarded in today’s scientific community. andrew Delmar Hopkins was a true pioneer of his time and it was of no coincidence of why he will forever be recognized as the “Father of North American Entomology.”
Published Works
Appendix
Example Calculations using Hopkins Time Law
If you were to travel from Kansas City (1000 ft elevation, 39.11 degrees N latitude, -94.63 longitude) to Omaha, Nebraska (1034 feet elevation, 41.26 degrees N latitude, -95.93 longitude), the delay in the coming of spring would be…
[((1034 ft - 1000 ft)/100 ft * 1.25 days) + ((41.26 degrees - 39.11 degrees)* 4 days) + ((-95.93 degrees - -94.63 degrees ) * 1.25 days)] =
(34 ft /100 ft * 1.25 days) + (2.15 degrees * 4 days) + (1.3 degrees * 1.25 days) = 8.5 days + 2.6875 days + 1.625 days = 10.65 Days