Life

Mary Murtfeldt was one of four daughters of Charles W. Murtfeldt, a German-born agricultural writer. Though born in New York City, she grew up in Rockford, Illinois

Rockford, Illinois

Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...

 and lived most of her life with her father and sister in Kirkwood, Missouri

Kirkwood, Missouri

Kirkwood is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,540. Founded in 1853, the city is named for James Pugh Kirkwood, builder of the Pacific Railroad through that town. It was the first planned suburb located west...

. Crippled by polio in her youth, she needed crutches throughout her life. She studied at Rockford College

Rockford College

Rockford College is a private American liberal arts college in Rockford, Illinois. It was founded in 1847 as Rockford Female Seminary and changed its name in 1892. The college is known as the alma mater of Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams, who was a member of the class of...

 from 1858 to 1860. In 1868 her father became editor of Colman's Rural World, and Mary developed an interest in entomology. Encouraged by Missouri state entomologist Charles Valentine Riley

Charles Valentine Riley

Charles Valentine Riley was a British-born American entomologist and artist.-Early Life:The son of a Church of England minister, Charles Valentine Riley was born on 19 September, 1843 in London’s Chelsea district. When he was around eleven his parents, the Rev. Charles and Mary Riley, chose to...

, she took a job as a local assistant in the Bureau of Entomology of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Murtfeldt worked at the interface between entomology

Entomology

Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...

 and botany

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

. She worked out the pollination of the Yucca

Yucca

Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North...

 plant, and formed an important collection of plant species from the St Louis, Missouri area.

Works

• 'New species of Tineidae
  Tineidae
  Tineidae is a family of moths in the order Lepidoptera. Collectively, they are known as fungus moths or tineid moths. The family contains considerably more than 3,000 species in over 300 genera. Most of the tineid moths are small or medium-sized, with wings held roofwise over the body at rest...
  
  ', Canadian Entomologist
  Canadian Entomologist
  The Canadian Entomologist is a scientific journal of the Entomological Society of Canada, published bimonthly. It has been published continuously since 1868. Volumes 1 to 54 are freely accessible in the Biodiversity Heritage Library.-External links:**...
  
  13 (1881). pp.242–246.
• Outlines of entomology, 1891
• 'Report on Present Status of American Women in Entomology', Proceedings of the National Science Club, 3 (April 1897), pp. 11-14
• Stories of insect life : second series, summer and autumn, 1900