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

Elwood Curtin Zimmerman

Kauaʻi and Maui · Jun – Aug 1937

Elwood Curtin Zimmerman in Kauaʻi and Maui, June – August 1937

575 specimens · 25 stops · 78 days · 481 km

Harold St.John

4 islands · Oct 1936 – Feb 1937

Harold St.John across 4 islands, October 1936 – February 1937

352 specimens · 20 stops · 95 days · 23,771 km

Otto Degener

5 islands of the United States · Jun – Sep 1963

Otto Degener across 5 islands of the United States, June – September 1963

301 specimens · 31 stops · 92 days · 1,016 km

Clarence H. Cooke Jr.

Maui and Molokaʻi · May – Jun 1915

Clarence H. Cooke Jr. in Maui and Molokaʻi, May – June 1915

671 specimens · 5 stops · 20 days · 131 km

Otto Degener

6 islands · Jun 1950 – Jan 1951

Otto Degener across 6 islands, June 1950 – January 1951

256 specimens · 41 stops · 236 days · 2,367 km

Isa Degener

5 islands of the United States · Jun – Sep 1963

Isa Degener across 5 islands of the United States, June – September 1963

281 specimens · 31 stops · 92 days · 1,019 km

A.S. Hitchcock

6 islands of the United States · Jun – Oct 1916

A.S. Hitchcock across 6 islands of the United States, June – October 1916

239 specimens · 51 stops · 142 days · 1,990 km

Pele Expedition 1963

Oʻahu and Maui · Feb – May 1963

Pele Expedition 1963, February – May 1963

327 specimens · 17 stops · 99 days · 1,151 km

Yoshio KondoKay Kondo

3 islands · Jul – Aug 1946

Yoshio KondoKay Kondo in Maui, Hawaiʻi Island and Chichi-Jima, July – August 1946

326 specimens · 23 stops · 54 days · 465 km

Clarence H. Cooke Jr.

4 islands of the United States · Jan – Mar 1913

Clarence H. Cooke Jr. across 4 islands of the United States, January – March 1913

422 specimens · 10 stops · 45 days · 815 km

H.H. Iltis

4 islands of the United States · Jun – Aug 1967

H.H. Iltis across 4 islands of the United States, June – August 1967

263 specimens · 40 stops · 74 days · 2,290 km

A.L.M. Mitchell

Maui and Oʻahu · Jul – Sep 1945

A.L.M. Mitchell in Maui and Oʻahu, July – September 1945

333 specimens · 17 stops · 63 days · 423 km

Warren L. Wagner Jr.

5 islands of the United States · Feb – Apr 1988

Warren L. Wagner Jr. across 5 islands of the United States, February – April 1988

306 specimens · 22 stops · 64 days · 933 km

S. Carlquist

14 islands · Jun – Oct 1966

S. Carlquist across 14 islands, June – October 1966

208 specimens · 55 stops · 112 days · 6,722 km

Paul K. Higashino

Hawaiʻi Island and Maui · Jun – Aug 1977

Paul K. Higashino in Hawaiʻi Island and Maui, June – August 1977

290 specimens · 18 stops · 83 days · 260 km

Charles N. Forbes

Maui and Oʻahu · Nov – Dec 1919

Charles N. Forbes in Maui and Oʻahu, November – December 1919

310 specimens · 20 stops · 39 days · 614 km

Joseph F. Rock

5 islands of the United States · Mar – May 1910

Joseph F. Rock across 5 islands of the United States, March – May 1910

361 specimens · 11 stops · 68 days · 120 km

Edward Yataro Hosaka

4 islands · Jun – Sep 1936

Edward Yataro Hosaka across 4 islands, June – September 1936

232 specimens · 37 stops · 84 days · 4 km

Harold St.John

6 islands · Nov 1955 – Jan 1956

Harold St.John across 6 islands, November 1955 – January 1956

293 specimens · 22 stops · 65 days · 13,814 km

Otto Degener

3 islands · Feb – Sep 1959

Otto Degener in Maui, Oʻahu and Molokaʻi, February – September 1959

214 specimens · 48 stops · 242 days · 2,169 km

Derral R. Herbst

3 islands · Mar – Jun 1983

Derral R. Herbst in Guam, Oʻahu and Maui, March – June 1983

435 specimens · 21 stops · 80 days · 24,826 km

Elbert L. Little Jr.

6 islands of the United States · Aug – Sep 1976

Elbert L. Little Jr. across 6 islands of the United States, August – September 1976

271 specimens · 23 stops · 52 days · 1,816 km

Joseph F. Rock

3 islands of the United States · Apr – Aug 1911

Joseph F. Rock in Maui, Hawaiʻi Island and Oʻahu, April – August 1911

297 specimens · 13 stops · 123 days · 1,153 km

Alan Holt

Maui and Molokaʻi · May – Aug 1980

Alan Holt in Maui and Molokaʻi, May – August 1980

302 specimens · 13 stops · 104 days · 433 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.