My Year of Darwin (2/27/2014)

"I was disappointed in the general aspect of the Coleoptera. The number of minute and obscurely coloured beetles is exceedingly great. The cabinets of Europe can, as yet, boast only of the larger species from tropical climates. It is sufficient to disturb the composure of an entomologist's mind, to look forward to the future dimensions of a complete catalogue." Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle

Since Darwin, estimates of beetle diversity are in the millions of species. 

MY YEAR OF DARWIN (#YEAROFDARWIN)

12 Jan 2014: "Alas! it ejected some intensely acrid fluid, which burnt my tongue so that I was forced to spit the beetle out, which was lost, as was the third one." Darwin autobiography

Darwin loved hunting and fishing, he loved cavorting with his college buddies. But nothing compared to collecting beetles. This wasn't a casual interest. This involved wading, ripping apart dead trees. There was pride at stake. Collections were a big deal. Eggs, bird skins, beetles, butterflies, and artifacts were to be shown off, compared, envied. Here, in his excitement, Darwin probably threw what was a blister beetle in his mouth to catch third beetle. 

W. Darwin Fox, his second-cousin, introduced Darwin to insect collecting. Once started, he became obsessive and his collection became well known among English naturalists. He received his first acknowledgement in Illustrations of British Insects. He gave up beetle collecting later in life but replaced it with experimentation and documentation. 

My name first appears in print the acknowledgments of:  Robinson, G.R., and Handel, S.N. 1993. Forest restoration on a closed landfill: Rapid addition of new species by bird dispersal. Conservation Biology 7: 271-278. I dug holes in a landfill, measured trees, put together an irrigation system for the site. This was off exit 15W of the NJ turnpike. It's been turned into a parking lot. So it goes. I graduated college and was happy to be doing biology. I learned a ton and I am thankful for Drs. Handel and Robinson. The first and only time that a weapon was pulled on me was while I was working there. Long story.