[1] Augustus Grote came to New York at age 7, one year after his parents had moved there from England, and spent his youth on Staten Island where his father had purchased a farm in New Dorp.

[6][7] Grote's interest in entomology, and moths in particular, began at a young age as he explored the natural areas around his home on Staten Island with Graef and Tepper.

One favorite collecting spot was a vegetable garden, where now is the junction of Flatbush Ave. and Fulton St. Fort Greene Hill, now Washington Park, was another nice wild place.

Occasionally we took long trips to East New York, Bay Ridge and Parkville, as well as the many intervening unpopulated localities.The entomological interest of the three boys was nurtured by John Ackhurst.

[1][9] An economic downturn in 1857 resulted in significant financial distress for the family and prevented Augustus' planned attendance at Harvard University.

[1] Aside from his natural history publications, Grote wrote two books on religious themes: 'The New Infidelity' and 'Genesis I,II': An Essay on the Biblical Narrative of Creation'.

[1][11] Grote had earlier been disappointed he had not been selected to serve on the commission itself, and attributed this perceived oversight to the "adverse influence of Dr. Riley, and for many years he took every opportunity of criticizing in vehement language the work of this distinguished Entomologist.

[2] Shortly after the death of his father, Grote moved back to Staten Island in 1880, taking up residence in New Brighton where he entertained friends such as C.H.

[12] He published many articles, primarily on North American Lepidoptera, in the Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural History, The Canadian Entomologist, and numerous other journals.