PROC. ENTOMOL. SOC. WASH. 97(2), 1995, pp. 236-239 THE MAKING OF AN ENTOMOLOGIST Marcio Antonio de Carvalho Belo Horizonte, Brazil The following is an outline of the early forests. People inthis part ofthe world were years and family life of Jose Candido de wise enough to preserve some untouched MeloCarvalho, asrememberedbyme, with parts of forests as reserves. Unfortunately, the aid of relatives (stepmother: Candida devastation came after 1945. Our grandfa- Vilela Carvalho (1892-); halfbrothers: Bo- thers used the land for mixed cultivation livar(1923-)farmer,Cassio(1925-)farmer, andgrazingcattle. Theclimateinthisregion and Marcio (1936-) commercial pilot; half is very mild with temperatures varying sisters: Mariana (1924-) farmer's wife, Gil- mostly between 60°and 80°F. The dry win- da (1927-) farmer's widow, Lucia (1929-) ters during May, June, and July have oc- retiredteacher)andhisownnotes. Itiswith casional lowsaround 30°F, with some frost, great pleasure that we present this infor- buttheyare absolutely snowfree. The rainy mation on such an accomplished man and season occurs from October to March with good brother. a maximum temperature of 90°F. Because We believe the report that follows is an ofthis climate and location, the vegetation accuratedescriptionofwhatweknowabout isrichandthewildlifeplentiful. Before 1945, Jose. Some topics may be hard for conser- you occasionally heard of farmers losing vationists to appreciate, but these activities cattle to attacks by jaguars. Snakes were occurred in the 1920s in an aggressive en- common, includingrattlesnakes, urutu,jar- vironment where such things were different araca, and corals. As a consequence, snake- than they are today. bites were common. We hunted deer, paca, Jose, best known by family and friends (coelogenyspaca),water-hogs,andotheran- as Zezinho (Joseph or Joe), was bom on imals. There are also many different birds, June 11, 1914. He was the first oftwo sons and the rivers, streams, and marshes were from the first marriage of our father. His plentiful with fish and caimans. mother, Ano, died prematurely in 1919, Nearly all of the goods we needed were leaving five-year-old Jose and three-year- produced locally on our farms. As a result, old Mauricio (1916-1973). Father married it was necessary for us to import only a few again in 1922, giving Jose six step brothers things such as salt, sugar, basic tools, some and sisters. The family was large, with un- clothing, and medicine. Our main trans- cles from both sides numbering 26. portationwasbyhorseand mule. Fortrans- A description of the environment near portingcargo, wehadtwolargebig-wheeled Jose's home is necessary to understand his wooden carts, each pulled by six to twelve interest in nature. The area where our fam- oxen. Our farm had an orchard and garden ily of European descent settled was in the that also included medicinal plants and farmlands ofCarmo do Rio Claro in Minas flowers. Gerais,approximately230milesNWofRio We raised cows for milk and sheep for de Janeiro, Brazil. This area, with mild ir- wool; we also had oxen, horses, mules, and regular topography at an altitude ofabout donkeys to sell and for work around the 2300 ft, was developed during the 1800s farm. Our father had an ass that had only and consists of partially cut semitropical a single eye and, thus, gave him the name VOLUME 97, NUMBER 2 237 ployees, and we usually had one ofthem as a special friend. One ofJose's first teachers ofbotany and zoology was such a man, Se- bastiao Pereira, our father's "ox cart man." He knew a great deal about nature, partic- ularlytheforest, andtaughthim muchabout the life there. Nearly every Sunday, they wenthunting, fishing, lookingforhoney, and observing vegetation, birds, and animal signs. This knowledge, besides provoking Jose's interests, proved particularly impor- tant for him later as a researcher, when he went on to explore by himselflarge areas of theAmazonian forest, aswell as otherparts Carvalho family in Rio deJaneiro, 1985. Jose Car- of the world. At this time, however, Jose valho (back), Milza (second row, left), daughter lara was being raised to become a farmer. Maria(second row, right),granddaughterLilian (front No doubt Jose was bom a man ofgreat row, left), grandson Leonardo (front row, right). intellect and strong body (6 ft). This was apparent later by his success at college and Camoes (after the famous one-eyed Portu- accomplishments as an athlete. Somehow guese Poet). Our primary crop was coffee, he remembered having received supple- followed by maize, rice, beans, cotton, sug- mental feeding on mare and donkey milk arcane, and others. The houses were ma- as a child. Jose was quite precocious, and sonry and quite large to accommodate our he learned to walk unassisted at seven sizable families. months. At age three, our father had con- Hard work was the norm for everyone, fidence enough to allow him to