Vitae Kite
Vitae Arminta Kite | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 21, 1867 |
| Died | February 13, 1940 (aged 72) |
| Other names | Vitae Arminta Powers |
| Occupation(s) | Homemaker Entomologist |
| Known for | recording insects in Missouri |
| Notable work | A Catalogue of Ozark butterflies, Lake Taneycomo Region, Missouri |
Vitae Kite (May 21, 1867 – February 13, 1940) was an American entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera.
Biography
Kite was born Vitae Arminta Powers at Neosho, Newton County, Missouri, on May 21, 1867.[1][2] Kite's parents were Eli Powers (1817–1875), a grocer, and Angeline Matilda Powers (née Wormington, later Jackson, 1835–1909).[2] Kite's father, Eli, died in 1875 when she was seven years old,[3] and her mother, Angeline, remarried to Robert William Jackson (1829–1912).[4] Kite lived with her mother and stepfather for a period in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.[4]
Kite married Robert B. Kite (1857–1943), a real estate owner, in 1883 when she was 16 years old.[5] The couple had four children[6] and remained married until Vitae Kite died on February 13, 1940.[1]
In 1906 the Kites constructed a brick-built apartment building now known as the Historic Robert and Vitae Kite Apartment Building in Springfield, Missouri, which became their home until 1921.[7][8] In 2004 the Kite Building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[8]
Entomology and other natural history work
Kite began entomological work later in her life:[9] She was known for recording Lepidoptera occurrence data in her home state, Missouri. Kite published "A Catalogue of Ozark butterflies, Lake Taneycomo Region, Missouri" in the February 1934 Issue of Entomological News.[10] Fifteen years later, in 1949, although some species were still subject to confirmation, Kite's list was then the only published list for butterflies from Southern Missouri.[11]
Kite was posthumously credited with contributing Trichoptera data to Herbert Holdsworth Ross (1908–1978) of the Illinois Natural History Survey, which included Kite collecting the Type material for the species Neotrichia kitae which was named in her honour by Ross in 1941.[12][13] Kite also collected the Holotype material of Oecetis nocturna at Hollister in 1938, a species which was described by Ross in 1966.[14]
Kite contributed an ornithological observation to the Journal Bird Lore in 1925, regarding a fearless tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) which had landed on her head and gathered her hair as nesting material.[15]
After her death, Kite's personal collection of around 10,000 butterflies containing local and exotic specimens was donated to the School of the Ozarks.[11][9]
References
- ^ a b "Missouri Digital Heritage: Missouri Death Certificates, 1910–1974: [death certificate of Vitar A. Kite, February 1940 [=Vitae A. Kite]]" (PDF). Missouri Digital Heritage.
- ^ a b "1870 United States Federal Census for Vida A Powers [=Vitae A Powers]: Missouri: Newton: Neosho". ancestry.co.uk.
- ^ "Eli Powers in the Missouri, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1766–1988: Probate Date: 26 April 1875 [inferred death year 1875]". ancestry.co.uk.
- ^ a b "1880 United States Federal Census for Vitae Powers: Arkansas: Carroll: Eureka Springs: 025". ancestry.co.uk.
- ^ "Vitae A Powers in the Arkansas, U.S., County Marriages Index, 1837–1957 [marriage of Vitae A Powers and Robert B Kite at Benton, Arkansas, 17 September 1883]". ancestry.co.uk.
- ^ "Vital Kite [=Vitae Kite] in the 1900 United States Federal Census [at Monett, Barry, Missouri]". ancestry.co.uk.
- ^ "1910 United States Federal Census for Vitae Kite: Missouri: Greene: Springfield Ward 2: District 0026". ancestry.co.uk.
- ^ a b "Missouri State Parks: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Kite Apartment Building at 769–771 South Avenue in Springfield, Greene County,. Missouri" (PDF). Missouri State Parks.
- ^ a b Meiners, Edwin P (April 1941). "Obituary: Mrs Vitae Kite". Entomological News. LII (4): 120 – via archive.org.
- ^ Kite, Vitae. "A Calendar of Ozark butterflies, Lake Taneycomo Region, Missouri". Entomological News. February 1934 (45): 36–39.
- ^ a b Meiners, Edwin P. "History of Missouri Lepidopterology" (PDF). The Lepidopterists' News: The Monthly Newsletter of the Lepidopterists' Society. III (4–5 (April–May 1949)): 52 – via Yale University.
- ^ Ross, Herbert H (1941). "Descriptions and Records of North American Trichoptera". Transactions of the American Entomological Society. LXVII: 36, 48, 60–61 – via archive.org.
- ^ "Neotrichia kitae Ross, 1941". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
- ^ Ross, Herbert H (1966). "Two New Species of Oecetis Occuring [sic] in Eastern North America" (PDF). Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science: 11–13 – via Illinois State Academy of Science.
- ^ Kite, Vitae (1925). "Notes from Field and Study: A Tufted Titmouse Goes Wool-gathering". Bird-Lore. XXVII (3 (May–June 1925)): 180–181 – via archive.org.