John Dennis Carthy

John Dennis Carthy (7 April 1923 – 13 March 1972) was a British zoologist and ethologist whose primary study subjects were the sensory systems and behaviour of invertebrates. He published 11 books and numerous scientific articles.

Life and career John D Carthy went to Bedford School, and received his undergraduate training at Christ’s College at the University of Cambridge. During WW2 he served in the Operational Research Section of the RAF Bomber Command, after which he returned to Cambridge, and completed first his undergraduate studies and subsequently obtained a PhD at Cambridge in 1950. He was a fellow of the Institute of Biology and a Secretary of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) and the Society for Experimental Biology and a council member of the Royal Entomological Society (vice presidency in 1962).

John Carthy was a prominent science communicator, with many appearances on popular radio and television programmes,

Books John D Carthy "Animal Navigation: how Animals Find their Way about" Allen & Unwin, London, 1956 John D Carthy "An Introduction to the Behaviour of Invertebrates" Allen & Unwin, London, 1958 John D Carthy "The World of Feeling" Phoenix House, London, 1960 John D Carthy & Charles Lionel Duddington (eds) "Viewpoints in Biology" Butterworths, London 1962 John D Carthy & Francis John Govier Ebling (eds) "The Natural History of Aggression" Academic Press, London, New York, 1964 John D Carthy "The Behaviour of Arthropods" W. H. Freeman, San Francisco, 1965 John D Carthy & Aaron E Klein "Animals and their ways; the science of animal behavior" Natural History Press, Garden City, 1965 John D Carthy "The Study of Behaviour" St Martins Press, New York, 1966 John D Carthy & G.E. Newell "Invertebrate Receptors" Academic Press, New York, 1968 John D Carthy & Don R Arthur "The Biological Effects of Oil Pollution on Littoral Communities: Proceedings of a Symposium Held at the Orielton Field Centre, Pembroke, Wales, on 17th, 18th and 19th February 1968", Field Studies Council, London, 1968. John D Carthy & Colin Threadgall "Animal Camouflage" McGraw Hill, New York, 1972.

Articles Odour trails of Acanthomyops fuliginosus. Nature, 166, 1950, p. 154; The orientation of two allied species of British ant. I. Visual direction finding in Acanthomyops niger. Behaviour, 3, 1951, pp. 275–303; Odour trail laying and following in Acanthomyops fuliginosus. Behaviour, 3, 1951, pp. 304–318; Do animals see polarized light? New Scientist, 10, 1961, pp. 660–662; Color vision in invertebrates. In: Symp. of the Inst. of Biology, No. 12 "Colour and Life", London 1964