go alone on includingyoungchildren. Ridinghorseswas horseback from our farm to the city, a dis- a natural part of country life. Chores in- tance of more than 15 miles. A cousin of cluded gathering eggs, helping handle the thesameageremembershim findingabird's bullocks and shepherding, caring for live- nest on a visit to an uncle's farm. He was stock, and helping raise the crops. so young that his coordination wasn't well Our grandfathers were a great influence developed and he inadvertently stepped on in the education ofour family. In our city the nest. After a few tears, he went on to we had a good nun's college that taught the examine the broken eggs and offspring. Af- ladies to become teachers. But the boys had tertheir mother's death, Jose and Mauricio to travel quite a distance to the best high were cared for between 1919 and 1922 by school. Ourfatherandunclesprovidedcon- their aunt Mariana, who became extremely siderable knowledge of the sciences, lan- devotedtothem. Thatauntandanotherone guage, music, and religion. In our home we Hved on farms in another city 100 miles hada bookshelfcontainingbooks on varied away. There Jose became betteracquainted subjects, including "Natural History" by with 16 ofhis cousins. Buffbn that Jose began reading at an early After their father's marriage to our age. He received a good perspective from mother, they returned to the farm to get to his uncles too, who we visited regularly. On knowthenewfamily. Ourmother, stillalive Christmas, New Years, Easter, and "City today at 102 years, and the two stepsons Dedication Day" everyone went to the city became great friends. Our mother's im- for religious activities. This was a good op- mediate response to what Jose was like as portunity to visit with cousins and other a young boy, was "Very good boy, never relatives. Ofcoursethefarmshadmanyem- teased (Nunca Amolou), verygood." Atthat 238 PROCEEDINGSOFTHE ENTOMOLOGICALSOCIETY OFWASHINGTON time, the region received mail by railroad ation, the old man's heart softened to the that was about 30 miles away. From the extent that he changed his plans and sent train station a postman delivered the mail him to public high school in a city near an by donkey to our city and farms. One of uncle's farm. The time in the seminary did Jose's firstjobswasgoingtoan uncle's farm instill discipline and patience in Jose, and everyotherdaytobringcorrespondenceand resulted in a good basic high school edu- newspapers. cation. As we described earlier, the area where In 1930,ourstateandthestatewhereJose we lived was rich in wildlife. Needless to and Mauricio attended high school, were say, somepartsofitweredangerousbecause adversaries in national politics and the sit- of the high concentrations of venomous uation progressed to an armed revolution. snakes. Snakebites were a serious problem, Uncle Antonio sent his best employee Al- so these parts ofthe farm were forbidden to fredoonhorsebacktorescueJoeandbroth- the children. One of the forbidden places er Mauricio and bring them back to the was a stream (Ribeirao), about a halfmile farm's safety. They fled well before day- from the farmhouse where the banks were break and remained at the farm until the covered with high vegetation and where armed conflict ceased. snakes were particularly abundant. Well, When Jose was in high school, the eco- Jose was a good boy, but one day when our nomic horizon on our father's farm was father was away, Jose went fishing at the bright and great investments were made in brookdespiteallwarnings. Hecaughtagood coffee culture and mechanical processing. stringoffishand returnedtothe farmhouse. Thencametheeffectsoftheworldeconomic Unfortunately for Jose, he and his father crisisin the late 1920sthat severelyaffected arrivedtogetherand,nodoubt,thefishwent dad's plans. Farmers were obligated by the flying in all directions. But as an indication governmenttobum part oftheircoffeepro- ofhisdetermination,aftertheconsequences duction to keep prices level. Mother and of the encounter subsided, Jose picked up grandmotherknewJose needed a bettered- the fish one byone, wenttothe kitchen, and ucation, and convinced dad to send him to asked his stepmother to "please fry these theAgricultureandVeterinaryschoolinthe fish for me!" city ofVi^osa. Jose was only 15 but mini- mum Until he went to high school, Jose helped age was 16, so father had to lie about with farm work, learning well his probable his age to get him admitted. [This Vicosa future profession as a farmer. He remem- School, nowa facility ofMinasGerais State bers the first Ford car that arrived in the University, was created in 1927 under a region in 1923. Inthelate 1920s,dadbought grant from the U.S. Government underthe a car, named Oakland. The real political supervision ofProfessorPeterHenry Rolfs, power in small cities ofourcountry was the a U.S. citizen]. There Jose studied, learned, priest(vigario),apositionrankedevenabove