Alice Blanche Balfour

Alice Blanche Balfour (20 October 1850 – 12 June 1936) was a Scottish entomologist, naturalist, and scientific illustrator. She is recognized as one of the early pioneers in the field of genetics. Her collection of Scottish moths is preserved at National Museums Scotland.

Born at Whittingehame House in East Lothian, Balfour was the daughter of Lady Blanche Gascoyne-Cecil (1825–1872) and James Maitland Balfour. She spent much of her adult life in London, residing with her brother Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. Another brother, Francis Maitland Balfour, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society at the age of 27 for his work in embryology.

Balfour developed an interest in entomology early in life, and her scientific interests later expanded to include genetics. She was particularly interested in the inheritance of patterning in zebra skins. She maintained a correspondence with James Cossar Ewart, a Professor of Zoology at the University of Edinburgh, who was involved in research related to development and cross-breeding of horses and zebras. Their correspondence involved discussions on the possibility of breeding zebras with horses to address the impact of tsetse flies on equines in Africa.

In 1895, Balfour published a book titled "Twelve Hundred Miles in a Waggon," which described a journey she undertook. The trip included visits with H. W. Fitzwilliam, Albert Grey and his wife, and George Grey, Grey's cousin.

She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society of London on 7 June 1916. Balfour died on 12 June 1936 at Wittingehame House. Following her death, her collection comprising over 10,000 moths, along with her catalogues and notebooks, was donated to National Museums Scotland. This collection is presently used for research analyzing changes in the distribution of Scottish moths over time.

In 2023, Balfour's contributions to entomology were recognized during Women's History Month through an article published in The Scotsman magazine.