Maynard J. Ramsay, 90; Entomologist Was Expert on Exotic Pests
Maynard J. Ramsay, 90, an entomologist and internationally recognized expert on exotic parasites, died March 20 at a nursing home in Silver Spring, Md.
A specialist on a variety of insects, Ramsay was perhaps best known for his research on the potato parasite. In the 1940s, he helped trace the worm to infested flower fields in Germany that had been converted for potato growing during World War II.
He worked as an economic entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1941. After the war, he served as an agricultural inspector and supervisor with the agriculture quarantine and inspection force.
As an instructor with the USDA, Ramsay taught graduate and postdoctoral students from around the world on the intricacies of controlling imported insects.
Ramsay was born in Buffalo, N.Y., and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Buffalo and a doctorate in entomology from Cornell University.
He retired from the USDA in 1977 but continued to consult on entomological matters.
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