worked, and practiced sports with great en- the mayor. After Jose finished elementary ergy and enthusiasm and graduated at the school, dad, convinced that his son should head of his class. After graduation, he re- become a priest, sent 8-year-old Jose to turned to help his father and work on the seminary (1923-1924). The life there was farm he inherited from his mother. He and of course devoted to religious studies and brother Mauricio often competed to see hard discipline from early morning to bed- which one could carry the biggest load of time. Jose, however, didn'tlikethenewlife. coffee. Bothwereabletohandlearound 200 During his second year at the seminary, he lbs. Jose was always interested in wildlife, developed an intestinal infection and his andhefrequentlyrecruitedhissisterstohelp healthwasaffectedtosuch adegreethatdad hold different animals—from rattlesnakes went to see him. Looking at his son's situ- to bats. He often helped exterminate ant VOLUME 97, NUMBER 2 239 nests for the neighbors. Mother remembers Remarkable to us was his travel to the she didn't Uke caterpillars and the time she UnitedStatesin 1941 justbeforeWorldWar asked Jose to remove a tobacco plant from II, the result of a scholarship he received a grassy area she used for drying clothes. from Vi^osa forhis teachinganddedication Moments laterJose came back with several to research. He went to the University of caterpillars in the palm ofhis handand said Nebraska in Lincoln for his M.S. Because "Look, theywon'tharmyou. See, Icaneven of his many new friends and his own re- put one on my tongue." We also remember search efforts, he was admitted to the Ph.D. a collection of21 rattlesnakes in a room of program atthen IowaStateCollege in Ames. his farm; they were eventually donated to a For his dissertation, he studied parasites of laboratory to make vaccines. rabbits. Hisathletictrainingservedhimwell, The effects ofthe depression persisted, so and rumors began to circulate that he could in 1934 Jose decided to go back to school run down and catch cottontails and jack- at Vigosa and with great effort passed the rabbits. Thisstorywaspublished in the uni- examinations to get into veterinary school. versitynewspaper, and soon thefootball and A new stint of hard work began, coupled otherathleticcoacheswere afterhim tojoin withsuccessinathleticstothepointofbeing various university teams. However, he de- selected to represent Brazil in the 1936 clined (he laterclaimed he could catch only Olympic Games in Berlin. However, while youngrabbits), preferring to concentrate on training, Jose pulled a muscle that elimi- his studies instead. In 1943 he received his nated him from competition. His "globe- Ph.D. (thesis #689). Impressed on his mind trotter" careerbegan in 1937, when he par- was the quote at the University's library: ticipated in an international university in- "You shall know the truth and the truth vitational in Paris, where he won fourth shall make you free." place in pentathlon. Sports aside, he still In May 1943, Jose and Milza returned to managed to find time to visit the museums Brazil afteracomplicated trip through Pan- in Paris. ama and along the west coast of South His student and athletic career at Vi9osa America (because of German subs in the ended in 1938 with graduation. While at Atlantic)toChile. From there,theytraveled school,hebecameinterestedin parasitology by train to Buenos Aires and home. and zoology. In January 1939 he went to From, then on, Jose's professional career Rio de Janeiro to pursue research on ticks soared and he went on to hold numerous and the protozoans they transmitted. In important positions, includingthe director- February, he returnedto Vigosaasa teacher ship at the National Museum of Natural and researcher. His first scientific work, History in Rio de Janeiro and the presi- publishedin 1939,wasinitiatedasastudent dency ofthe XVI International Congress of in 1937 and dealt with protozoans ofRana Entomology, heldin Kyoto,Japan. Butthese catesbiana Shaw. are the yearsbest conveyed by his wife Mil- The diversity of people Jose knew as a za. Even at 80 years, Jose, in company with boy and teenager gave him a great facility Milza, his daughter lara, a granddaughter for making friends with everyone from In- Lilian, and a grandson Leonardo (the latter dians in Amazonjungle to world VIPs. One two ofwhich are law students) continued to ofthe best things that happened to Jose was work with his insects on a daily basis until the marriage to Milza Freire, the daughter his death on October 21, 1994. Sometime ofa farmer from our city in October 1939. before, he said to me "A hundred years, the This well-educated, charming, and petite maximumonecanexpecttolive, istooshort woman proved to be a great companion for a time to accomplish everything." Jose. Following their marriage, our father died prematurely in November at age 57.