Jane Wright

Jane Wright (born 1954 in Ontario, Canada) is an entomologist who discovered the dung beetle Neochara wrightee (named after her) while working for the Entomology division of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) researching predatory dung beetles in Africa. Wright earned her Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree from Queen’s University, Canada in 1976. She earned her Masters of Science degree in 1978 from the University of Guelph, Canada while researching the biology of lady beetles. She went on to earn her doctorate in 1984 from the University of California, Berkeley, US while researching the biology of parasitic wasps. From 1984 to 1998 Wright worked on biological control for CSIRO researching dung breeding flies in South Africa. From 1997 to 2005 she was the head of CSIRO’s Stored Grain Research Laboratory (SGRL). In 1998 Wright moved to Canberra, Australia continuing her work for the entomology division of CSIRO, commercializing fumigant technology and managing operations. Wright retired in 2009 and has been an Honorary Fellow at CSIRO working on a project to introduce more dung beetles to Australia. Early life and education