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. 98 journeys so far, 1910 to 2025, 19,630 specimens between them.

54 collectors and expeditions2,028 days in the field193,131 km between stops15,760 photographed specimens

Steven Perlman

5 islands of the United States · Sep 2012 – Mar 2013

Steven Perlman across 5 islands of the United States, September 2012 – March 2013

132 specimens · 40 stops · 170 days · 3,709 km

Isa Degener

6 islands · Apr – Sep 1964

Isa Degener across 6 islands, April – September 1964

153 specimens · 55 stops · 146 days · 10,662 km

Joseph F. Rock

5 islands of the United States · Aug – Nov 1916

Joseph F. Rock across 5 islands of the United States, August – November 1916

205 specimens · 13 stops · 77 days · 1,762 km

Benjamin C. Stone

3 islands of the United States · Jun – Aug 1955

Benjamin C. Stone in Kauaʻi, Lānaʻi and Oʻahu, June – August 1955

209 specimens · 13 stops · 62 days · 841 km

Pele Expedition 1959

3 islands · Jul – Aug 1959

Pele Expedition 1959, July – August 1959

286 specimens · 6 stops · 33 days · 617 km

Glen W. Russ

Hawaiʻi Island and Lānaʻi · Jun – Oct 1927

Glen W. Russ in Hawaiʻi Island and Lānaʻi, June – October 1927

140 specimens · 26 stops · 123 days · 55 km

Robert L. Usinger

Lānaʻi and Kauaʻi · Nov 1935 – Jan 1936

Robert L. Usinger in Lānaʻi and Kauaʻi, November 1935 – January 1936

221 specimens · 10 stops · 53 days · 259 km

Steven Perlman

9 islands · Sep – Dec 2008

Steven Perlman across 9 islands, September – December 2008

122 specimens · 20 stops · 81 days · 10,371 km

Harold St.John

3 islands · 4–15 Apr 1938

Harold St.John in Lānaʻi, Maui and Rotuma, 4–15 April 1938

248 specimens · 6 stops · 12 days · 4,846 km

Yoshio KondoKay Kondo

Lānaʻi and Oʻahu · Feb – Apr 1961

Yoshio KondoKay Kondo in Lānaʻi and Oʻahu, February – April 1961

141 specimens · 11 stops · 50 days · 429 km

A.J. Eames

Lānaʻi and Oʻahu · Apr – May 1938

A.J. Eames in Lānaʻi and Oʻahu, April – May 1938

150 specimens · 7 stops · 31 days · 188 km

R.C. Gardner

6 islands of the United States · Jan – Feb 1974

R.C. Gardner across 6 islands of the United States, January – February 1974

89 specimens · 24 stops · 54 days · 1,081 km

Steven L. Montgomery

5 islands of the United States · May – Sep 1987

Steven L. Montgomery across 5 islands of the United States, May – September 1987

89 specimens · 15 stops · 102 days · 1,657 km

Noel Louis Hilmer Krauss

4 islands of the United States · Oct – Dec 1947

Noel Louis Hilmer Krauss across 4 islands of the United States, October – December 1947

188 specimens · 15 stops · 40 days · 52 km

Steven Perlman

10 islands · Dec 2007 – Feb 2008

Steven Perlman across 10 islands, December 2007 – February 2008

83 specimens · 18 stops · 53 days · 7,666 km

Otto Degener

Lānaʻi and Oʻahu · Jul – Aug 1957

Otto Degener in Lānaʻi and Oʻahu, July – August 1957

107 specimens · 9 stops · 52 days · 554 km

Steven Perlman

4 islands of the United States · May – Jul 2013

Steven Perlman across 4 islands of the United States, May – July 2013

75 specimens · 17 stops · 58 days · 1,476 km

Harold St.John

4 islands of the United States · Jun – Jul 1955

Harold St.John across 4 islands of the United States, June – July 1955

96 specimens · 11 stops · 34 days · 411 km

Leila Morrison

Maui and Lānaʻi · Apr – Jul 2025

Leila Morrison in Maui and Lānaʻi, April – July 2025

80 specimens · 12 stops · 79 days · 104 km

George F. Arnemann

4 islands · Jan – Feb 1947

George F. Arnemann across 4 islands, January – February 1947

145 specimens · 4 stops · 22 days · 256 km

Carl Skottsberg

6 islands of the United States · Jan – Apr 1948

Carl Skottsberg across 6 islands of the United States, January – April 1948

75 specimens · 25 stops · 88 days · 1,565 km

Edward Yataro Hosaka

3 islands of the United States · 12–26 Apr 1938

Edward Yataro Hosaka in Lānaʻi, Hawaiʻi Island and Maui, 12–26 April 1938

135 specimens · 5 stops · 15 days · 235 km

Robert Hobdy

Kauaʻi and Lānaʻi · Nov 1968 – Jan 1969

Robert Hobdy in Kauaʻi and Lānaʻi, November 1968 – January 1969

75 specimens · 15 stops · 69 days · 587 km

Derral R. Herbst

3 islands of the United States · Sep – Oct 1973

Derral R. Herbst in Lānaʻi, Oʻahu and Molokaʻi, September – October 1973

96 specimens · 9 stops · 30 days · 73 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.