Elwood Zimmerman
Encyclopedia
Elwood Curtin Zimmerman was an American entomologist best known for his two multivolume series: Insects of Hawaii published by the University of Hawaii Press
and Australian Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) published by Australia's CSIRO.
, where his father was a woodworker, he developed such a passion for entomology that he acquired the nickname "Bugs." He would go on summer camping trips organized by the Boy Scout leader "Bugsy" Cain, and developed a circle of boyhood friends who went on to become entomologists, including Robert L. Usinger, J. Linsley Gressitt, and E. Gorton Linsley. At first he collected butterflies, but began to concentrate on weevil
s at the suggestion of a professor at the nearby University of California, Berkeley
. During a camping trip in 1930, he discovered a new species of weevil that became the subject of his first academic publication, in 1932, soon after enrolling in UC Berkeley, where he received a B.S. degree in 1936.
On the basis of his considerable field experience and his earlier work mounting specimens of Hawaiian and Pacific insects for the Pacific Entomological Survey, which was then headquartered at UC Berkeley, his mentors there recommended him to serve as the field entomologist on the Bernice P. Bishop Museum's Mangarevan Expedition
to southeastern Polynesia in 1934. His senior colleagues on that expedition gave him a new, lifelong nickname, "Zimmie," and his close-up encounters with a wide variety of island ecosystems gave him a new, enduring passion for biogeography
.
He settled in Honolulu in 1936, where he worked as an entomologist for the Bishop Museum and conceived the idea for a single-author, multivolume Insects of Hawaii monograph modeled on the Insects of Western North America (1926) by his Berkeley mentor, Edward Oliver Essig
. By 1946, he had completed the first five volumes, but Bishop Museum director Peter H. Buck was more eager to publish new works in anthropology than in entomology, so Zimmie turned instead to the University of Hawaii, whose president, Gregg M. Sinclair, agreed to publish the volumes under the auspices of the newly established University of Hawaii Press. The first five volumes finally appeared—to considerable local and international acclaim—in 1948, the same year that their author received a Fulbright fellowship to work at the British Natural History Museum
on its large holdings of Hawaiian insects, many of them collected by R. C. L. Perkins over a period of 25 years beginning in the 1890s, at a time when many native fauna were disappearing.
Zimmie spent most of the next two decades living on grant money and private funds, in London
as an honorary associate of the British Museum and in Peterborough, New Hampshire
, where he had easy access to the Museum of Comparative Zoology
at Harvard University
. He completed a Ph.D.
from the University of London
in 1956, published three more volumes of Insects of Hawaii in 1957–58, and prepared one more that languished in the pipeline until 1978. He was also made a life-fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
in 1957.
Meanwhile, back in Honolulu, D. Elmo Hardy
and others began publishing further volumes of Insects of Hawaii devoted to the exceptionally rich variety of Diptera
(true flies) in the islands, a variety Zimmie had called attention to in a short contribution to Evolution
in 1958 with the provocative title, "300 insect species of Drosophila in Hawaii?—A challenge to geneticists and evolutionists" (Evolution 12, pp. 557–558).
By the 1970s, however, Zimmie had trouble securing the funds needed to keep working on Insects of Hawaii and ended up accepting a generous offer from Douglas Waterhouse at Australia's CSIRO to turn his attention to producing another ambitious multivolume monograph, this time on Australian Weevils. By 1990, he had the first five volumes ready to publish, only to find that funding for this project, too, had dried up. He and his wife sold much of their estate, not just to subsidize publication, but also to endow an ongoing position at CSIRO for research on Pacific weevils. In 1992, they moved from their cattle ranch near Canberra to a home and laboratory on Tura Beach, where Zimmie spent his remaining years.
Among the awards Zimmie received for his life's work were a D.Sc. from the University of London in 1980; the Karl Jordan Medal for his work on Hawaiian Lepidoptera
in 1983; the Herbert E. Gregory Medal at the Pacific Science Congress in Beijing
in 1995; and both the Order of Australia
and the University of Hawaii Regents' Medal of Distinction in 1998.
