Dennis Leston

Dennis Leston, born Dennis Fingleston[1] (2 February 1917 – 7 October 1981) was an English entomologist best known for his contributions to the study of Heteroptera.[2]

Dennis Leston
Born(1917-02-17)17 February 1917
Hackney, London, United Kingdom
Died7 October 1981(1981-10-07) (aged 64)
Tallahassee, Florida, USA
NationalityBritish
Scientific career
FieldsEntomology
InstitutionsTertiary education:
Imperial College London, University of Oxford, graduate student in Zoology Department, University of Ghana, Ph.D

Following a start in life as a student of medicine[3] Leston served with the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War II where he developed his fascination with insects.

Leston was a member of the South London Entomological Society and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society in 1949. After gaining a D.I.C. by research from Imperial College in the early 1960s Leston studied and worked at a number of universities, including the University of Ghana.

Dennis Leston was the older brother of racing driver Les Leston.

In 1949 he married Audrey; the couple had three daughters.[4] He died while working in Florida, from lung cancer.

Works (selection)
  • Leston, Pendergrast & Southwood. 1954. Classification of the Terrestrial Heteroptera (Geocorisae). Nature. 174: 91–92. https://doi.org/10.1038/174091b0
  • Southwood & Leston. 1959. Land and water bugs of the British Isles. Warne, London.
  • Leston. 1970. Entomology of the cocoa farm. Annual Review of Entomology, 15, 273–294. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.15.010170.001421
  • Leston. 1972. The natural history of some West African ants. Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, 108, 110–122.
  • Leston. 1973. The Ant Mosaic - Tropical Tree Crops and the Limiting of Pests and Diseases. PANS Pest Articles & News Summaries. 19 (3): 311-341 https://doi.org/10.1080/09670877309412778
  • Leston. 1973–1974. Ants and tropical tree crops. (Abstract in) Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London, 38, 21.

References
  1. General Registrar's Office register of births
  2. Southwood, T.R.E. (1982). "Dennis Leston, Ph.D. (Ghana), D.I.C., 1917-1981". Antenna. 6 (1): 173–174. ISSN 0140-1890. The death in Florida in October of Dennis Leston has robbed entomology of one of its most colourful characters and an unusually gifted practitioner.
  3. 1939 Register for Willesden
  4. Registrar General's Office registers of marriages and births; NOTE: this information is not matched by Southwood 1982, who recalls Leston's marriage in 1948, wife's name as Audrey, and three daughters


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