Dodd, Alan Parkhurst (1896 - 1981)

Summary

Alan Dodd was an entomologist who played a key role in the eradication of prickly pear from Queensland. After working for several years as an entomologist with the Sugar Experiment Station, he joined the Commonwealth Prickly-Pear Board in 1921. He spent several years in North and South America on behalf of the Board investigating insects that might prove effective in controlling the spread and eradication of the aggressive weedy cactus, Opuntia stricta. As a result of the work of Dodd and the Board, the Argentinian moth Cactoblastis cactorum was introduced into Australia and proved (with another species) to be successful. Dodd was Chief Entomologist of the Board from 1925 to 1939 when it ceased operation. From then until he retired, Dodd was Director of the Biological Section in the Queensland Department of Lands. He was active in the Entomological Society of Queensland, serving two terms as President and becoming and Honorary Member in 1962.

Details

Chronology

1912 - 1921

Career position - Assistant Entomologist, Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations

1916 - 1919

Military service - Served with the Australian Imperial Force

1921 - 1924

Career position - Assistant Entomologist, Commonwealth Prickly-Pear Board

1923 - 1962

Career position - Foundation Member, Entomological Society of Queensland

1924 - 1925

Career position - Senior Entomologist (in North and South America), Commonwealth Prickly-Pear Board

1925 - 1939

Career position - Chief Entomologist, Commonwealth Prickly-Pear Board

1927 - 1939

Career position - Scientific Advisor, Queensland Prickly Pear Land Commission

1938

Career position - President, Entomological Society of Queensland

1939

Award - Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

1939 - 1962

Career position - Director, Biological Section, Queensland Department of Lands

1945

Career position - President, Entomological Society of Queensland

1962

Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

1962 - 1981

Award - Honorary Life Member, Entomological Society of Queensland

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Dodd, A. P., The biological control of the prickly pear (Melbourne: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, 1927), 44 pp. Details
• Dodd, A. P., The biological campaign against Prickly Pear (Brisbane: Commonwealth Prickly Pear Board, 1940), 177 pp. Details
• Dodd, Alan P., The progress of biological control of prickly pear in Australia (Brisbane: Government Printer, 1929), 44 pp. Details
• Musgrave, A., Bibliography of Australian entomology, 1775-1930: with biographical notes on authors and collectors (Sydney: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, 1932), 380 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Dodd A. P., 'The biological control of Prickly Pear in Australia' in Biogeography and ecology in Australia, Keast, A.; Crocker, R.L.; and Christian, C.S., eds (Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer, 1959), pp. 565-77. Details
• McFadyen, R. E., 'Dodd, Alan Parkhurst (1896-1981), Entomologist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 17: 1981 - 1990 A-K, Diane Langmore, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2007), pp. 322-323. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dodd-alan-parkhurst-12425. Details

Journal Articles

• Dodd, A. P., 'The control and eradication of Prickly Pear in Australia', Bulletin of entomological research, 27 (3) (1936), 503-17. Details
• Dodd, A. P., 'The conquest of Prickly Pear', Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, 3 (5) (1945), 351-61. Details
• Dodd, Alan P., 'The campaign against Prickly Pear in Australia: work of the Commonwealth Prickly Pear Board', Nature, 117 (2948) (1926), 625-6. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21390142. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/31921606. Details
• 'Dodd, Alan P (1896-1981)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-584170. Details