COLLEGE STATION, Texas— Associate Curator of the Texas A&M Insect Collection Ed Riley will soon have more time to enjoy insect collecting as he retires on August 31.
Riley will retire at the end of August after working 27+ years as the assistant and associate curator of the Texas A&M Insect Collection within the Department of Entomology.
Riley has been responsible for maintenance and curation of the Texas A&M Insect Collection. During his tenure, the insect collection has nearly tripled in size from one to three million curated specimens. He has been active in promoting the collection to the general public and regional avocational entomologists, and has participated in various research projects. He has been involved in the development and upkeep of the collection’s expansive database since its inception in the late 1990s.
Riley has worked on various research projects while at A&M including surveys of the beetles of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and other select Texas biotic communities, and the taxonomy and systematics of various beetle groups, especially leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae). In addition to local and national travel, Riley also has traveled to several points in Latin America for workshops and collecting expeditions.
Prior to his arrival at TAMU, Riley was a research associate with the Department of Entomology at Louisiana State University for seven years and a research specialist in the University of Missouri Enns Entomology Museum for three years.
Riley received his Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Missouri in 1978 and his Master of Science in Entomology from Louisiana State University in 1988.