Feature Science & Society

This ‘hidden figure’ of entomology fought for civil rights

Margaret S. Collins was the first Black American female entomologist to earn a Ph.D.

Entomologist Margaret S. Collins (left) stands next to a nest of Nasutitermes acajutlae termites on Guana Island in the British Virgin Islands in 1989, along with biologist Barbara Thorne.

© B.L. Thorne

By Susan Milius

On the drive to school, at the first sign of trouble, “she made me get on the floorboard,” says the older son of pioneering Black entomologist Margaret S.