Stephen Lane Wood

Stephen Lane Wood was born in Providence, Utah, on July 2, 1924. From an early age, he had a keen interest in nature and wildlife. At age 14, Steve went to Nevada to visit his brother-in-law, T. O. (Ted) Th atcher, a specialist in scolytid systematics, who sent him into the woods to begin an insect collection for a class project. Steve dug his pocketknife into a pinhole in an aspen tree and eased out a small beetle, Trypodendron retusum (LeConte). In Steve’s words, “Th e attraction was immediate and permanent.” His interest in natural history lead him to attend Utah State University where he received his B. S. degree in 1946 and M. S. degree in 1948, majoring in Entomology. His Masters thesis was a survey of the Scolytidae of Logan Canyon in Utah and their host plants (publication #1). He received his Ph.D. in 1953 from the University of Kansas with a dissertation on a taxonomic revision of the North American Cryphalini (publication #4). During his graduate studies Steve met and interacted with the leaders in the fi eld of bark beetle systematics, which highlighted his burgeoning career (Fig. 1). After graduation, Steve joined the staff of the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Ottawa, Ontario, and remained there for three years until family considerations and the call of the Utah mountains inspired him to change employment. In 1956, he accepted the position of Assistant Professor in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah and remained there until his death. After retirement, Steve continued his association and his research at BYU at the Monte L. Bean Life Sciences Museum as Professor Emeritus and Curator of Coleoptera Emeritus until ill health forced him to terminate his activities in 2008. Steve served on a number of university committees and professional assignments. He was editor of the Great Basin Naturalist for many years and created the Great Basin ZooKeys 56: 7–16 (2010)