Was an African American child prodigy, entomologist (zoologist) specializing in the study of termites, and a civil rights advocate.Margaret was nicknamed.the "Termite Lady" because of her extensive research on termites.Together with David Nickle,she identified a new species of termite called Neotermes luykxi.When Margaret earned her PhD., She became the first African American female entomologist and the third African American female zoologist.She was born Institute, West Virginia. Margaret started college at age fourteen and graduated with a bachelor of Science degree in Biology from West Virginia State University in 1943.Her Doctor of Philsophy degree was awarded by the University of Chicago in 1950,becoming only the third African American woman zoologist in the country.Her mentor was Alfred Edwards Emerson Jr.Her disseration was Difference in toleration of dying between species of termites (reticulitermes),with an article based on this work in Ecology,the journal of the Ecological Society of America.
She taught at Florida A&M University and at Howard University.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,Margaret was a research associate in the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History,Department of Entomology.Her primary area of study was termites of the Caribbean.
Her life research regarding termites included: the evolution of desiccation resistance in termites;various termites species' tolerance of high temperatures; defensive behavior in South America termites,including chemical defenses; termite ecology; species abundance in virgin and disturbed tropical rain forests;and behavioral ecology,taxonomy,and entomology.
Margaret was born in Institute,West Virginia.She was the fourth child of Rollins James,& Luella James.Institute was described as an-black town and a college town. As a result,there were many educated African-Americans in
Institute,West VIrginia.Her daddy,earned his bachelor's degree from West Virginia State University and his master's degree from Tuskegee Institute,
both historically African-American universities.With these degrees,he worked with George Washington Carver for a while.He 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 USDA.Margaret's mama Luella James,wanted to become an archaelogist her studies at West Virginia State were limited because of gender,she later dropped out of college.
From an early age Margaret was fascinated by zoology.Inspired by naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton's books,Two Little Savages and Rolf in the Woods,Margaret would explore the woods and barn near her childhood home in order to collect insects.When she was just 6 years old,Margaret 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.
Margaret impressive intellect and university level reading skill allowed her to skip two grades and graduated high school early.
At 14years old,Margaret graduated from West Virginia State University's Laboratory High School.
After her early graduation from High School,Margaret continued her education until she received a PhD.in zoology in 1950.In 1936 she started her first year at West Virginia State Univesity,a historically African-American University,on an academic scholarship. She faced a lot of difficulties as an undergraduated at West Virginia State University due to her gender.Margaret struggled to find a mentor in Biology,which was a
predominantly male-field.She eventually received mentorship from Toye Davis & Frederick Lehner,who were both professors at West Virginia University.Together Toye Davis & Frederick Lehner,helped Margaret find
opportunities in the field of Biology.In 1943,she gained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with minors in Physics and German.Later in 1943 Margaret enrolled in the University of Chicago graduating in 1950
with a PhD in zoology.Alfred E.Emerson, a termite expert,mentored her
at the University of Chicago.Alfred assisted Margaret in her studies and shielded her from racism; he did not let her do fieldwork because he throught women were irritating during scientific expeditions. Alfred helped Margaret develop and complete her dissertation,Differences in Toleration of Drying among Species of Termmites (Reticulitermes).
Margaret dissertation is well regarded in the field of entomology and is cited very often.She also wrote an article based on her dissertation in
Ecology,the journal of the Ecological Society of America.
When Margaret received her PhD., she became the third African-American female zoologist and the first African-American female entomologist.
She was employed as an assistant professor at Howard University in
Washington District of Columbia while her first husband,Bernard Strickland attended Howard University's Medical School. She later divorced Bernard and left Howard University because it did not treat its
women and men faculty members equally.She started working for Florida A&M University and while there married her second husband
Herbert L.Collins.They had two sons.She was appointed a full-time professor at Florida A&M,becoming chair of the Biology department in 1953.She often went on collecting trips in Evanglades National Park with her family.During her time in Florida,she was invited to guest lecture at
local predominantly white university on Biology and equality. The lecture
was cancelled due to a bomb threat.
Margaret also volunteered to drive people to work during the Florida A&m
Student Council's bus boycott.She was watched closely by the police and the FBI because of her actions against inequality.Her advocacy for equal
rights limited her scientific work from 1952-1957 and she did not publish any papers at this time.
Margaret applied for and received a grant from the National Science Foundation to study at the University of Minnesota for a year.FROM 1961-1962, Margaret was research associate at the Minnesota Agricultural
Experimental Station in St.Paul where studied North American termites.
In 1964,she moved back to Washington, D.c., and returned to Howard University as a ful-time professor.Margaret also took a tenured position
at Federal City College (now known as University of District of Columbia)
for ten years.additionally,she became president of the Entomological Society of Washington during her time in Washington, D.C., and a research associate at the Smithsonian Institute.
In 1968 with grants from the Smithsonian and the Graduate School of Howard University,Margaret led an expedition to Mexico.In 1972 she took a research trip to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona which was supported by the United States IBP Desert Biome Project and the National Science Foundation.In that same year,she was invited to the Clark Lectureship
at Scripps College; She lectured about her research experiences.
While involved in field research in Guyana,Margaret reopened the Alfred
Emerson research station in 1979.Also, in 1979 she orchestrated a symposium for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.The symposium's focus was on Science and the Question of Human Equality.After the symposium she published a book with the same title as the symposium's focus,Science and the Question of Human Equality.1979 was a very busy year for Margaret because she also started researching the defense mechanism of termites with Glen D.Prestwich.
From the late 1970s to 1996,she researched termites in the Caribbean
through the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History,Department of Entomology,especially the termites of Guyana.
During these expeditions,Margaret informed Guyana's military of
ways to build that would avoid termite damage and how to use termite
excretions to strenghthen building materials.Margaret contributed
greatly to the Smithsonian's termite collection.the materials she collected were curated as the Collins Collection at the National Museum of Natural History.
Margaret was still doing research when she died in the Cayman Islands.She died of heart failure,and , as she had hoped to,while on a field trip.
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