Thelma Perry

Thelma Jean Perry (April 30, 1941 – February 10, 1998) was an American microbiologist and mycologist who worked at the U.S. Forest Service. Her research focused on the study of symbiotic relationships between bark beetles and fungi, particularly those associated with the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) and other forest insects.

Early life and education Thelma Perry was born on April 30, 1941, in Birmingham, Alabama, to James H. and Inez Perry. She was one of eight children. She attended Holy Family High School in Birmingham. She later attended Xavier University of Louisiana. At age 37, she enrolled in Louisiana Christian University (then known as Louisiana College), a private Baptist college in Pineville, Louisiana, where she completed a Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 1978. Her formal education in mycology included one online course taught by Bryce Kendrick. They described the mycangium as a bilaterally symmetrical structure on the beetle's pronotum that appeared to maintain distinct fungal symbionts separately. Observations that fungal mycelium grew from the mycangia of dead beetles but not live ones led to hypotheses that beetle-produced secretions might influence the state of the fungal propagules. The apparent exclusion of certain fungal species from the mycangia also suggested potential antimicrobial properties of these secretions. This research contributed to subsequent studies on insect-fungus symbioses.

In 2021, a new fungal species, Entomocorticium perryae, was named in her honor by Araújo and colleagues, citing her role in the initial description of Dendroctonus frontalis mycangia and the first report of a basidiomycete from a scolytine mycangium.