Memorial Set for Les Ehler, UC Davis Emeritus Professor Of Entomology

DAVIS, CA – The family of Dr. Lester Ervin “Les” Ehler, UC Davis emeritus professor of entomology who died Sept. 2 at age 70 in Vacaville, has scheduled a memorial for 4 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 1 in the Putah Creek Lodge, UC Davis campus.

A noted entomologist and biological control specialist, Dr. Ehler was the first biological control specialist on campus and was known as the “quintessential biological control researcher.

"Dr. Ehler had a remarkable career at UC Davis,” said Steve Nadler, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. “In his research he built upon fundamental investigations in integrated pest management (IPM) to provide practical biological control for many different systems. Les was both a national leader in the discipline of biological control, and an outstanding citizen of the department and university.”

For four decades Dr. Ehler championed the use of natural enemies to control agricultural pests and warned of the dangers of pesticides.

he co-edited the 1990 book, Critical Issues in Biological Control and served four years as president and four years as past president of the International Organization for Biological Control. He also chaired the Entomological Society of America's Biological Control Section.

Born Jan. 6, 1946 in Lubbock County, Texas and reared on a family farm near the small town of Idalou, Les Ehler received his bachelor's degree in entomology from Texas Tech University, and his doctorate in entomology from UC Berkeley. He joined the UC Davis faculty in 1973 as an assistant professor, advancing in 1985 to professor of entomology and entomologist in the UC Davis Experiment Station. He retired as an emeritus professor in 2008.

Coordinating the memorial is his son, Brian Ehler of Susanville, assisted by close friend and colleague Harry Kaya, emeritus professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

The lodge is located on Putah Creek Lodge Road, off LaRue Road. For more information, contact Brian Ehler at brian_ehler@yahoo.com or Harry Kaya at hkkaya@ucdavis.edu.

The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology posted a tribute to Dr. Ehler at http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=22031

--Information and image courtesy of Kathy Keatley Garvey