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
Johnson Randall
4 islands of Réunion · Oct – Dec 1973
Johnson Randall across 4 islands of Réunion, October – December 1973565 specimens · 45 stops · 78 days · 215 km
Elwood Curtin Zimmerman
Kauaʻi and Maui · Jun – Aug 1937
Elwood Curtin Zimmerman in Kauaʻi and Maui, June – August 1937575 specimens · 25 stops · 78 days · 481 km
Jacques Florence
8 islands of French Polynesia · Jun – Aug 1988
Jacques Florence across 8 islands of French Polynesia, June – August 1988627 specimens · 15 stops · 60 days · 8,617 km
Harold St.John
4 islands · Oct 1936 – Feb 1937
Harold St.John across 4 islands, October 1936 – February 1937352 specimens · 20 stops · 95 days · 23,771 km
John W. Gillespie
3 islands of Fiji · Jan – Mar 1928
John W. Gillespie in Taveuni, Ovalau and Taviuni, January – March 1928492 specimens · 24 stops · 51 days · 4,541 km
Otto Degener
5 islands of the United States · Jun – Sep 1963
Otto Degener across 5 islands of the United States, June – September 1963301 specimens · 31 stops · 92 days · 1,016 km
Johnson Randall
6 islands of Chile · Jan – Mar 1969
Johnson Randall across 6 islands of Chile, January – March 1969503 specimens · 38 stops · 78 days · 8,647 km
S. Frank Kajewski
Guadalcanal and Malaita · Nov 1930 – Jun 1931
S. Frank Kajewski in Guadalcanal and Malaita, November 1930 – June 1931335 specimens · 38 stops · 214 days · 177 km
Otto Degener
Oʻahu · Oct 1935 – May 1936
Otto Degener in Oʻahu, October 1935 – May 1936271 specimens · 32 stops · 220 days · 1,020 km
K.R. Khan
Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island · Sep 1965 – Jul 1966
K.R. Khan in Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island, September 1965 – July 1966295 specimens · 38 stops · 307 days · 2,476 km
A.M. Albert Mead
7 islands of Japan · Jun – Jul 1949
A.M. Albert Mead across 7 islands of Japan, June – July 1949380 specimens · 18 stops · 42 days · 844 km
P. Chai
Borneo and Sarawak · Mar – May 1970
P. Chai in Borneo and Sarawak, March – May 1970306 specimens · 31 stops · 62 days · 3,319 km
Harold St.John
17 islands · Jun 1961 – Jan 1962
Harold St.John across 17 islands, June 1961 – January 1962294 specimens · 62 stops · 214 days · 4,975 km
Johnson Randall
10 islands · Jan – Apr 1973
Johnson Randall across 10 islands, January – April 1973499 specimens · 49 stops · 110 days · 10,184 km
Clarence H. Cooke Jr.
Maui and Molokaʻi · May – Jun 1915
Clarence H. Cooke Jr. in Maui and Molokaʻi, May – June 1915671 specimens · 5 stops · 20 days · 131 km
Betsy H. Gagne
11 islands · Jun – Sep 1977
Betsy H. Gagne across 11 islands, June – September 1977480 specimens · 22 stops · 84 days · 12,628 km
Otto Degener
6 islands · Jun 1950 – Jan 1951
Otto Degener across 6 islands, June 1950 – January 1951256 specimens · 41 stops · 236 days · 2,367 km
Jacques Florence
4 islands of French Polynesia · Oct 1983 – Mar 1984
Jacques Florence across 4 islands of French Polynesia, October 1983 – March 1984556 specimens · 12 stops · 133 days · 8,247 km
Alastair M. Adamson
Molokaʻi and Kauaʻi · May – Jul 1928
Alastair M. Adamson in Molokaʻi and Kauaʻi, May – July 1928468 specimens · 12 stops · 50 days · 321 km
Pele Expedition 1959
3 islands · Aug – Sep 1959
Pele Expedition 1959, August – September 1959572 specimens · 6 stops · 30 days · 770 km
Isa Degener
5 islands of the United States · Jun – Sep 1963
Isa Degener across 5 islands of the United States, June – September 1963281 specimens · 31 stops · 92 days · 1,019 km
Derral R. Herbst
4 islands · May – Jun 1984
Derral R. Herbst across 4 islands, May – June 1984431 specimens · 14 stops · 28 days
.jpg?width=480)
A.S. Hitchcock
6 islands of the United States · Jun – Oct 1916
A.S. Hitchcock across 6 islands of the United States, June – October 1916239 specimens · 51 stops · 142 days · 1,990 km
F. Raymond Fosberg
5 islands · Nov 1953 – Feb 1954
F. Raymond Fosberg across 5 islands, November 1953 – February 1954343 specimens · 50 stops · 83 days · 28,095 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.