Author Archives: David Maddison

A Love of Leptoferonia

Posted on 21 March 2015 by David Maddison

For many years I had wondered who Hilary A. Hacker was.  In the carabidological literature she appeared on the scene in 1968 with the publication of one of the best revisions of a carabid group that had been done to date, and then … Continue reading →

Posted in Fieldwork, Taxonomic Process | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Mesquite version 3.0 and Zephyr 1.0 released

Posted on 29 August 2014 by David Maddison

Wayne and I have been working hard over the last few weeks to release Mesquite version 3.0, and today we released it! The main changes in this version of Mesquite are architectural, both in how the user interface is organized, … Continue reading →

Posted in Software Development | 3 Comments

42 years between golden buprestids

Posted on 26 June 2014 by David Maddison

In the summer of 1972, I was doing what I did every summer around then, which was to spend a few glorious weeks at a cottage my family rented around Lake of Bays, in the Muskoka district of Ontario. At … Continue reading →

Posted in Fieldwork | 2 Comments

Map of unrecognized species in Bembidiina

Posted on 23 February 2014 by David Maddison

Here’s an addendum to the post about Unrecognized species in Bembidiina.  The map below shows the known distribution of most (but not all) of the unrecognized taxa of Bembidiina in America north of Mexico.  Notably absent are some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Revising Bembidiina | 9 Comments

Unrecognized species of Bembidiina in the USA and Canada

Posted on 22 February 2014 by David Maddison

I’ve been mentioning in this blog several unrecognized species which we have been finding in the fauna of Bembidiina in America north of México. By “unrecognized” I mean both undescribed species (those without a name), and species that have already … Continue reading →

Posted in Revising Bembidiina, Taxonomic Process | 1 Comment

The legacy of a taxonomist

Posted on 9 February 2014 by David Maddison

I have recently been looking through the notes of Kenneth W. Cooper, a renaissance entomologist who wore many hats, one of which was as someone passionate about the same beetles I love, the genus Bembidion.  Kenneth and I began corresponding … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Taxonomic Process | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Sheep Creek in the Cascades of Oregon

Posted on 28 December 2013 by David Maddison

Here’s a lovely creek in the Cascades of Oregon.   This part of Sheep Creek is at 795m elevation.  It has a rich bembidiine fauna living in the gravel patches along the shoreline.  In addition to two species of Lionepha … Continue reading →

Posted in Collecting Site of the Day | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Programming Zephyr

Posted on 11 December 2013 by David Maddison

My brother Wayne is visiting, and we are making very good progress on Zephyr. Programming is especially appealing when the outside world is covered in quiet snow. Zephyr is a package for Mesquite that links Mesquite to phylogeny inference programs. … Continue reading →

Posted in Mesquite, Software Development | 2 Comments

Dreaming of Saint Helena

Posted on 7 December 2013 by David Maddison

Saint Helena is a small island in the Atlantic Ocean that is a very long way from any continent. It is approximately 1850 km from Africa, and about 3290 km from South America.  It is only 16 km by 8 … Continue reading →

Posted in Tree of Life | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments