Florence Wells Slater

Mary Florence Wells Slater was born in Salisbury, North Carolina on October 16, 1864. Her father was James Alexander Slater. While an undergraduate student, she studied and worked under John Henry Comstock. While working with Comstock in 1899, she reported in an article titled The Egg-Carrying Habit of Zaitha that male Zaitha flumineum carry eggs and that the females are "obliged to capture the male in order to deposit the eggs", corrected an error made by Comstock that had been published in American textbooks. She also wrote that "the male chafes under the burden" of carrying the eggs and "if attacked, he meekly receives the blows, seemingly preferring death.. to the indignity of carrying and caring for the eggs." Slater graduated from Cornell with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1900. Upon graduating, Slater moved to New York City, teaching science in city public schools, most notably Washington Irving High School. == References ==