Norman Criddle
Encyclopedia
Norman Criddle, born in 1875 in Addlestone
, Surrey
, England
, died in 1933 in Winnipeg
, Manitoba
, Canada
, was an entomologist active in the early development of control strategies for agriculturally
important grasshopper
s (Insecta: Orthoptera
) in the prairie
croplands of western North America
, as well as a naturalist
-artist
.
from a peak in the population of grasshoppers, Criddle developed a mixture of pesticidal
toxins called the "Criddle Mixture" to combat them, and was hired by the provincial
government to demonstrate its use to farmers. In 1913 the Manitoba government hired him as an entomological field officer, and in 1919 he was appointed the provincial entomologist. Gifted with considerable artistic ability, Criddle illustrated a number of agricultural books; his and Dr. James Fletcher's Fodder and Pasture Plants and Farm Weeds of Canada are especially noteworthy.
from the Manitoba Agricultural College
, was Honorary President of the Natural History Society of Manitoba from 1925 to 1933, and a member of the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame. His family's homestead in Manitoba, the Criddle/Vane Homestead, has been declared a Manitoba Provincial Heritage Park.
Addlestone
Addlestone is a town in the borough of Runnymede in the county of Surrey, England.Immediate surrounding towns and villages include Weybridge, Ottershaw, Chertsey, and New Haw. It is near Junction 11 of the M25 motorway and is served by Addlestone railway station on the Chertsey Branch Line. It also...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, died in 1933 in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, was an entomologist active in the early development of control strategies for agriculturally
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
important grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s (Insecta: Orthoptera
Orthoptera
Orthoptera is an order of insects with paurometabolous or incomplete metamorphosis, including the grasshoppers, crickets and locusts.Many insects in this order produce sound by rubbing their wings against each other or their legs, the wings or legs containing rows of corrugated bumps...
) in the prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
croplands of western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, as well as a naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
-artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
.
Career
In 1902, faced with food crop devastationDevastation
Devastation is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Digitalo Studios and released in 2003.The game takes place in an impoverished, dystopian near-future Earth, pitting an underground group of rebels against an oppressive, all-powerful mega-corporation...
from a peak in the population of grasshoppers, Criddle developed a mixture of pesticidal
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
toxins called the "Criddle Mixture" to combat them, and was hired by the provincial
Provincial
Provincial may refer to:* Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country.* Provincial examinations, a school-leaving exam in British Columbia, Canada* A provincial superior of a religious order...
government to demonstrate its use to farmers. In 1913 the Manitoba government hired him as an entomological field officer, and in 1919 he was appointed the provincial entomologist. Gifted with considerable artistic ability, Criddle illustrated a number of agricultural books; his and Dr. James Fletcher's Fodder and Pasture Plants and Farm Weeds of Canada are especially noteworthy.
Education & Honors
Criddle was awarded an honorary diplomaHonorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
from the Manitoba Agricultural College
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
, was Honorary President of the Natural History Society of Manitoba from 1925 to 1933, and a member of the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame. His family's homestead in Manitoba, the Criddle/Vane Homestead, has been declared a Manitoba Provincial Heritage Park.