Claude Fuller (entomologist)
Encyclopedia
Claude W. Fuller graduated from Australia's Melbourne University. He worked as an entomologist in Australia but worked more extensively in South and Southern Africa.
At age 19, Fuller was first employed as a vegetable pathologist in New South Wales and transferred to Western Australia six years later. In 1898 he emigrated to the Cape Colony
where he filled the post of Government entomologist. The following year he became the first Government entomologist in Natal
where his brief became the control and eradication of subtropical pests. He widened the ambit of his post by doing a survey of local fungus diseases and plant parasites, and performed valuable work on the control of locusts. During his stay in Natal he devoted a large amount of time to the control and extermination of orchard pests and noxious weeds. He became one of the pioneers of termite taxonomy in Natal, continuing the work of the Swede Bror Yngve Sjöstedt
.
Maize streak virus
(MSV) was first observed by Fuller and described in his 1901 report as “mealie variegation" (mealie being the Afrikaans word for maize). It is widespread in Africa and is one of the continent's serious crop diseases. The virus is spread by insects and shows as pale yellow or yellow-white leaves, leading to stunted plants that do not produce cobs.
His studies of the Tsetse fly
led him to believe that the existence of the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve
and the Mkhuze Game Reserves in Zululand
and the founding of the Kruger Park in the Transvaal lowveld, would create a corridor facilitating the resurgence of the fly from Southern Rhodesia
and Portuguese East Africa
. Fuller enjoyed the support of prominent veterinarians such as Arnold Theiler
and Petrus du Toit
.
In 1904 he published a book dealing with the cultivation of fruit trees in Natal. In the same year he went to Brazil
to bring back a parasite to control fruit flies which had become a major pest in South African orchards. From 1910 he served as Assistant Chief of the Division of Entomology for the Union of South Africa
,
retiring in 1926 and working as entomologist in Portuguese East Africa
.
He was killed in a car accident in 1928 outside Maputo in what was then Lourenço Marques . Today, Lourenço Marques is called Mozambique.
At age 19, Fuller was first employed as a vegetable pathologist in New South Wales and transferred to Western Australia six years later. In 1898 he emigrated to the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
where he filled the post of Government entomologist. The following year he became the first Government entomologist in Natal
Natal Province
Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...
where his brief became the control and eradication of subtropical pests. He widened the ambit of his post by doing a survey of local fungus diseases and plant parasites, and performed valuable work on the control of locusts. During his stay in Natal he devoted a large amount of time to the control and extermination of orchard pests and noxious weeds. He became one of the pioneers of termite taxonomy in Natal, continuing the work of the Swede Bror Yngve Sjöstedt
Bror Yngve Sjöstedt
Bror Yngve Sjöstedt was a Swedish naturalist.Sjöstedt gained his degree and his doctorate in 1896 at the University of Uppsala. He worked as an assistant in Statens Entomologiska Anstalt from 1897 to 1902, becoming a Professor and a Curator in the Swedish Museum of Natural History...
.
Maize streak virus
Maize streak virus
Maize streak virus is an insect-transmitted maize pathogen in the genus Mastrevirus of the family Geminiviridae that is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa. The A-strain of MSV causes sporadic maize streak disease epidemics throughout the maize growing regions of Africa...
(MSV) was first observed by Fuller and described in his 1901 report as “mealie variegation" (mealie being the Afrikaans word for maize). It is widespread in Africa and is one of the continent's serious crop diseases. The virus is spread by insects and shows as pale yellow or yellow-white leaves, leading to stunted plants that do not produce cobs.
His studies of the Tsetse fly
Tsetse fly
Tsetse , sometimes spelled tzetze and also known as tik-tik flies, are large biting flies that inhabit much of mid-continental Africa between the Sahara and the Kalahari deserts. They live by feeding on the blood of vertebrate animals and are the primary biological vectors of trypanosomes, which...
led him to believe that the existence of the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve
Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve
Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve, located 280 km north of Durban, is the oldest proclaimed park in Africa. It consists of 960 km² of hilly topography in central Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and is known for its rich wildlife and conservation efforts. The park is the only...
and the Mkhuze Game Reserves in Zululand
Zululand
Zululand may refer to:* Zulu Kingdom * Colony of Natal, which included Zululand between 1897 and 1910* Natal Province, which included Zululand between 1910 and 1980* KwaZulu, a Bantustan in South Africa...
and the founding of the Kruger Park in the Transvaal lowveld, would create a corridor facilitating the resurgence of the fly from Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
and Portuguese East Africa
Portuguese East Africa
Mozambique or Portuguese East Africa was the common name by which the Portuguese Empire's territorial expansion in East Africa was known across different periods of time...
. Fuller enjoyed the support of prominent veterinarians such as Arnold Theiler
Arnold Theiler
Sir Arnold Theiler Pour le Mérite] is considered to be the father of veterinary science in South Africa. He was born in Frick, Canton Aargau, Switzerland. He received his higher education, and later qualified as a veterinarian, in Zurich...
and Petrus du Toit
Petrus Johann du Toit
Petrus Johann du Toit was a noted South African veterinary scientist and the successor of Arnold Theiler as Director of Veterinary Services at Onderstepoort between 1927 and 1948...
.
In 1904 he published a book dealing with the cultivation of fruit trees in Natal. In the same year he went to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
to bring back a parasite to control fruit flies which had become a major pest in South African orchards. From 1910 he served as Assistant Chief of the Division of Entomology for the Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
,
retiring in 1926 and working as entomologist in Portuguese East Africa
Portuguese East Africa
Mozambique or Portuguese East Africa was the common name by which the Portuguese Empire's territorial expansion in East Africa was known across different periods of time...
.
He was killed in a car accident in 1928 outside Maputo in what was then Lourenço Marques . Today, Lourenço Marques is called Mozambique.