From jhskevington at gmail.com Sat Nov 17 01:52:55 2012 From: jhskevington at gmail.com (Jeff Skevington) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:52:55 -0500 Subject: [Syrphidae] Dick Vockeroth's passing Message-ID: Richard (Dick) Vockeroth, 2 May 1928 to 16 November 2012 The Diptera community suffered a great loss today. Dick Vockeroth passed away on the morning of November 16th 2012, at the age of 84. Almost everyone who studies flies knew Dick, and most of us have some hilarious Vockeroth stories that will undoubtedly continue on for several generations. His breadth of knowledge was unsurpassed and many of us owe him considerably as a mentor. He always amazed us by seeming to know something about virtually every fly species put in front of him. Of course, putting a fly in front of Dick was just the excuse to open the floodgates. For those who could concentrate for long enough, his stories always had a point. They could continue for a long time, but they always wound back to where they started, completing another lesson for those willing to listen. If only we had a way to save all of his immense knowledge. Fortunately, he was always willing to share. He published 120 papers on 27 families of flies over his career. His unpublished manuscripts and keys also fill many boxes in our collection. Copies of many of these are spread around the world with Dick?s colleagues and will ultimately be incorporated and published as part of new studies. In addition to giving freely of his scientific knowledge, Dick was a true philanthropist. He seemed to donate virtually every penny that he had to anyone who stopped at his door or called. He was incredibly frugal with his own purchases and we all benefitted/endured from his purchases of cheap (or free) produce and bread that often had seen better days. His immune system seemed to enjoy these nutritional challenges although ours were perhaps not always up to it. We recall a few years ago when Dick had the first cold that he could remember having since he was a child, as well as the first headache in his life a year or two later. Diabetes was his primary health challenge and it was a significant one in his later life. It was likely a contributing factor to the Alzheimer'sthat eroded his mind over the last three years. The following is excerpted from: Cumming, J.M., Sinclair, B.J., Brooks, S.E., O?Hara, J.E. and Skevington, J.H. 2012. The history of dipterology at the Canadian National Collection of Insects, with special reference to the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. The Canadian Entomologist 143: 539-577. This paper is the introduction to a three volume Festschrift in The Canadian Entomologist honouring Dick and the other coordinators of the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Picking through these papers, you will find some classic stories about Dick and expand your impression of the impact that he played in the Diptera community over the last 60 plus years. Dick was born on May 2nd 1928 in Broderick, Saskatchewan. He received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon in 1948 and 1949, respectively, and his D.Phil. on the genera of Scathophagidae from Oxford University in 1954. He officially joined the Canadian National Collection of Insects (CNC) Diptera Unit in 1949. Dick retired in 1991, but contributed broadly to Diptera activities at the CNC as an Honorary Research Associate until 2009. He became a world expert on several families, particularly Mycetophilidae s.l., Dolichopodidae, Syrphidae, Scathophagidae, and Muscidae. He was an avid collector and contributed over 220,000 pinned Diptera to the CNC. Dick authored or co-authored 120 scientific publications, including 12 chapters in the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. He has published 173 new Diptera taxa (1 family group name, 42 genus-group names, and 130 species-group names). Dick was awarded the C.P. Alexander Award in 1997 by the North American Dipterists? Society. This lifetime award, which can only be held by a single dipterist at a time, publicly acknowledges the most important and influential member of the North American Dipterists? Society. The Award reads, ??John Richard Vockeroth is recognized as our most knowledgeable dipterist, and for his critical and unique contributions in expanding our knowledge of flies, especially flower flies, educating and encouraging a cadre of world leaders for Systematic Dipterology??. Sadly, as of today, this award is now available to be given to someone else. Evidence of the respect of Dick?s scientific achievements can be seen in the ninety-one patronyms that have been attributed to him by the entomological community (http://www.canacoll.org/Diptera/Staff/Vockeroth/Vockeroth_Patronyms.pdf). This list will no doubt continue to grow as his collections live on and support new research on the flies that Dick was so passionate about. We have all missed his antics and contributions in the lab since he left in 2009. Let?s hope that we can all leave even a fraction of the lasting legacy and legends that Dick has left behind. For those in our area, the funeral will be Wednesday 21 November at the Hulse, Playfair & McGarry Chapel at 315 McLeod Street in Ottawa. More details will be provided in the Ottawa Citizen tomorrow. If you wish to make a donation in Dick?s name, he would no doubt be honoured if it went to the Canacoll Foundation (www.canacoll.org), which supports improvements to the CNC by visiting specialists. Cheques made out to the Canacoll Foundation can be sent to the treasurer, Andrew Bennett, at the K.W. Neatby Building, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada. Tax receipts will be issued. Jeff -- Jeff Skevington, Research Scientist Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 960 Carling Avenue, K.W. Neatby Building Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada