Biography
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Related Collections
Indexing Terms
Access
Acquisition Information
Preferred Citation
Publication Rights
Creator:
DeBach, Paul
Title: Paul H. DeBach Papers.
Date: 1921-1989
Extent:
16.9 linear feet
Abstract: The Paul H. DeBach Papers document University of California, Riverside professor
Paul DeBach's pioneering work in the field of integrated pest management and in the biological control
of insect pests and weeds. The collection spans the years 1921-1989 (bulk 1955-1980) and includes
research notes, background data, manuscripts, reprints, project plans, progress reports, and
correspondence related to DeBach's work in biological control of insects.
Phyiscal location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as
many are stored offsite.
Repository:
University of California, Davis. General Library. Department of
Special Collections.
Davis, California 95616-5292
Collection number: D-296
Language of Material: Collection materials in English
Biography
Paul H. DeBach (1914-1993) was an internationally recognized proponent of biological insect control. His
research on citrus pests was fundamental in preserving the continued health of California citrus crops
without reliance on chemical pesticides. DeBach was born in 1914 in Miles City, Montana and moved to
southern California at an early age. In 1933, he graduated from Fairfax High School in Hollywood,
California and thereafter began his university studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
After two years, he transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where in 1938, he received
his B.A. in entomology. During his graduate studies, DeBach worked with Harry Smith at the University of
California, Riverside's Citrus Experiment Station. In 1940, DeBach was awarded a Ph.D. in biological
control of insect pests.
From 1942-1942, DeBach worked as a junior entomologist with the U.S. Public Health Service. He then
worked for the United States Department of Agriculture from 1943-1945, researching control of the
white-fringed beetle. Following World War II, DeBach was appointed as an assistant entomologist at the
Citrus Experiment Station's Department of Biological Control, where he remained until his retirement in
1983. During this time, he developed the first formal courses offered in biological control at the
University of California, Riverside, conducted pioneering research on the biological control of citrus
pests, and revised and clarified the taxonomy of parasitic wasps.
Paul DeBach's primary research interests were control of citrus pests, particularly scale insects,
whiteflies, and mealybugs. He took part in extensive foreign exploration to seek out natural enemies of
California citrus pests, and successfully established many new species of predaceous beetles and wasps.
During the 1960s and 1970s, DeBach was an active participant in the development and work of the
International Biological Program's Integrated Pest Management Program. The United States Department of
Agriculture and nineteen universities participated in the program, which aimed to reduce reliance on
conventional pesticides.
In addition to his research and teaching, Paul DeBach was the principal editor of and author of several
chapters in Biological Control of Insect Pests and Weeds (1964). The book has since become the classic
text on biological control. DeBach also published Biological Control of Natural Enemies (1991), which he
wrote for a non-academic audience. Paul DeBach died at his home in Laguna, California in 1993.
Source: Gordh, Gordon, Huffaker, C.B., and Luck, Robert F. "Paul Hevener DeBach, Biological Control:
Riverside."
University of California: In Memoriam. Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1993.
Scope and Content
The Paul H. DeBach Papers span the years from 1921-1989, with the bulk of the material falling between
1955 and 1980. The collection contains material related to DeBach's work in integrated pest management
of insects, particularly of Red Scale and other citrus pests. Also present are drafts of articles and of
Biological Control of Insect Pests and Weeds; materials related to DeBach's teaching and departmental
involvement at the University of California, Riverside; and a small series of photographs. The bulk of
the photographs are illustrations from publications, but there are a few photographs of specimens and of individuals.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in five series: 1. Biographical Materials, 2. Correspondence, 3. Writings, 4.
Research Files, and 5. Photographs.
Related Collections
The following collections at Special Collections relate to the Paul H. DeBach Papers:
D-217, Entomological Society of America, Pacific Branch Archives, 1939-1986: Annual meeting and committee
minutes, annual reports, correspondence, financial documents, programs, and informational brochures.
D-98, Stanley F. Bailey Papers, 1906-1981: This collection contains correspondence with researchers and
growers regarding the ecological control of thrips and mosquitoes.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online
public access catalog.
DeBach, Paul--Archives.
Agricultural pests--Biological control.
Agricultural pests--Integrated control.
Aonidiella.
Aphytis.
Entomology.
University of California, Riverside.
Access
Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Paul H. DeBach to the University of California, Riverside Department of Entomology. Transferred
from the University of California, Riverside to Special Collections at the University of California,
Davis in 1989 and 1990.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Paul H. DeBach Papers, D-296, Department of Special Collections, General
Library, University of California, Davis.
Publication Rights
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17, of the U.S. Code. All requests for permission to
publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections, University of
California, Library, Davis as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.