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. 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

Marie Catherine Neal

3 islands of New Zealand · Aug 1925 – Jan 1926

Marie Catherine Neal in New Zealand, South Island and Dunedin, August 1925 – January 1926

1,025 specimens · 65 stops · 147 days · 99,863 km

Otto Degener

5 islands of Fiji · Nov 1940 – Jul 1941

Otto Degener across 5 islands of Fiji, November 1940 – July 1941

1,263 specimens · 59 stops · 237 days · 15,888 km

Johnson Randall

25 islands · Mar – Dec 1968

Johnson Randall across 25 islands, March – December 1968

1,676 specimens · 99 stops · 261 days · 106,577 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

Dean B. Cannoy

23 islands · Dec 1970 – May 1971

Dean B. Cannoy across 23 islands, December 1970 – May 1971

1,582 specimens · 82 stops · 159 days · 7,718 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

Truman George Yuncker

11 islands of Tonga · Feb – Jun 1953

Truman George Yuncker across 11 islands of Tonga, February – June 1953

1,148 specimens · 59 stops · 103 days

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

Johnson Randall

35 islands · Feb – Sep 1977

Johnson Randall across 35 islands, February – September 1977

1,178 specimens · 101 stops · 216 days · 16,972 km

Pacific Entomological Survey

6 islands of French Polynesia · May 1930 – Jan 1931

Pacific Entomological Survey, May 1930 – January 1931

797 specimens · 34 stops · 228 days · 8,102 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

P.S. Vroom

21 islands · Aug – Sep 2003

P.S. Vroom across 21 islands, August – September 2003

1,971 specimens · 23 stops · 37 days · 31,356 km

Leonard J. Brass

13 islands · Jul 1932 – Jan 1933

Leonard J. Brass across 13 islands, July 1932 – January 1933

816 specimens · 69 stops · 206 days · 10,057 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

Elwood C. Zimmerman

12 islands · May – Oct 1934

Elwood C. Zimmerman across 12 islands, May – October 1934

1,001 specimens · 14 stops · 140 days · 5,332 km

Yoshio KondoKay Kondo

Oʻahu and Sulu Island · Nov 1952 – Jun 1953

Yoshio KondoKay Kondo in Oʻahu and Sulu Island, November 1952 – June 1953

749 specimens · 29 stops · 217 days · 1,689 km

Ted E. should Be D. Dranga

7 islands · Feb – Jun 1926

Ted E. should Be D. Dranga across 7 islands, February – June 1926

1,074 specimens · 11 stops · 138 days · 19,175 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.