Lawrence Bruner, Entomology Papers

Lawrence Bruner was born in Pennsylvania, March 2, 1856. His family moved to Nebraska in his infancy and by age 10 they had settled in West Point, NE.  Bruner had almost no formal schooling outside of being home-schooled and a year of preparatory work at the University of Nebraska’s Latin School, before enrolling in Lincoln in 1897. A talented amateur, who published as early as 1876, Bruner caught the attention of the newly-formed United States Entomological Commission, who brought Bruner on as a temporary worker and then as a Special Field Agent in 1880.  In 1888, Bruner became an entomologist for the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station. There he instructed students and farmers about insect problems and techniques to combat them.  He was an instructor at Nebraska from 1890-1895, and a professor from 1895-1923. Bruner received his B.S. from the University of Nebraska while he was away in Argentina, serving as an “entomological expert” for the Argentine government who were struggling with locust.  This would be the first international advisory position taken by a faculty member.  In another, far-reaching “first”, Bruner authorized the use of a 140 acre plot of his own land in Holt County, NE as an experimental tree farm. This was not his most successful venture but it presaged efforts of tree- planting that culminated with The Halsey National Forest, in Thedford, NE.  He also represented Nebraska in the Panama-Pacific exposition in 1915.  Bruner passed away on Jan. 30, 1937.