Archives West Finding Aid

The John D. Lattin Papers are comprised of materials created and collected by entomologist John D. Lattin between 1941 and 2004. The collection includes extensive professional correspondence between Lattin and other entomologists worldwide, grant proposals, documentation of research projects, reprints of publications by Lattin, promotional and informational materials relating to OSU and its Department of Entomology, coursework, biographical and employment records, photographs of Lattin and his colleagues, conference materials, and research materials. Much of the collection relates to Lattin’s research agenda at OSU and include proposals and documentation of investigations into the biosystematics of heteroptera, identification of arthropods, the appearance and impact of predatory insects, and the use of insects as indicators of ecological health and stability. The collection also contains extensive documentation of issues relating to the Oregon timber industry in the early 1990s, including deforestation of private lands, importation and milling of foreign timber in local saw mills, the spotted owl controversy, and the use of Pacific Yew in production of the pharmaceutical drug Taxol.

The collection also contains documentation of Lattin’s work as curator of OSU’s Systematic Entomology Laboratory and service on the OSU Collections and Museums Committee, his participation in working groups and advisory panels such as the Siberian Log Importation Risk Assessment Team and the Long-Term Ecological Research Sites Review Team for LTER sites in New Mexico, and his affidavit for a legal case pertaining to the impact of the Asian gypsy moth in Oregon.