, aims to provide a collaborative, comprehensive, taxonomy of all known Hawaiian insect fauna. So far, more than 5,000 native arthropod species have been described. Only vols. 1, 16, and 17 are still in print, but the out-of-print volumes are being scanned and added to the University of Hawaii
's digital repository, ScholarSpace
.
The out-of-print volumes follow:
University of Hawaii Press
The University of Hawaii Press is a university press that is part of the University of Hawaii.The University of Hawaii Press was founded in 1947, with the mission of advancing and disseminating scholarship by publishing current research in all disciplines of the humanities and natural and social...
and Australian Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) published by Australia's CSIRO.
Biography
During his school years in the hills above Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, where his father was a woodworker, he developed such a passion for entomology that he acquired the nickname "Bugs." He would go on summer camping trips organized by the Boy Scout leader "Bugsy" Cain, and developed a circle of boyhood friends who went on to become entomologists, including Robert L. Usinger, J. Linsley Gressitt, and E. Gorton Linsley. At first he collected butterflies, but began to concentrate on weevil
Weevil
A weevil is any beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. They are usually small, less than , and herbivorous. There are over 60,000 species in several families, mostly in the family Curculionidae...
s at the suggestion of a professor at the nearby University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. During a camping trip in 1930, he discovered a new species of weevil that became the subject of his first academic publication, in 1932, soon after enrolling in UC Berkeley, where he received a B.S. degree in 1936.
On the basis of his considerable field experience and his earlier work mounting specimens of Hawaiian and Pacific insects for the Pacific Entomological Survey, which was then headquartered at UC Berkeley, his mentors there recommended him to serve as the field entomologist on the Bernice P. Bishop Museum's Mangarevan Expedition
Mangarevan Expedition
The Mangarevan Expedition of 1934 was a scientific expedition to investigate the natural history of the farthest southeastern islands of Polynesia, including Mangareva. It was a comprehensive natural history expedition of a kind more common during the previous century. Sponsored by the Bernice P...
to southeastern Polynesia in 1934. His senior colleagues on that expedition gave him a new, lifelong nickname, "Zimmie," and his close-up encounters with a wide variety of island ecosystems gave him a new, enduring passion for biogeography
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
.
He settled in Honolulu in 1936, where he worked as an entomologist for the Bishop Museum and conceived the idea for a single-author, multivolume Insects of Hawaii monograph modeled on the Insects of Western North America (1926) by his Berkeley mentor, Edward Oliver Essig
Edward Oliver Essig
Edward Oliver Essig was an American entomologist who specialised in Hemiptera.Essig was a professor at the University of California.He wrote Injurious and Beneficial Insects of California , Insects of Western North America , A History of Entomology , College Entomology and several hundred...
. By 1946, he had completed the first five volumes, but Bishop Museum director Peter H. Buck was more eager to publish new works in anthropology than in entomology, so Zimmie turned instead to the University of Hawaii, whose president, Gregg M. Sinclair, agreed to publish the volumes under the auspices of the newly established University of Hawaii Press. The first five volumes finally appeared—to considerable local and international acclaim—in 1948, the same year that their author received a Fulbright fellowship to work at the British Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
on its large holdings of Hawaiian insects, many of them collected by R. C. L. Perkins over a period of 25 years beginning in the 1890s, at a time when many native fauna were disappearing.
Zimmie spent most of the next two decades living on grant money and private funds, in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as an honorary associate of the British Museum and in Peterborough, New Hampshire
Peterborough, New Hampshire
Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,284 at the 2010 census. Home to the MacDowell Art Colony, the town is a popular tourist destination....
, where he had easy access to the Museum of Comparative Zoology
Museum of Comparative Zoology
The Museum of Comparative Zoology, full name "The Louis Agassiz Museum of Comparative Zoology", often abbreviated simply to "MCZ", is a zoology museum located on the grounds of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is one of three museums which collectively comprise the Harvard Museum...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He completed a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in 1956, published three more volumes of Insects of Hawaii in 1957–58, and prepared one more that languished in the pipeline until 1978. He was also made a life-fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
in 1957.
