Transcript UNIT The reproduction function MARY DAVIS TREAT Natural Science 2. Secondary Education UNIT Mary Davis Treat Brief biography • She was an entomologist and botanist.

UNIT
4
The reproduction function
MARY DAVIS TREAT
Natural Science 2. Secondary Education
UNIT
4
Mary Davis Treat
Brief biography
• She was an entomologist and
botanist. She was born in New
York in 1830.
• She lived in Vineland, New
Jersey for most of her life.
• In 1916, she returned to New
York to live with her sister. She
died in 1923 at the age of 92.
New York, Mary
Davis Treat’s home town
Natural Science 2. Secondary Education
UNIT
4
Mary Davis Treat
Contributions to science
• She defended Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Darwin also praised her work. However, despite
this praise, she was not recognised by the
scientific community because she was a woman.
• Her first published works were detailed
descriptions of insect life cycles, which were
published in 1869.
• She went on to write producing 76 articles and 5
books.
• Many entomologists were able to use her
research to classify insects. She discovered a
number of species of insects, arachnids and
plants.
• The ant Aphanogaster treatiae and the amaryllis
Zephyranthus treatiae were named after her.
Natural Science 2. Secondary Education
Charles Darwin, one of the
scientists of the 19th century who
saw the great value of Mary Davis
Treat’s work.
UNIT
4
Mary Davis Treat
Important discoveries
• One of her most famous projects involved
larvae of the Papilio asterius butterfly.
• She discovered that the larvae that ate
heavily developed into females, while those
that ate little food became males.
• She researched other butterfly species
and obtained similar results.
• Darwin wrote that her research on
butterflies was better than any such
research carried out until then. This praise
helped her get the recognition she
deserved, which she had been denied so
often because of sexism.
Natural Science 2. Secondary Education
A Papilio butterfly similar to the
subjects of Mary Davis’s research.
UNIT
4
Mary Davis Treat
Activities
1. What were Mary Davis Treat’s first scientific projects?
2. Which famous scientist acknowledged this woman’s
contributions to science?
3. What were her most important projects?
Natural Science 2. Secondary Education