Kansas State University

Charles Valentine Riley (often referred to as "C.V. Riley"; 1843-1895) was the state entomologist of Missouri from 1868 to 1877, and was a guest lecturer of economic entomology at Kansas State University from 1872-73. The French government awarded Riley the French Grand Gold Medal and he was named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1884 for his work in helping to save French vineyards from the terrible Phylloxera infestations that started in 1875, some time after the introduction of the insect from North America. In 1878 he was appointed national entomologist with the USDA. He is best known as the founder of biological control in America for his groundbreaking project on the cottony-cushion scale in California citrus. He was a prolific writer, producing over 2,400 publications in his accident-shortened life.

 

The Special Collections at Kansas State University is fortunate in having many of Riley's entomological charts in their archive. These were photographed by Donald Albern, digitized, and are included in the image gallery below.

 

In addition to the images in the K-State collections, the Agricultural Research Service's National Agricultural Library in Beltsville, Maryland, has papers, sketchbooks and hundreds of other documents related to C.V. Riley. These images, some included below, are in the public domain. Please mention the originating source if using any of these images.

 

Read more about Riley and his accomplishments here and here.