Draft:James Allen McMurtry

James "Jim" Allen McMurtry (September 21, 1932 – July 28, 2017) was an American entomologist, acarologist, taxonomist, and educator.

Biography
James McMurtry was born in Lodi, California and attended high school in Santa Clara. He completed his undergraduate studies at San Jose University before marrying Mary Catherine Gillaspy in 1954, and then was stationed in Paris from 1954 to 1956 while serving in the US Army. After his brief military career, he returned to California to gain a doctorate in entomology from UC Davis. McMurtry then joined the UC Riverside Division of Biological Control, which he would become the head of before retiring in 1993. McMurtry had one son, Patrick.

McMurtry's career mostly focused on the utilization of mites, especially phytoseiids, as biological pest control of other mite species. His body of research includes the ecology, breeding, and deployment of predatory mites to control mite populations on crops like avocados and citrus fruits. Additionally, he participated in studies into the classification of phytoseiid species and genera internationally.

He was granted awards by both the IOBC and ANBP for his contributions to the practice of biocontrol in 2001 and 2013 respectively. In 2018 the Systematic & Applied Acarology Society named an quadrennial award for contributions to the science after McMurtry. He died on 28 July 2017 at his home in Bend, Oregon]. The mite genus Macmurtryseius and the species Amblyseius mcmurtryi were named after him.