John G. Stoffolano, Jr. (born December 31, 1939) is an American entomologist specializing in non-biting fly behavior, physiology, and veterinary issues of flies as vectors of pathogens.
Stoffolano was the first to discover the eye worm parasite (Thelazia) found in dairy cattle in the United States and published the paper with the nematologist MayBelle Chitwood. He was also the first to discover a new species of nematode (Heterotylenchus autumnalis, in the face fly, Musca autumnalis, now Perionychium autumnale), which was initially described by William Nickle of the USDA. He joined the faculty of the Department of Entomology at the University of Massachusetts in 1969 and was one of the first N.S.F. postdoctoral fellows, which he took with the insect sensory physiologist, Vincent Dethier. After Princeton for one year (1970–1971), he returned to the University of Massachusetts, where he has been since.
Early life and education
John Stoffolano was born on December 31, 1939, in Gloversville, New York, the son of John Stoffolano, Sr. and Elvenus Smith, originally of Nelliston, New York. Following graduation from Oneonta College, Stoffolano taught 8th grade English and Math for one half a year at Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville Consolidated School. From 1962 to 1964, he became one of three high school biology teachers at Oneonta High School. Stoffolano entered a master's degree program in entomology in the Department of Entomology, which was housed in Comstock Hall at Cornell University with George Matthysse, the world authority on ticks, and graduated in 1962. His thesis research was on the major introduced pest, the face fly, Musca autumnalis, an eye pest of cattle and horses in the U.S. He was the first to study the overwintering habit, or diapause, of these flies, during which time he discovered the Thelazia eye worm nematodes. Upon completing his M.S. degree, he entered a Ph.D. program in the Entomology Department at the University of Connecticut and graduated in 1970 under the supervision of Fred Streams. During his studies, he was mentored by neuroanatomist Norman Davis. Stoffolano joined the faculty at the University of Massachusetts in 1969 and took a sabbatical with Dethier at Princeton from 1970 to 1971.
Career
Stoffolano spent several sabbatical leaves in research laboratories in different countries and spent a sabbatical in London at the Pest Oversea Research Locust Laboratory, researching the feeding behavior of locusts with Reginald Chapman. During his studies of the fly crop, he became the first to show that the crop was more than just a storage organ for flies but was involved in many more important functions, such as serving as a vehicle for important pathogens of both humans and domestic animals and regulating blood sugar levels in flies. While at the University of Massachusetts, Stoffolano extended his research to understanding more about the behavior and blood feeding of the greenhead horsefly, Tabanus nigrovittatus, which is a constant nuisance along the Atlantic Coast. His extensive studies on this fly earned him the title Lord of the Flies, and he was featured in an article in Yankee Magazine (2013). With one of his students, they were the first to demonstrate that what was originally thought of as one species of greenhead was really two, which was based on egg-laying behavioral differences. In 1995, with a group of colleagues, they discovered a new hormone in flies, which was JHIII. His interest in fly anatomy resulted in the important discovery that the cuticular abdominal placques on certain adult Diptera were key to the evolution of specific dipterous groups.