Meanwhile, back in Honolulu, D. Elmo Hardy
D. Elmo Hardy
Dilbert Elmo Hardy was an American entomologist who specialized in Diptera systematics.-Career:In over 70 years of research Hardy published 437 articles and notes in which he named and described nearly 2,000 species in 34 different families of Diptera...
and others began publishing further volumes of Insects of Hawaii devoted to the exceptionally rich variety of Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
(true flies) in the islands, a variety Zimmie had called attention to in a short contribution to Evolution
Evolution (journal)
Evolution, the International Journal of Organic Evolution, is a leading monthly scientific journal that publishes significant new results of empirical or theoretical investigations concerning facts, processes, mechanics, or concepts of evolutionary phenomena and events. Evolution is published by...
in 1958 with the provocative title, "300 insect species of Drosophila in Hawaii?—A challenge to geneticists and evolutionists" (Evolution 12, pp. 557–558).
This paper helped stimulate one of the most outstanding and scientifically rewarding long-term, multidisciplinary research efforts in the history of evolutionary biology, encompassing systematicsSystematicsBiological systematics is the study of the diversification of terrestrial life, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees...
, geneticsGeneticsGenetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, ecologyEcologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, and ethologyEthologyEthology is the scientific study of animal behavior, and a sub-topic of zoology....
of the DrosophilaDrosophilaDrosophila is a genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or more appropriately pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit...
complex.
By the 1970s, however, Zimmie had trouble securing the funds needed to keep working on Insects of Hawaii and ended up accepting a generous offer from Douglas Waterhouse at Australia's CSIRO to turn his attention to producing another ambitious multivolume monograph, this time on Australian Weevils. By 1990, he had the first five volumes ready to publish, only to find that funding for this project, too, had dried up. He and his wife sold much of their estate, not just to subsidize publication, but also to endow an ongoing position at CSIRO for research on Pacific weevils. In 1992, they moved from their cattle ranch near Canberra to a home and laboratory on Tura Beach, where Zimmie spent his remaining years.
Among the awards Zimmie received for his life's work were a D.Sc. from the University of London in 1980; the Karl Jordan Medal for his work on Hawaiian Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
in 1983; the Herbert E. Gregory Medal at the Pacific Science Congress in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
in 1995; and both the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
and the University of Hawaii Regents' Medal of Distinction in 1998.
Insects of Hawaii
The Insects of Hawaii series, now under the editorship of James K. Liebherr of Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, aims to provide a collaborative, comprehensive, taxonomy of all known Hawaiian insect fauna. So far, more than 5,000 native arthropod species have been described. Only vols. 1, 16, and 17 are still in print, but the out-of-print volumes are being scanned and added to the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
's digital repository, ScholarSpace
ScholarSpace
ScholarSpace is an institutional repository for the digital scholarly output for the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa community. Contributors include researchers, faculty, and students who maintain copyright to their submissions and can control access to their collections. ScholarSpace is an attempt...
.
