May Belle Hutson Chitwood

May Belle Hutson Chitwood (September 17, 1908 – September 19, 1994) was an American author and zoologist at the Agricultural Research Service, curator of the National Parasite Collection, and director of the primate parasite registry at University of California, Davis. Chitwood specialized in the morphology of nematodes early in the research of this aspect of the species, and was considered a world authority. She published over 50 research papers about nematology, helminthology, and zoology.

Early life and family Chitwood was born in Lubbock, Texas on 17 September 1908. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1958, and received an honorary doctorate of science from Northern Michigan University in 1977. They had two children. She divorced from Benjamin in 1952. They went on to write follow up volumes in 1938, 1940, and 1941 and reprinted in 1974.

After her marriage ended, Chitwood worked as a zoologist in the Agriculture Department for 20 years, working on parasite classification and at the research center in Beltsville in the distribution unit, first as a technician and later as a Senior Scientist. She worked with Allen McIntosh, Frank Douvers, and Ralph Lichtenfels. She curated the United States National Parasite Collection. Chitwood M, Lichtenfels JR. Identification of parasitic metazoa in tissue sections. Exp Parasitol. 1972 Dec. 32(3) pp. 407–519.

Death Chitwood died in her daughter's home in Nichols, Iowa from Alzheimer's disease.