Photo by Matthew Franklin Carter
John Morse
Lives in: Pendleton.
Claim to fame: Professor emeritus of entomology at Clemson University.
Fatherly love: Morse discovered the only caddisfly species known in North America that preys on freshwater snails. He named it Ceraclea joannae after his daughter, Joanna.
Family business: Morse’s uncle, Henry K. Townes, was a famous entomologist who first introduced him to the possibility of a career studying insects.
For perspective: Two-thirds of all species on earth are insects, and an estimated 14,000 species of insects live in South Carolina.
Who really runs planet Earth? Here’s a hint: They’re all around you, but you can hardly see them.
“Contrary to popular belief, insects rule the world,” says John Morse, professor emeritus of entomology at Clemson University.
Fortunately for humanity, Morse knows a lot about our tiny overlords, and he is one of the world’s foremost experts in freshwater entomology with a specific interest in caddisflies. Although he spends most days in the narrow, unassuming office he’s occupied since 1976, his life story seems plucked from a National Geographic documentary.
“I’ve taught in ten different countries,” Morse says, waving casually toward the maps and travel posters on his walls. He is the epitome of a Ph.D.-wielding professor while also warm and down-to-earth, despite the wealth of experience under his belt.
Morse credits his 1990 expedition to southern China, which covered 82 locations in two and a half months, for altering his life course. Morse literally wrote the book on aquatic insects of continental Asia and taught courses on the topic to riveted Chinese students.
“It was a life-changing, career-changing opportunity,” says Morse.
After teaching in China, he was sought by universities worldwide that were eager for Morse’s knowledge on aquatic insects and how they could indicate water pollution. He was asked to teach in Mongolia, Russia, Thailand and Indonesia, among others.
But why all the hubbub about bugs?
“They are our greatest enemies and our greatest benefactors,” Morse says. “If we learn their names and a little something about them, we can be much more comfortable. Look at them under a microscope. They are incredibly beautiful and extremely complex.”