David L. Wagner

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David L. Wagner (born 1956) is an entomologist and a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut. He is the author of Caterpillars of Eastern North America, widely regarded as one of the most authoritative field guides on caterpillars. [1] He also serves as an advisor for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. He is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ad hoc committee on Status of Insects in North America. [2]

Contents

Career

Wagner, whose father worked for U.S. Steel, grew up "pretty much all over the place" according to Elizabeth Kolbert, because the family moved frequently during his school years. [3] At Colorado State, where he earned a B.S. in plant science, Wagner studied with entomologist Howard Ensign Evans. [3] [4] At the University of California, Berkeley, he specialized in the study of ghost moths and got a Ph.D in entomology. [3] [4]

His lab website lists his current areas of interest as insect biosystematics and conservation biology of invertebrates, including a taxonomic interest in microlepidoptera, especially basal lineages, including Hepialidae, and leaf mining families such as Gracillariidae. [5]

Awards and honors

Works

References

  1. ↑ "Quick, Before It Molts". The New York Times . August 8, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2026. Dr. Wagner said caterpillars also deserved appreciation for their indirect benefits to the world. They are a dietary mainstay of beloved songbirds, and it is to defend themselves against caterpillars that plants have developed many of mankind's favorite chemical compounds, including nicotine, caffeine and tannins.
  2. ↑ "Status of Insects in North America". www.nationalacademies.org. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Little-Known World of Caterpillars". The New Yorker . March 13, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2026. In college, at Colorado State, Wagner took classes from Howard Ensign Evans..the author of Life on a Little-Known Planet...In graduate school, at the University of California, Berkeley, Wagner devoted himself to ghost moths.
  4. 1 2 "David L. Wagner". National Academy of Sciences (USA). 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2026. Wagner received a B.S. in plant science from Colorado State University and a Ph.D. in entomology from the University of California, Berkeley.
  5. ↑ "Research". David Wagner's Entomology Lab. March 20, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2024.


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