Bishop MuseumExplore

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. 361 journeys so far, 1879 to 2025, 72,416 specimens between them.

168 collectors and expeditions7,126 days in the field852,575 km between stops51,600 photographed specimens

Laurence H. MacDaniels

12 islands · Oct 1926 – Jul 1927

Laurence H. MacDaniels across 12 islands, October 1926 – July 1927

2,144 specimens · 105 stops · 274 days · 40,135 km

Charles N. Forbes

5 islands of the United States · Jun – Dec 1917

Charles N. Forbes across 5 islands of the United States, June – December 1917

1,777 specimens · 29 stops · 163 days · 2,815 km

Charles N. Forbes

3 islands of the United States · Mar – Jul 1920

Charles N. Forbes in Maui, Oʻahu and Lānaʻi, March – July 1920

1,158 specimens · 58 stops · 128 days · 1,111 km

Joseph F. Rock

6 islands of the United States · Jun – Nov 1910

Joseph F. Rock across 6 islands of the United States, June – November 1910

1,111 specimens · 45 stops · 154 days · 2,685 km

Carl Skottsberg

4 islands of the United States · Apr – Nov 1922

Carl Skottsberg across 4 islands of the United States, April – November 1922

855 specimens · 82 stops · 217 days · 6,013 km

Wayne N. Takeuchi

11 islands · Oct 1987 – Sep 1988

Wayne N. Takeuchi across 11 islands, October 1987 – September 1988

947 specimens · 78 stops · 332 days · 6,730 km

Charles N. Forbes

6 islands of the United States · May – Jul 1915

Charles N. Forbes across 6 islands of the United States, May – July 1915

1,032 specimens · 49 stops · 79 days · 992 km

Otto Degener

5 islands of the United States · Jan – Aug 1928

Otto Degener across 5 islands of the United States, January – August 1928

748 specimens · 74 stops · 209 days · 1,716 km

F.L. Stevens

5 islands of the United States · May – Sep 1921

F.L. Stevens across 5 islands of the United States, May – September 1921

1,528 specimens · 60 stops · 153 days · 4,446 km

Harold St.John

Oʻahu and Maui · Sep 1929 – May 1930

Harold St.John in Oʻahu and Maui, September 1929 – May 1930

759 specimens · 51 stops · 230 days · 1,207 km

Charles N. Forbes

6 islands of the United States · Jun – Sep 1919

Charles N. Forbes across 6 islands of the United States, June – September 1919

1,048 specimens · 28 stops · 88 days · 422 km

Olof H. Selling

5 islands of the United States · Jun – Oct 1938

Olof H. Selling across 5 islands of the United States, June – October 1938

828 specimens · 44 stops · 106 days · 2,316 km

Harold St.John

7 islands · Sep 1932 – Jan 1933

Harold St.John across 7 islands, September 1932 – January 1933

929 specimens · 23 stops · 113 days · 8,847 km

Carl Skottsberg

6 islands of the United States · Jun – Oct 1938

Carl Skottsberg across 6 islands of the United States, June – October 1938

776 specimens · 47 stops · 106 days · 2,822 km

Lucy May Cranwell

6 islands of the United States · May – Oct 1938

Lucy May Cranwell across 6 islands of the United States, May – October 1938

734 specimens · 51 stops · 146 days · 3,245 km

Otto Degener

5 islands of the United States · Mar – Aug 1926

Otto Degener across 5 islands of the United States, March – August 1926

607 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 1895

602 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 1968

615 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 1972

634 specimens · 53 stops · 263 days · 25,096 km

Otto Degener

5 islands of the United States · Jun – Oct 1927

Otto Degener across 5 islands of the United States, June – October 1927

581 specimens · 60 stops · 136 days · 1,266 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 1952

648 specimens · 45 stops · 108 days · 1,141 km

Otto Degener

6 islands of the United States · Apr – Sep 1949

Otto Degener across 6 islands of the United States, April – September 1949

517 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 1988

387 specimens · 89 stops · 373 days · 2,461 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 1956

745 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.