Elizabeth A. McMahan

{{short description|American entomologist (1924–2009)}}

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Elizabeth A. McMahan

| image =

| birth_date = {{birth-date|May 5, 1924}}

| birth_place = Pino, North Carolina, US

| death_date = {{death year and age|2009|1924}}

| death_place = Chapel Hill, North Carolina, US

| fields = Entomology, psychology, children's literature

| workplaces = University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, College of Agriculture, Port Antonio, Jamaica

| alma_mater = Duke University, University of Hawaiʻi

| thesis_title =

| thesis_year = 1960

| known_for = Study of termites and assassin bugs{{cite journal |author=Christine A. Nalepa |title=Elizabeth Anne McMahan: In Memoriam (1924–2009) |year=2010 |journal=Sociobiology |volume=56 |pages=1–6}}

| awards = Award of Excellence, North Carolina Entomological Society

}}

Elizabeth Anne McMahan (1924{{mdash}}2009), known as Betty, was a Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for 26 years.{{cite book |title=American Men and Women of Science: A biographical Directory of Today's Leaders in Physical, Biological, and Related Sciences |edition=21st | publisher=EBSCO |page=109}} She had a distinguished and varied career as an entomologist, psychologist, cartoonist, writer of children's books, and world traveler.{{cite web |title=Guide to Elizabeth A. McMahan Entomological Research Films and Manuscripts 1983–2010 (NCSU Libraries) |url=http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/mc00359/}}{{cite web |title=Preliminary Guide to the Elizabeth A. McMahan Papers, 1926–2010 and Undated (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University) |url=http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/findingaids/mcmahanelizabeth/}} She worked in the parapsychology lab of J. B. Rhine at Duke for several years, but left for graduate work in entomology at the University of Hawaiʻi and subsequent research on the feeding, foraging, and social behavior of termites and some of their associate and predator species. Her field work in entomology took her to Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Australia, and India.{{cite book |title=Cammie Turns Ten: About the Author (Amazon books) |isbn=0759688613 |last1=McMahan |first1=Elizabeth A. |date=July 2002 |publisher=E.A. McMahan }} Two insect species were named for her: the assassin bug Salyavata mcmahanae and the beetle Neophilotermes mcmahanae.{{cite web |title=Elizabeth McMahan '46, A.M. '48: Making a name in entomology|url=http://dukemagazine.duke.edu/article/elizabeth-mcmahan-46-am-48-making-a-name-in-entomology| author=Eric Larson|year=2009}}