- 1. Reissue of the Introduction. Elwood C. Zimmerman, with new Foreword by James K. Liebherr and short biography of the author by James O. Juvik. (2001) - Geological History of Hawaii: Derivation, Dispersal, and Distribution. Evolution and Development, Analyses and Summaries of Biota
- 16. Hawaiian Carabidae (Coleoptera). James K. Liebherr and Elwood C. Zimmerman. (2000) - Part 1: Introduction and Tribe Platynini
- 17. Hawaiian Hylaeus (Nesoprosopis) Bees. Howell V. Daly and Karl N. Magnacca. (2003) - Hymenoptera: Apoidea
The out-of-print volumes follow:
- 1. Introduction. Elwood C. Zimmerman. (1947) - Geological History of Hawaii: Derivation, Dispersal, and Distribution. Evolution and Development, Analyses and Summaries of Biota
- 2. Apterygota to Thysanoptera. Elwood C. Zimmerman. (1948) - Thysanura, Diplura, Protura, Collembola, Orthoptea, Isoptera, Embioptera, Dermaptera, Zoraptera, Corrondentia, Mallophaga, Anoplura, Odonata, Thysanoptera
- 3. Heteroptera. Elwood C. Zimmerman. (1948) - Cydnidae, Pentatomidae, Coreidae, Lygaeidea, Tingidae, Enicocephalidae, Reduviidea, Nabidae, Cimicidae, Anthocoridae, Cryptostemmatidae, Miridae, Saldidae, Hebridae, Mesoveliidae, Veliidae, Gerridae, Notonectidae, Corixidae
- 4. Homoptera: Auchenorhyncha. Elwood C. Zimmerman. (1948) - Cercopidae, Cicadellidae, Membracidae, Cixiidae, Delphacidae, Flatidae
- 5. Homoptera: Sternorhyncha. Elwood C. Zimmerman. (1948) - Psylloidea, Aleyrodoidea, Aphidoidea, Coccoidea
- 6. Ephemeroptera-Neuroptera-Trichoptera and Supplement to Volumes 1-5. Elwood C. Zimmerman. (1957, out of print)
- 7. Macrolepidoptera. Elwood C. Zimmerman. (1958) - Geometridae, Noctuidae, Sphingidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Danaidae, Lycaenidae
- 8. Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea. Elwood C. Zimmerman. (1958) - Galleriinae, Pyraustinae, Scopariinae, Nymphulinae, Pyralinae, Crambinae, Phycitinae, Pterophoridae, Alucitidae
- 9. Microlepidoptera. Elwood C. Zimmerman. (1978) - Monotrysia, Tineoidea, Tortricoidea, Gracillarioidea, Yponomeutoidea, Alucitoidea, Gelechioidea
- 10. Diptera: Nematocera-Brachycera (except Dolichopodidae). D. Elmo Hardy. (1960) - Tipulidae, Psychodidae, Culicidae, Chironomidae, Ceratopogonidae, Scatopsidae, Mycetophilidae, Sciaridae, Cecidomyiidae, Stratiomyidae, Bombyliidae, Scenopinidae, Empididae
- 11. Diptera: Brachycera II-Cyclorrhapha. I. D. Elmo Hardy. (1964) - Dolichopodidae, Phoridae, Lonchopteridae, Pipunculidae, Syrphidae
- 11, Supplement. Diptera: Dolichopodidae and Appendix (Phoridae). JoAnn M. Tenorio. (1969)
- 12. Diptera: Cyclorrhapha II. D. Elmo Hardy. (1965) - Series Schizophora, Section Acalypterae I, Family Drosophilidae
- 13. Diptera: Cyclorrhapha III. D. Elmo Hardy and M. D. Delfinado. (1980) - Series Schizophora, Section Acalypterae, Exclusive of Family Drosophilidae
- 14. Diptera: Cyclorrhapha IV. D. Elmo Hardy. (1981) - Series Schizophora, Section Calyptratae
- 15. Collembola. Kenneth Christiansen and Peter Bellinger. (1992) - Suborder Arthropleona; Suborder Symphypleona
Australian Weevils
Australian Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) is an 8-volume, comprehensive monograph that includes all the recorded species, with notes about their distributions, economic importance, host plants, and life histories, amply illustrated with roughly 10,000 images, over half of them in color. The following volumes are still in print.- 1 (1994). Anthribidae to Attelabidae: The Primitive Weevils - Anthribidae, Belidae, Nemonychidae, Caridae, Rhynchitidae, Attelabidae
- 2 (1994). Brentidae, Eurhynchidae, Apionidae and a Chapter on Immature Stages by Brenda May
- 3 (1993). Nanophyidae, Rhynchophoridae, Erirhinidae, Curculionidae: Amycterinae, Literature Consulted
- 5 (1992). Colour Plates 1-304 - (Orthoceri) from Anthribidae to Apionidae; Heteromorphi; Gonatoceri: Amycterinae and Entiminae (Adelognatha).