Neal Luit Evenhuis (born Kornelus Luit Evenhuis on 16 April 1952;) is an American

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

. He works at the

Bishop Museum The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the lar ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Evenhuis has described over 500 species of insects since 1976, and is known both for his research and peculiar

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

Education and career

Evenhuis was born in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

to parents who had immigrated to California from the Netherlands in 1938. In 1974, he received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in Botany and Entomology from

California State Polytechnic University California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona, CPP, or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo. See the ''California State Polytechnic University, Pomo ...

in Pomona. In 1976, he started working as a scientific illustrator at the

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the larg ...

. Two years later, he graduated with a

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

's degree in Biology. Within a few years, he embarked on his own research by studying the taxonomy of Pacific flies. In 1988, he received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

degree in Entomology at the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa (University of Hawaii—Mānoa, UH Mānoa, Hawai'i, or simply UH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Manoa, Mānoa, a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It ...

and was soon promoted to full Entomologist. He has since described more than 500 new species of insects and authored more than 350 scientific publications, specializing in the families

Bombyliidae The Bombyliidae are a family of flies, commonly known as bee flies. Adults generally feed on nectar and pollen, some being important pollinators. Larvae are mostly parasitoids of other insects. Overview The Bombyliidae are a large family of fl ...

and

Mythicomyiidae Mythicomyiidae, commonly called mythicomyiids, are very tiny flies (0.5–5.0 mm) found throughout most parts of the world, especially desert and semi-desert regions, except the highest altitudes and latitudes. They are not as common in the t ...

. In 1992, he received the Thomas Say Award for his research by the

Entomological Society of America The Entomological Society of America (ESA) was founded in 1889 and today has more than 7,000 members, including educators, extension personnel, consultants, students, researchers, and scientists from agricultural departments, health agencies, ...

. He is interested in the history of

dipterology Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced m ...

and nomenclature, and is a former president of the

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries. Orga ...

. Evenhuis also campaigns for teaching school children to discern

native species In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...

from

alien species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

Taxonomy humor

In the entomological community, Evenhuis is also known for his sense of humor, and

s coined by him have attracted attention. After identifying a bombyliid from the genus ''

Phthiria ''Phthiria'' is a genus of 'bee flies' belonging to the family Bombyliidae. Species Species within this genus include:Evenhuis, N.L. & Greathead, D.J. (2003World Catalog of Bee Flies (Diptera: Bombyliidae)/ref> * ''Phthiria alberthessei'' * '' ...

'' in 1985, he decided to name it ''

Phthiria relativitae ''Poecilognathus relativitae'', originally known as ''Phthiria relativitae'', is a species of fly of the family Bombyliidae, subfamily Phthiriinae, that is found in the American Southwest. It was discovered by Neal Evenhuis, who named it as a pun ...

'' as a pun on

theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in ...

. To ensure publication of the name in a scientific journal and thus its acceptance while avoiding criticism of English-speaking scientists, he had to submit it to a Polish journal. In 2002, he named a genus of extinct mythicomyiids ''

Carmenelectra ''Carmenelectra'' is an extinct genus of fly belonging to the family Mythicomyiidae and containing a single species ''Carmenelectra shechisme''. Fossil records ''Carmenelectra'' is known from a Tertiary fossil discovered preserved in Baltic a ...

'' in honour of the model

Carmen Electra Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), known professionally as Carmen Electra, is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis, where she met Prince, who produced h ...

's "splendid" body. The same year, he described ''Pieza kake'' ("piece of cake"), ''Pieza pi'' ("pizza pie")'', Pieza rhea'' ("pizzeria")'','' and ''Pieza deresistans'' ("pièce de résistance"), as well as ''Reissa roni'' (named after

Rice-A-Roni Rice-A-Roni is a pilaf-like boxed food mix that consists of rice, vermicelli pasta, and seasonings. To prepare, the rice and pasta are browned in butter, then water and seasonings are added and simmered until absorbed. It is a product of Quak ...

). In 2013, he named a new species of fly from

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

as '' Campsicnemus popeye'' for its resemblance with the cartoon character

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.flying disc games Flying disc sports are sports or games played with discs, often called by the trademarked name Frisbees. Ultimate and disc golf are sports with substantial international followings. History The flying disc was developed in 1948 by Walter Mor ...

, which he held for 20 years.

References

External links

Neal L. Evenhuis
profile at Hawaii Biological Survey
Family-group names
an

(new taxa described by Neal L. Evenhuis) {{DEFAULTSORT:Evenhuis, Neal 1952 births American entomologists American people of Dutch descent Living people California State Polytechnic University, Pomona alumni University of Hawaiʻi alumni University of Hawaiʻi faculty Scientists from California People from Upland, California