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
J.S. Burley
Sumatra · Nov – Dec 1988
J.S. Burley in Sumatra, November – December 198864 specimens · 17 stops · 34 days · 1,515 km
Whitney Expedition
12 islands of French Polynesia · Jun – Sep 1922
Whitney Expedition, June – September 192263 specimens · 16 stops · 86 days · 4,274 km
van Balgooy
Java and Bali · Sep – Oct 1985
van Balgooy in Java and Bali, September – October 198572 specimens · 10 stops · 37 days
D. Koroiveibau
Vanua Levu and Taveuni · Apr – May 1969
D. Koroiveibau in Vanua Levu and Taveuni, April – May 1969123 specimens · 6 stops · 16 days · 8,079 km
Wray Harris
Tau and Upolu · Jul – Aug 1937
Wray Harris in Tau and Upolu, July – August 1937127 specimens · 3 stops · 31 days · 512 km
W.T. Tsang
Hainan and Hainan Island · May – Jul 1929
W.T. Tsang in Hainan and Hainan Island, May – July 192950 specimens · 22 stops · 86 days
Arthur Greenwell
Hawaiʻi Island and Maui · Aug – Sep 1949
Arthur Greenwell in Hawaiʻi Island and Maui, August – September 194984 specimens · 10 stops · 17 days · 49 km
Robert L. Usinger
Guam · 2–27 Jun 1936
Robert L. Usinger in Guam, 2–27 June 1936112 specimens · 4 stops · 26 days · 51,067 km
Arthur Greenwell
Kauaʻi · 4–19 Jan 1952
Arthur Greenwell in Kauaʻi, 4–19 January 195281 specimens · 11 stops · 16 days
E.H. Walker
4 islands · Jan – Apr 1949
E.H. Walker across 4 islands, January – April 194952 specimens · 22 stops · 69 days · 29,915 km
Benjamin C. Stone
4 islands · Nov 1959 – Jan 1960
Benjamin C. Stone across 4 islands, November 1959 – January 196069 specimens · 11 stops · 48 days · 4,760 km
Walter Bayer
Oʻahu · Jan – Mar 1953
Walter Bayer in Oʻahu, January – March 1953106 specimens · 4 stops · 37 days · 228 km
Timothy Flynn
6 islands of the Cook Islands · 12–29 Mar 2002
Timothy Flynn across 6 islands of the Cook Islands, 12–29 March 2002110 specimens · 11 stops · 18 days · 2,765 km
E. Gibney
Oʻahu · Dec 1997 – Apr 1998
E. Gibney in Oʻahu, December 1997 – April 199843 specimens · 32 stops · 103 days · 755 km
Harold St.John
Lānaʻi and Oʻahu · Mar – May 1947
Harold St.John in Lānaʻi and Oʻahu, March – May 194777 specimens · 8 stops · 56 days · 365 km
R. Okano
Hawaiʻi Island and Oʻahu · Apr – May 2001
R. Okano in Hawaiʻi Island and Oʻahu, April – May 2001106 specimens · 5 stops · 21 days · 230 km
Otto Herman Swezey
Maui and Oʻahu · Aug – Sep 1929
Otto Herman Swezey in Maui and Oʻahu, August – September 1929163 specimens · 8 stops · 20 days · 223 km
Warren L. Wagner Jr.
3 islands of the United States · May – Jun 1985
Warren L. Wagner Jr. in Hawaiʻi Island, Kauaʻi and Oʻahu, May – June 198590 specimens · 6 stops · 32 days · 484 km
T.F. Stuessy
Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island · 20–30 May 1982
T.F. Stuessy in Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island, 20–30 May 1982111 specimens · 5 stops · 11 days · 467 km
Harold St.John
the United States · Jul – Sep 1924
Harold St.John in the United States, July – September 1924102 specimens · 13 stops · 50 days
Johnson Randall
Tutuila Island and Tutuila · Apr – May 1974
Johnson Randall in Tutuila Island and Tutuila, April – May 1974129 specimens · 14 stops · 21 days · 5,399 km
Benjamin C. Stone
3 islands · Mar – May 1956
Benjamin C. Stone in Oʻahu, Utirik Atoll and Pohnpei, March – May 195670 specimens · 9 stops · 71 days · 10,487 km
V Hugh M. Smith cruise 31
7 islands · Sep – Dec 1955
V Hugh M. Smith cruise 31, September – December 195583 specimens · 41 stops · 72 days · 17,808 km
K. Faccenda
Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island · Jun – Jul 2024
K. Faccenda in Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island, June – July 2024107 specimens · 8 stops · 24 days · 450 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.