Margaret James Strickland Collins (September 4, 1922 – April 27, 1996) was an African-American child prodigy, entomologist (zoologist) specializing in the study of termites, and passionate civil rights advocate. Collins was nicknamed the "Termite Lady" because of her extensive research on termites. Together with David Nickle, Collins identified a new species of termite called Neotermes luykxi. When Collins earned her PhD., she became the first African-American female entomologist and the third African-American female zoologist.
Life summary Margaret S. Collins was born in 1922 in Institute, West Virginia. She started college at the age of 14 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from West Virginia State University in 1943. Her Doctor of Philosophy degree was awarded by the University of Chicago in 1950, becoming only the third Black woman zoologist in the country. Her mentor was Alfred E. Emerson. Her dissertation was Difference in toleration of drying between species of termites (Reticulitermes), with an article based on this work in Ecology, the journal of the Ecological Society of America. Collins taught at Florida A&M University, Howard University, and the University of the District of Columbia. She saw herself primarily as a field scientist, and did extensive field work in North and South America, specializing in the insects of Guyana and Florida. From the late 1970s through 1996, Collins was a research associate in the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Department of Entomology. Her main area of study was termites of the Caribbean. Her life's research regarding termites included: the evolution of desiccation resistance in termites; various termite species' tolerance of high temperatures; defensive behavior in South American termites, including chemical defenses; termite ecology; species abundance in virgin and disturbed tropical rain forests; and behavioral ecology, taxonomy, and entomology. She was also an active civil rights advocate, receiving a bomb threat for planning to give a university talk on biology and equality, and being followed by the police and FBI when she was a volunteer driver during a bus boycott. Her activism limited her scientific work for a time: she had been publishing a scientific paper or two a year, but had no publications between 1952 and 1957. She led a 1979 AAAS symposium in Houston, later published as Science and the Question of Human Equality. Collins was still doing research when she died at age 73 on April 27, 1996, in the Cayman Islands. She died of heart failure, and, as she had hoped to, while on a field trip.
Early life Margaret S. Collins was born on September 4, 1922, in Institute, West Virginia, the fourth child of Rollins James and Luella Bolling James. Institute was described as an all-Black town and a college town. As a result, there were many educated Black people in Institute, West Virginia. Collins's father, Rollins James, earned his bachelor's degree from West Virginia State University and his master's degree from Tuskegee Institute, both historically Black universities. With these degrees, James worked with George Washington Carver for a while. James then taught Vocational Agriculture at West Virginia State, ran the poultry program at West Virginia State, taught at West Virginia State's laboratory high school, and was a county agent for the UDSA. Collins's mother, Luella James, wanted to become an archaeologist but her studies at West Virginia State were limited because of her gender; she later dropped out of college. From an early age Collins was fascinated by zoology. Inspired by naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton's books, Two Little Savages and Rolf in the Woods, Collins would explore the woods and barn near her childhood home in order to collect insects. When Collins was just six years old, she was recognized as a child prodigy; as a result of this achievement, she was given access to the book collections at West Virginia State University's Library. Collins's impressive intellect and university level reading skill allowed her to skip two grades and graduate high school early. At 14 years old, Collins graduated from West Virginia State University's Laboratory High School.
Education After her early graduation from West Virginia State College's Laboratory High School, Collins continued her education until she received a Ph.D. in zoology in 1950. In 1936 Collins started her first year at West Virginia State University, a historically Black university, on an academic scholarship. Collins faced many difficulties as an undergraduate at West Virginia State University due to her gender. She struggled to find a mentor in Biology, which was a male-dominated field. Collins eventually received mentorship from Toye Davis and Frederick Lehner, who were both professors at West Virginia State University. Together Davis and Lehner helped find Collins opportunities in the field of Biology. In 1943, Collins gained her Bachelor of Science degree in biology with minors in Physics and German. Later in 1943 Collins enrolled in the University of Chicago graduating in 1950 with a Ph.D. in zoology. Alfred E. Emerson, a termite expert, mentored Collins at the University of Chicago. Emerson assisted Collins in her studies and shielded her from racism, but he did not let her do fieldwork because he thought women were irritating during scientific expeditions. Emerson helped Collins develop and complete her dissertation, Differences in Toleration of Drying among Species of Termites (Reticulitermes). Collins's dissertation is well regarded in the field of entomology and is cited very often. Collins also wrote an article based on her dissertation in Ecology, the journal of the Ecological Society of America. When Collins received her PhD., she became the third African-American female zoologist and the first African-American female entomologist.
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