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
Linda J. McCarthy
3 islands of Iceland · Sep – Oct 1985
Linda J. McCarthy in Jana Island, Half Moon Bay and Manifa, September – October 1985135 specimens · 5 stops · 33 days
C.T. Imada
Kauaʻi · 6–12 Apr 1988
C.T. Imada in Kauaʻi, 6–12 April 198876 specimens · 7 stops · 7 days
L. Shine
Myanmar · Aug – Sep 2013
L. Shine in Myanmar, August – September 201344 specimens · 16 stops · 26 days
Johnson Randall
6 islands · 1–15 Jun 1972
Johnson Randall across 6 islands, 1–15 June 1972112 specimens · 10 stops · 15 days



Peter Char P.C.
Oʻahu · Jul – Aug 1961
Peter Char P.C. in Oʻahu, July – August 196184 specimens · 3 stops · 43 days · 274 km
R.L. Stemmermann
5 islands · Nov – Dec 1979
R.L. Stemmermann across 5 islands, November – December 197978 specimens · 10 stops · 34 days · 5,655 km
G.T. Kraft
Luzon · 1–27 Mar 1968
G.T. Kraft in Luzon, 1–27 March 196858 specimens · 10 stops · 27 days
Warren L. Wagner Jr.
3 islands of the United States · Oct – Dec 1984
Warren L. Wagner Jr. in Maui, Oʻahu and Molokaʻi, October – December 198455 specimens · 7 stops · 57 days · 194 km
Lewis W. Bell
Enewetak Atoll and Kwajalein Atoll · Sep – Oct 1982
Lewis W. Bell in Enewetak Atoll and Kwajalein Atoll, September – October 1982166 specimens · 4 stops · 15 days · 895 km



James Lester Allen
Oʻahu · Jul – Aug 1948
James Lester Allen in Oʻahu, July – August 194855 specimens · 7 stops · 48 days · 420 km
John T. Buchholz
3 islands · Feb – Mar 1948
John T. Buchholz in New Caledonia, Isle Of Pines and New Guinea, February – March 194862 specimens · 13 stops · 51 days
L.B. Preskitt
Rose Atoll and Swains Island · 11–26 Feb 2002
L.B. Preskitt in Rose Atoll and Swains Island, 11–26 February 200272 specimens · 7 stops · 16 days · 1,020 km
Derral R. Herbst
3 islands of the United States · Dec 1969 – Feb 1970
Derral R. Herbst in Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island and Kauaʻi, December 1969 – February 197040 specimens · 15 stops · 84 days · 1,198 km
Maxwell S. Doty
3 islands · Feb – Jul 1982
Maxwell S. Doty in Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island and Mwand Peidak, February – July 198274 specimens · 9 stops · 147 days · 780 km
Jacques Florence
Bora Bora and Raiatea · Nov – Dec 1993
Jacques Florence in Bora Bora and Raiatea, November – December 1993205 specimens · 2 stops · 15 days · 46 km
F. Raymond Fosberg
4 islands · Nov – Dec 1963
F. Raymond Fosberg across 4 islands, November – December 196357 specimens · 9 stops · 20 days
Otto Degener
Oʻahu and Maui · Oct – Dec 1926
Otto Degener in Oʻahu and Maui, October – December 192641 specimens · 14 stops · 66 days · 610 km
Kenneth R. Wood
7 islands of Palau · Jun – Jul 2022
Kenneth R. Wood across 7 islands of Palau, June – July 202255 specimens · 10 stops · 18 days
H. Van Sickle
Oʻahu · Jan – Mar 1997
H. Van Sickle in Oʻahu, January – March 199752 specimens · 8 stops · 69 days · 717 km
A.M. Octavio
Oʻahu · Nov 1929 – Jan 1930
A.M. Octavio in Oʻahu, November 1929 – January 193041 specimens · 13 stops · 72 days · 720 km
Betsy H. Gagne
Maui and Kauaʻi · Apr – May 1991
Betsy H. Gagne in Maui and Kauaʻi, April – May 199148 specimens · 10 stops · 43 days · 706 km
J.R. Shevock
Kauaʻi · 17–24 Feb 2016
J.R. Shevock in Kauaʻi, 17–24 February 201699 specimens · 7 stops · 8 days
F. Raymond Fosberg
3 islands · Oct – Nov 1985
F. Raymond Fosberg in Bikini Atoll, Oʻahu and Kwajalein Atoll, October – November 198562 specimens · 13 stops · 24 days · 4,617 km
K. Shultz
Maui and Kauaʻi · Jan – Feb 2001
K. Shultz in Maui and Kauaʻi, January – February 2001189 specimens · 2 stops · 23 days · 338 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.
