Murray S. Blum

Abstract

Murray Sheldon Blum, of Athens, Georgia, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, pioneering scientist and explorer of the natural world, exuberant lover of life, family, friends, good jokes and bad puns, bright colors, operatic arias, and insects of all varieties, died peacefully at home on Sunday, 22 March 2015. He was 85 years old. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 19 July 1929, Murray grew up in Chicago, where even as a child, he gained local fame for tirelessly chasing butterflies down the city's busy streets. He pursued that fascination until he earned a Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Illinois in 1955 for investigating the toxicology of pyrethrins. After serving as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, he joined the Department of Entomology at Louisiana State University in 1957, where his daughter was stung by fire ants, triggering his interest in the chemicals insects use in their defenses, mating, and communication. Ten years later, he became a professor of entomology at the University of …