Elizabeth Anne McMahan (19242009), known as Betty, was a Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for 26 years. She had a distinguished and varied career as an entomologist, psychologist, cartoonist, writer of children's books, and world traveler. She worked in the parapsychology lab of J. B. Rhine at Duke for several years, but left for graduate work in entomology at the University of Hawaiʻi and subsequent research on the feeding, foraging, and social behavior of termites and some of their associate and predator species. Her field work in entomology took her to Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Australia, and India. Two insect species were named for her: the assassin bug Salyavata mcmahanae and the beetle Neophilotermes mcmahanae.
Selected publications Entomology McMahan, E.A. (1996) "Termites", in The Food Web of a Tropical Rain Forest, Ed D.P. Reagan & R.B. Wade, University of Chicago Press, pages 110–135 Jones, S.C., Nalepa, C.A., McMahan E.A., Torres, J.A. (1995) "Survey and ecological studies of the termites (Isoptera:Kalotermitidae) of Mona Island", Florida Entomologist 78: pages pages 305–313 McMahan, E.A. (1986) "Beneficial aspects of termites", in Economic Impacts and Control of Social Insects, Ed S.B. Vinson, Praeger Press, pages 144–164 McMahan, E.A. (1983) "Adaptations, feeding preferences, and biometrics of a termite-baiting assassin bug (Hemiptera, Reduviidae)", Annals of the Entomological Society of America 76: pages 483–486 McMahan, E.A. (1970) "Polyethism in workers of Nasutitermes costalis (Holmgren)", Insectes Sociaux, 17: pages 113–120 McMahan, E.A. (1963) "A study of termite feeding relationships, Using radioisotopes", Annals of the Entomological Society of America 58: pages 74–82 McMahan, E.A. (1962) "Laboratory studies of colony establishment and development in Cryptotermes brevis(Walker) (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae)", Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 18: pages 145–153 McMagan, E.A., Gray I.E. (1957) "Variation in a local population of the dragonfly Helocordulia", Annals of the Entomological Society of America 50: pages 62–66
Entomology, for the layman McMahan, E.A. (2005) "Adventures documenting an assassin bug that "fishes" for termites", American Entomologist 51: 202–207 McMahan, E.A. (1983) "Bugs angle for termites", Natural History Magazine 92: 40–47
Parapsychology McMahan, E.A. (1947) "A review of the evidence for dowsing", Journal of Parapsychology 11: 175-? McMahan, E.A. (1946) "An experiment in pure telepathy", Journal of Parapsychology 10: 224-?
Children's books McMahan, E.A. (2000) Cammie, A Girl for All Seasons McMahan, E.A. (2001) Raising Cane with Cammie McMahan, E.A. (2002) Cammie Turns Ten,
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