Matthew Robert Holmes (Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental History at the University of Stavanger) will present on "Taxonomic Trouble: Colonial Plantations and the Cockchafer Beetle in Nineteenth-Century Sri Lanka," followed by a discussion.
In the late nineteenth century, the British coffee industry of Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) was decimated by a fungal disease. Facing economic ruin, British planters were also faced with insect pests, most notably beetles whose grubs attacked the roots of coffee trees. Scottish plantation owner and amateur naturalist Robert Camperdown Haldane attempted to tackle this entomological problem by producing a tract in 1881 titled All About Grub, in which he identified the island’s beetles as relatives of the European cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) and listed methods to destroy them. Haldane’s taxonomy was erroneous and resulted in public embarrassment. His flawed beetle identification was a classic colonial misstep, driven by his faith in the authority of European entomology and his failure to engage with local knowledge. As a supporter of the acclimatization movement, Haldane saw Sri Lanka’s beetles as products of the climate and ecology of the island, assuming that they were variations of their European counterparts that had altered their behavior and life cycles to thrive in tropical conditions. He practiced a holistic approach to insect research, examining biological relationships, weather, and soil, but simultaneously remained a steadfast advocate of British expansionism and the exploitation of indentured labourers.
Matthew Holmes is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental History at the University of Stavanger, where he examines the modern history of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) in urban spaces. Matthew’s previous postdoc at the University of Cambridge investigated science and agriculture in the British Empire. His forthcoming book with the University of Pittsburgh Press, The Graft Hybrid: Challenging Twentieth-Century Genetics, explores the creation of chimeral plants and animals. He also publishes on the history of biotechnology, morphology, and natural history.
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