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. 2,592 journeys so far, 1874 to 2026, 493,508 specimens between them.
1,114 collectors and expeditions42,779 days in the field8,765,933 km between stops330,332 photographed specimens
2,592 journeys
Pacific Entomological Survey
4 islands of French Polynesia · Feb – Apr 1931
Pacific Entomological Survey, February – April 1931378 specimens · 7 stops · 89 days · 322 km
Jean Maireau
3 islands · Jun – Jul 1934
Jean Maireau in Rapa, Karapo Rahi and Pitcairn Island, June – July 1934345 specimens · 20 stops · 55 days · 2,910 km
Charles N. Forbes
4 islands of the United States · Jun – Jul 1913
Charles N. Forbes across 4 islands of the United States, June – July 1913406 specimens · 8 stops · 38 days · 774 km
Harold St.John
7 islands · Dec 1946 – Feb 1947
Harold St.John across 7 islands, December 1946 – February 1947291 specimens · 17 stops · 67 days · 4,927 km
Otto Degener
6 islands · Dec 1968 – Feb 1969
Otto Degener across 6 islands, December 1968 – February 1969258 specimens · 29 stops · 52 days · 41,268 km
David Timmins Fullaway
4 islands of the United States · Feb – Mar 1930
David Timmins Fullaway across 4 islands of the United States, February – March 1930477 specimens · 5 stops · 42 days · 259 km
Hans George Hornbostel
Rota and Guam · Jul – Aug 1925
Hans George Hornbostel in Rota and Guam, July – August 1925626 specimens · 3 stops · 36 days · 33,878 km
Johnson Randall
10 islands · May – Jul 1975
Johnson Randall across 10 islands, May – July 1975457 specimens · 30 stops · 79 days · 14,699 km
Joseph F. Rock
3 islands of the United States · Apr – Aug 1911
Joseph F. Rock in Maui, Hawaiʻi Island and Oʻahu, April – August 1911297 specimens · 13 stops · 123 days · 1,153 km
Robert H. Cowie
3 islands · Apr – Jul 1998
Robert H. Cowie in Tau, Oʻahu and Ofu, April – July 1998500 specimens · 20 stops · 97 days · 8,441 km
A.M. Stokes
3 islands of French Polynesia · Jan – Apr 1921
A.M. Stokes in Rurutu, Rimatara and Raivavae, January – April 1921309 specimens · 23 stops · 80 days · 710 km
M.A. Evans
21 islands · Jun – Aug 1965
M.A. Evans across 21 islands, June – August 1965313 specimens · 36 stops · 62 days · 22,345 km
Alan Holt
Maui and Molokaʻi · May – Aug 1980
Alan Holt in Maui and Molokaʻi, May – August 1980302 specimens · 13 stops · 104 days · 433 km
Judson Linsley Gressitt
3 islands · Jun – Oct 1955
Judson Linsley Gressitt in New Guinea, Vanua Levu and New Britain, June – October 1955229 specimens · 62 stops · 128 days · 3,623 km
Paul K. Higashino
Hawaiʻi Island and Molokaʻi · Jun – Jul 1974
Paul K. Higashino in Hawaiʻi Island and Molokaʻi, June – July 1974290 specimens · 17 stops · 46 days · 517 km
A.J. Bernatowicz
6 islands · Dec 1961 – Apr 1962
A.J. Bernatowicz across 6 islands, December 1961 – April 1962229 specimens · 29 stops · 98 days
John W. Beardsley
Hawaiʻi Island · 13–30 Jun 1966
John W. Beardsley in Hawaiʻi Island, 13–30 June 1966715 specimens · 12 stops · 18 days
T.R. Herat
Hawaiʻi Island · Jun – Jul 1974
T.R. Herat in Hawaiʻi Island, June – July 1974290 specimens · 16 stops · 46 days · 75 km
Warren L. Wagner Jr.
3 islands of the United States · Dec 1983 – Mar 1984
Warren L. Wagner Jr. in Kauaʻi, Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island, December 1983 – March 1984262 specimens · 17 stops · 89 days · 1,887 km
Ernest H. Quayle
5 islands of French Polynesia · Sep – Nov 1921
Ernest H. Quayle across 5 islands of French Polynesia, September – November 1921271 specimens · 29 stops · 78 days · 4,525 km
H.A. Pilsbry
Kauaʻi · 13–20 Jul 1933
H.A. Pilsbry in Kauaʻi, 13–20 July 1933490 specimens · 7 stops · 8 days · 178 km
Clarence H. Cooke Jr.
Kauaʻi · 13–20 Jul 1933
Clarence H. Cooke Jr. in Kauaʻi, 13–20 July 1933490 specimens · 7 stops · 8 days · 178 km
Johnson Randall
8 islands of the Marshall Islands · Sep – Dec 1982
Johnson Randall across 8 islands of the Marshall Islands, September – December 1982435 specimens · 30 stops · 84 days · 895 km
F. Raymond Fosberg
6 islands · Jun – Aug 1981
F. Raymond Fosberg across 6 islands, June – August 1981350 specimens · 25 stops · 47 days · 39,992 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.