author
Edwin R. Willis
Best known for closely observed studies of cockroach biology, this American entomologist helped turn an often-dismissed insect into a serious subject of scientific research.
1 Audiobook
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches
by Louis M. (Louis Marcus) Roth, Edwin R. Willis
About the author
Edwin R. Willis was an American entomologist whose published work focused on cockroach biology and behavior. Reliable catalog and archival records identify him as Edwin Roy Willis and give his birth and death years as 1911–1987.
He is most closely associated with major mid-20th-century research written with Louis M. Roth, including The Reproduction of Cockroaches, The Medical and Veterinary Importance of Cockroaches, and The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches. Smithsonian records show that this work was produced in connection with U.S. Army Quartermaster research laboratories and later published through the Smithsonian, reflecting the practical as well as scientific interest in insect life at the time.
His writing remains notable for being thorough, specialized, and surprisingly readable for scientific literature. Even today, those books stand out as careful studies of insect reproduction, ecology, and the many ways cockroaches interact with other organisms.