Roger A. Morse, Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 (July 5, 1927 - May 12, 2000) was a bee biologist

Biologist

A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...

 who taught many beekeeper

Beekeeper

A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees for the purposes of securing commodities such as honey, beeswax, pollen, royal jelly; pollinating fruits and vegetables; raising queens and bees for sale to other farmers; and/or for purposes satisfying natural scientific curiosity...

s both the rudiments and the finer practices, through his research and publications. During his long career, three new parasites

Diseases of the honeybee

- Varroa mites :Varroa destructor and Varroa jacobsoni are parasitic mites that feed off the bodily fluids of adult, pupal and larval bees.Varroa mites can be seen with the naked eye as a small red or brown spot on the bee's thorax....

 of the honeybee, acarine mite

Acarapis woodi

Acarapis woodi is a mite that is an internal parasite of honey bees, originally described from the Isle of Wight. Tracheal mites are related to spiders and have eight legs. Acarapis woodi live and reproduce in the tracheae of the bees...

, varroa mite and African small hive beetle

Small hive beetle

The small hive beetle is a beekeeping pest.Endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, the small hive beetle, Aethina tumida was first discovered in the United States in 1996 and has now spread to many U.S. states including, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota,...

 were introduced to the USA. These, along with the Africanized honeybee

Diseases of the honeybee

- Varroa mites :Varroa destructor and Varroa jacobsoni are parasitic mites that feed off the bodily fluids of adult, pupal and larval bees.Varroa mites can be seen with the naked eye as a small red or brown spot on the bee's thorax....

 and pesticide kills

Pesticide misuse

Under United States laws, pesticide misuse is the use of a pesticide in a way that violates laws regulating their use or endangers humans or the environment; many of these regulations are laid out in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act...

 were all important beekeeping issues. Morse was extensively involved in research on each of these and provided guidance to the beekeeping industry.

Education and career

Morse was born in Saugerties, New York

Saugerties (village), New York

Saugerties is a village in Ulster County, New York, USA. The population was 4,955 at the 2000 census.The Village of Saugerties is a Town in the eastern part of the Town of Saugerties. U.S. Route 9W passes through the village...

, served in the U. S. Army from 1944 to 1947. He received his bachelor's degree from Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 in 1950, his masters in 1953 and his doctorate in 1955, and did postgraduate work with the State Plant Board in Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...

 After a brief stint as assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts

University of Massachusetts

This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...

, he returned to Cornell University where he remained until retirement. Dr Morse lectured a very popular course, Beekeeping, an introductory course, so any Cornellian could take this as an elective. During the 1970s many Cornell students were informed and entertained by his superb relating of the honey bee and its close relationship with human endeavors. He was made chairman of the entomology

Entomology

Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...

 department in 1986. In 1989 he was made a fellow of the Entomological Society of America

Entomological Society of America

The Entomological Society of America was founded in 1889 and today has more than 6,000 members, including educators, extension personnel, consultants, students, researchers, and scientists from agricultural departments, health agencies, private industries, colleges and universities, and state and...

, and had been a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

American Association for the Advancement of Science

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...

 since 1975. He also served as visiting professor at the University of Helsinki

University of Helsinki

The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, the University of Sao Paulo

University of São Paulo

Universidade de São Paulo is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian university and one of the country's most prestigious...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, and the University of the Philippines, Los Baños

University of the Philippines, Los Baños

The University of the Philippines Los Baños is a public university located in the towns of Los Baños and Bay in the province of Laguna, some 64 kilometers southeast of Manila...

.

Publications

Morse was a prolific writer of numerous books and magazine articles. He also edited and made contributions to a number of collective works. This is a partial list.

Contributor:

• Annotated Bibliography on Varroa Jacobsoni
  Varroa jacobsoni
  Varroa jacobsoni is a species of mite that parasitises Apis cerana . The more damaging Varroa destructor was previously included under the name V. jacobsoni, but the two species can be separated on the basis of the DNA sequence of the cytochrome oxidase I gene in the mitochondrial DNA....
  
  , Tropilaelaps Clareae and Euvarroa Sinhai (IBRA Bibliography)
• The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Beekeeping
• Honey Bee Pests, Predators, and Diseases
• Making Mead Honey Wine: History, Recipes, Methods and Equipment

• Morse wrote a regular column in Bee Culture magazine

Author:

• Bees and Beekeeping
• Honey Shows: Guidelines for Exhibitors, Superintendents, and Judges
• The New Complete Guide to Beekeeping
• Rearing Queen Honey Bees
• Richard Archbold and the Archbold Biological Station
• A Year in the Beeyard: An Expert's Month-by-Month Instructions for Successful Beekeeping