New crypt-keeping beetle species discovered on Pacific island

July 02, 2013

Peter Oboyski, senior museum scientist at Berkeley’s Essig Museum of Entomology and ESPM alumnus, comments on the discovery, in Hawaii's Bishop Museum, of a new species of beetle. Given the enormous number of insect specimens collected during scientific expeditions, it’s not unusual to discover new species sitting on the shelves of museums, Dr. Oboyski says. “It’s not hard to find a new species. What’s really hard is knowing that it’s new. ... You need to have large museum collections to compare your specimens to, you need to borrow specimens from other museums, and you need the experts who know how to tell that something is new.”

Read the article, written by ESPM Alumnus Brad Balukjian, on the LA Times website