Journeys
The expeditions, reassembled
Every dated label is a diary entry. Read a collector’s labels in order and the voyage comes back: the islands in sequence, the days at each, the specimens from every stop. 1,047 journeys so far, 1879 to 2026, 193,559 specimens between them.
399 collectors and expeditions17,451 days in the field3,803,185 km between stops134,517 photographed specimens
1,047 journeys match
A.J. Bernatowicz
21 islands · Feb – Sep 1949
A.J. Bernatowicz across 21 islands, February – September 1949593 specimens · 106 stops · 209 days
Seymour H. Sohmer
Sri Lanka and Oʻahu · Oct – Dec 1975
Seymour H. Sohmer in Sri Lanka and Oʻahu, October – December 1975936 specimens · 26 stops · 44 days
Otto Degener
5 islands of the United States · Mar – Aug 1926
Otto Degener across 5 islands of the United States, March – August 1926607 specimens · 71 stops · 177 days · 3,068 km
A.A. Heller
3 islands of the United States · Mar – Nov 1895
A.A. Heller in Kauaʻi, Oʻahu and Maui, March – November 1895602 specimens · 77 stops · 257 days · 2,287 km
Derral R. Herbst
7 islands of the United States · Jan – Sep 1968
Derral R. Herbst across 7 islands of the United States, January – September 1968615 specimens · 67 stops · 243 days · 5,686 km
Derral R. Herbst
12 islands · Dec 1971 – Aug 1972
Derral R. Herbst across 12 islands, December 1971 – August 1972634 specimens · 53 stops · 263 days · 25,096 km



Ditlev Due Thaanum
10 islands of the United States · May – Aug 1923
Ditlev Due Thaanum across 10 islands of the United States, May – August 1923918 specimens · 15 stops · 96 days · 11,766 km


Yoshio KondoKay Kondo
9 islands · May – Jul 1952
Yoshio KondoKay Kondo across 9 islands, May – July 1952877 specimens · 23 stops · 74 days · 18,027 km
Otto Degener
5 islands of the United States · Jun – Oct 1927
Otto Degener across 5 islands of the United States, June – October 1927581 specimens · 60 stops · 136 days · 1,266 km
Maxwell S. Doty
16 islands · Aug – Dec 1971
Maxwell S. Doty across 16 islands, August – December 1971737 specimens · 34 stops · 101 days · 25,154 km
Otto Degener
5 islands of the United States · Dec 1951 – Apr 1952
Otto Degener across 5 islands of the United States, December 1951 – April 1952648 specimens · 45 stops · 108 days · 1,141 km

Harold St.John
5 islands · Sep 1930 – May 1931
Harold St.John across 5 islands, September 1930 – May 1931545 specimens · 46 stops · 258 days · 10,194 km



John Colburn Bridwell
Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island · Jan – Aug 1917
John Colburn Bridwell in Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island, January – August 1917831 specimens · 28 stops · 193 days · 1,209 km

Harold St.John
9 islands · Jun – Nov 1938
Harold St.John across 9 islands, June – November 19381,315 specimens · 9 stops · 172 days · 5,917 km
Seymour H. Sohmer
Sri Lanka and Pahang · Sep – Dec 1973
Seymour H. Sohmer in Sri Lanka and Pahang, September – December 1973672 specimens · 28 stops · 94 days
Gerrit Parmele Wilder
3 islands of the United States · Jul 1930 – Jun 1931
Gerrit Parmele Wilder in Oʻahu, Laysan and Molokaʻi, July 1930 – June 1931435 specimens · 74 stops · 343 days · 5,041 km
F. Raymond Fosberg
21 islands · Nov 1951 – Apr 1952
F. Raymond Fosberg across 21 islands, November 1951 – April 1952672 specimens · 57 stops · 145 days · 13,644 km



Donald Anderson
Hawaiʻi Island and Oʻahu · 7–31 Dec 1937
Donald Anderson in Hawaiʻi Island and Oʻahu, 7–31 December 19371,115 specimens · 8 stops · 25 days · 391 km
Otto Degener
6 islands of the United States · Apr – Sep 1949
Otto Degener across 6 islands of the United States, April – September 1949517 specimens · 50 stops · 133 days · 1,742 km
Steven Perlman
6 islands of the United States · Jan 1987 – Jan 1988
Steven Perlman across 6 islands of the United States, January 1987 – January 1988387 specimens · 89 stops · 373 days · 2,461 km
Martin L. Grant
3 islands · Jul – Oct 1934
Martin L. Grant in Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island and Moorea, July – October 1934572 specimens · 31 stops · 121 days · 9,586 km
K. Shultz
9 islands · Sep – Oct 2002
K. Shultz across 9 islands, September – October 20021,025 specimens · 13 stops · 25 days · 2,876 km
K.A. Peyton
9 islands · Sep – Oct 2002
K.A. Peyton across 9 islands, September – October 2002979 specimens · 13 stops · 25 days · 2,876 km
Ruth D. Svihla
4 islands of the United States · Dec 1955 – Mar 1956
Ruth D. Svihla across 4 islands of the United States, December 1955 – March 1956745 specimens · 28 stops · 82 days · 1,225 km
How a journey is found
Every specimen with a full date and a known collector is a diary entry. The days are read in order; a gap of more than three weeks ends one journey and starts the next. Days spent where a collector lived most of their life are home, not travel, and are left out.
A journey needs at least five days, forty specimens and two places. Within it, a run of days spent within about ten kilometres is one stop; the stop’s point is the middle of the labels that carry coordinates, or the island’s centre when none do.
Companions are the people whose own labels put them in the same place on the same days. Staff can name a journey, write about it and feature it; everything else here is read straight off the specimens, and is rebuilt as the records improve.
