John Nietner born Johannes Werner Theodor Nietner (19 May 1828 - 21 February 1874) was a Prussian-born naturalist chiefly interested in botany and entomology. Born in Potsdam, he became a naturalized British citizen[1] and owned a coffee plantation in Ceylon. During his stay in Ceylon from 1851 to 1874 he collected and described numerous insect species from the island. He also sent specimens for study by experts in Europe and many species such as Cethosia nietneri were named after him by others.[2] Interested in insect pests, he wrote a booklet on the pests of coffee in 1861.