Pest Management Professional, October 2013

Tommie Termite Since 1997 Dr Thomas E Snyder pioneered research on termites and their control Heather Gooch Contributor B orn in 1885 Dr Thomas Elliott Snyder was an authority on the taxonomy biology and control of termites who worked diligently with the pest management industry until his death in 1970 Dr Snyder graduated from Columbia University in 1907 and received his masters degree from Yale in 1909 Then Dr Snyder joined the U S Department of Agricultures Bureau of Entomology where he worked almost continuously until his retirement in 1951 In 1934 he was transferred to New Orleans to establish the Forest Entomology Laboratory at the Southern Forest Experiment Station considered to be the first such lab in the Deep South According to the June 1971 Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washingtons annual meeting in which the man known affectionately as Tommie Termite was memorialized Dr Snyder in the 1930s also cooperated with the Higgins Shipbuilding Co and the U S Navy studying the effectiveness of pressuretreated and naturally resistant native and tropical species of wood to prevent damage by marine borers He returned to Washington in 1945 and from then until his retirement was engaged in studies about insects injurious to forest products and their control including cooperative investigations with the Army and Navy Dr Snyder also supervised the assemblage of the termite collection of the Smithsonian Institution and identified termites for individuals throughout the world pest control operators and federal and state agencies that required them From the time of his retirement from the Department of Agriculture until his death he served without recompense as collaborator of the department These Incisitermes snyderi soldier and worker commonly known as the Southeastern drywood termite are just one of several species named after Dr Snyder Photo courtesy of Dr Rudi Scheffrahn University of Florida PMP and as honorary research associate of the Smithsonian Institution Dr Snyder was a familiar face to readers of this publication then named Exterminators Log Pests and Pests Their Control He authored numerous articles to help professionals identify control and prevent termite infestations and graced the cover of the September 1951 issue In 1937 the then National Pest Control Association bestowed honorary lifetime membership for his countless presentations and creating the first NPCA Bulletin to list termite species by state and Canadian province with identification keys for winged adults and soldiers Dr Snyder was a true pioneer concerning wooddestroying insects especially termites says Dr Brad Kard endowed professor of entomology at the University of Oklahoma and a former leader of the USDA Forest Services termite research facility While numerous Legacy of learning Dr Snyders significant publications include Our Enemy the Termite 1948 Catalog of the Termites Isoptera of the World 1949 and Annotated Subject heading Bibliography of Termites 1350 B C to A D 1954 published in 1956 with supplements published in 1961 and 1968 insect and fungal parasite species were named in his honor Dr Snyder was just as interested in researching the control of wood destroying insects as he was their biology He pioneered the soil treatment method as a preventive strategy and as the Proceedings reports It is not an exaggeration to say that during the peak of his career he was the most prominent investigator of termite control methods in the world Note The author is indebted to Alfred E Emerson Carl Muesebeck R A St George Dr Robert Snetsinger and many others to whom she reached out for research PMP You can reach Gooch a PMP contributor at hgooch@ northcoastmedia net www mypmp net Pest Management Professional October 2013 79