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. 386 journeys so far, 1879 to 2025, 77,946 specimens between them.

181 collectors and expeditions7,426 days in the field917,728 km between stops56,956 photographed specimens

G.J. Spence

4 islands of the United States · Oct – Dec 1972

G.J. Spence across 4 islands of the United States, October – December 1972

55 specimens · 15 stops · 75 days · 1,315 km

Maxwell S. Doty

6 islands · Nov 1975 – Mar 1976

Maxwell S. Doty across 6 islands, November 1975 – March 1976

61 specimens · 13 stops · 131 days · 16,972 km

Maxwell S. Doty

4 islands of the United States · Oct – Dec 1955

Maxwell S. Doty across 4 islands of the United States, October – December 1955

78 specimens · 10 stops · 80 days · 1,239 km

Otto Degener

15 islands · May – Aug 1982

Otto Degener across 15 islands, May – August 1982

71 specimens · 26 stops · 89 days · 26,628 km

Paul K. Higashino

4 islands of the United States · Feb – Mar 1975

Paul K. Higashino across 4 islands of the United States, February – March 1975

86 specimens · 11 stops · 51 days · 498 km

Maxwell S. Doty

5 islands · Jan – May 1959

Maxwell S. Doty across 5 islands, January – May 1959

70 specimens · 17 stops · 110 days · 10,865 km

Derral R. Herbst

Kauaʻi and Maui · Nov 1972 – Feb 1973

Derral R. Herbst in Kauaʻi and Maui, November 1972 – February 1973

58 specimens · 11 stops · 79 days · 768 km

M.S. Kim

Maui and Oʻahu · Dec 2000 – Feb 2001

M.S. Kim in Maui and Oʻahu, December 2000 – February 2001

152 specimens · 4 stops · 45 days · 68 km

R.R. Whitten

Maui · 1–27 Aug 1929

R.R. Whitten in Maui, 1–27 August 1929

108 specimens · 7 stops · 27 days · 20 km

S.G. Weller

3 islands of the United States · Jun – Jul 1985

S.G. Weller in Hawaiʻi Island, Lānaʻi and Maui, June – July 1985

74 specimens · 10 stops · 14 days · 289 km

V Townsend Cromwell cruise 35

3 islands of the United States · Mar – Apr 1968

V Townsend Cromwell cruise 35, March – April 1968

165 specimens · 7 stops · 13 days · 583 km

C.E. Hartt

Maui and Hawaiʻi Island · 6–18 Aug 1933

C.E. Hartt in Maui and Hawaiʻi Island, 6–18 August 1933

93 specimens · 6 stops · 13 days · 136 km

Edward Yataro Hosaka

5 islands of the United States · Jul – Aug 1931

Edward Yataro Hosaka across 5 islands of the United States, July – August 1931

82 specimens · 6 stops · 24 days · 1,149 km

Thomas G. Lammers

4 islands of the United States · Jun – Jul 1985

Thomas G. Lammers across 4 islands of the United States, June – July 1985

63 specimens · 12 stops · 18 days · 636 km

R.C. Gardner

6 islands · Jan – Mar 1975

R.C. Gardner across 6 islands, January – March 1975

49 specimens · 15 stops · 54 days · 18,774 km

Isa Degener

14 islands · May – Aug 1982

Isa Degener across 14 islands, May – August 1982

66 specimens · 25 stops · 81 days · 26,529 km

Charles N. Forbes

3 islands of the United States · Oct 1910 – Jan 1911

Charles N. Forbes in Oʻahu, Maui and Kauaʻi, October 1910 – January 1911

48 specimens · 16 stops · 97 days · 1,320 km

Steven Perlman

4 islands of the United States · Apr – Jul 2012

Steven Perlman across 4 islands of the United States, April – July 2012

47 specimens · 14 stops · 84 days · 1,122 km

A.K. Sakai

3 islands of the United States · Jun – Jul 1985

A.K. Sakai in Hawaiʻi Island, Lānaʻi and Maui, June – July 1985

70 specimens · 9 stops · 14 days · 289 km

E.A. Bessey

Hawaiʻi Island and Maui · 1–29 Jun 1940

E.A. Bessey in Hawaiʻi Island and Maui, 1–29 June 1940

106 specimens · 13 stops · 29 days · 325 km

A.A. Tam

Maui and Molokaʻi · 1–30 Mar 1952

A.A. Tam in Maui and Molokaʻi, 1–30 March 1952

78 specimens · 6 stops · 30 days · 204 km

Steven Perlman

4 islands · Mar – May 2007

Steven Perlman across 4 islands, March – May 2007

77 specimens · 9 stops · 50 days · 5,611 km

F. Salucop

Maui · Jul – Aug 1939

F. Salucop in Maui, July – August 1939

58 specimens · 10 stops · 36 days · 189 km

R.L. Stemmermann

Hawaiʻi Island and Maui · Mar – Jul 1980

R.L. Stemmermann in Hawaiʻi Island and Maui, March – July 1980

41 specimens · 18 stops · 132 days · 766 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.