Phone: 613-759-1647 FAX: 613-759-1927 E-mail: jhskevington at gmail.com From xmengual at gmail.com Sat Nov 17 09:27:45 2012 From: xmengual at gmail.com (ximo mengual sanchis) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2012 10:27:45 +0100 Subject: [Syrphidae] Re: Dick Vockeroth's passing In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Very sad news, Jeff. Diptera community has lost one of the most influent workers of the last 60 years. My deepesr condolences to his family and friends. El 17/11/2012 02:58, "Jeff Skevington" escribi?: > Richard (Dick) Vockeroth, 2 May 1928 to 16 November 2012 > > The Diptera community suffered a great loss today. Dick Vockeroth > passed away on the morning of November 16th 2012, at the age of 84. > Almost everyone who studies flies knew Dick, and most of us have some > hilarious Vockeroth stories that will undoubtedly continue on for > several generations. His breadth of knowledge was unsurpassed and many > of us owe him considerably as a mentor. He always amazed us by seeming > to know something about virtually every fly species put in front of > him. Of course, putting a fly in front of Dick was just the excuse to > open the floodgates. For those who could concentrate for long enough, > his stories always had a point. They could continue for a long time, > but they always wound back to where they started, completing another > lesson for those willing to listen. If only we had a way to save all > of his immense knowledge. Fortunately, he was always willing to share. > He published 120 papers on 27 families of flies over his career. His > unpublished manuscripts and keys also fill many boxes in our > collection. Copies of many of these are spread around the world with > Dick?s colleagues and will ultimately be incorporated and published as > part of new studies. In addition to giving freely of his scientific > knowledge, Dick was a true philanthropist. He seemed to donate > virtually every penny that he had to anyone who stopped at his door or > called. He was incredibly frugal with his own purchases and we all > benefitted/endured from his purchases of cheap (or free) produce and > bread that often had seen better days. His immune system seemed to > enjoy these nutritional challenges although ours were perhaps not > always up to it. We recall a few years ago when Dick had the first > cold that he could remember having since he was a child, as well as > the first headache in his life a year or two later. Diabetes was his > primary health challenge and it was a significant one in his later > life. It was likely a contributing factor to the Alzheimer'sthat > eroded his mind over the last three years. > The following is excerpted from: Cumming, J.M., Sinclair, B.J., > Brooks, S.E., O?Hara, J.E. and Skevington, J.H. 2012. The history of > dipterology at the Canadian National Collection of Insects, with > special reference to the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. The Canadian > Entomologist 143: 539-577. This paper is the introduction to a three > volume Festschrift in The Canadian Entomologist honouring Dick and the > other coordinators of the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Picking through > these papers, you will find some classic stories about Dick and expand > your impression of the impact that he played in the Diptera community > over the last 60 plus years. > Dick was born on May 2nd 1928 in Broderick, Saskatchewan. He > received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Saskatchewan in > Saskatoon in 1948 and 1949, respectively, and his D.Phil. on the > genera of Scathophagidae from Oxford University in 1954. He officially > joined the Canadian National Collection of Insects (CNC) Diptera Unit > in 1949. Dick retired in 1991, but contributed broadly to Diptera > activities at the CNC as an Honorary Research Associate until 2009. He > became a world expert on several families, particularly Mycetophilidae > s.l., Dolichopodidae, Syrphidae, Scathophagidae, and Muscidae. He was > an avid collector and contributed over 220,000 pinned Diptera to the > CNC. Dick authored or co-authored 120 scientific publications, > including 12 chapters in the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. He has > published 173 new Diptera taxa (1 family group name, 42 genus-group > names, and 130 species-group names). Dick was awarded the C.P. > Alexander Award in 1997 by the North American Dipterists? Society. > This lifetime award, which can only be held by a single dipterist at a > time, publicly acknowledges the most important and influential member > of the North American Dipterists? Society. The Award reads, ??John > Richard Vockeroth is recognized as our most knowledgeable dipterist, > and for his critical and unique contributions in expanding our > knowledge of flies, especially flower flies, educating and encouraging > a cadre of world leaders for Systematic Dipterology??. Sadly, as of > today, this award is now available to be given to someone else. > Evidence of the respect of Dick?s scientific achievements can be > seen in the ninety-one patronyms that have been attributed to him by > the entomological community > (http://www.canacoll.org/Diptera/Staff/Vockeroth/Vockeroth_Patronyms.pdf). > This list will no doubt continue to grow as his collections live on > and support new research on the flies that Dick was so passionate > about. We have all missed his antics and contributions in the lab > since he left in 2009. Let?s hope that we can all leave even a > fraction of the lasting legacy and legends that Dick has left behind. > For those in our area, the funeral will be Wednesday 21 November > at the Hulse, Playfair & McGarry Chapel at 315 McLeod Street in > Ottawa. More details will be provided in the Ottawa Citizen tomorrow. > If you wish to make a donation in Dick?s name, he would no doubt > be honoured if it went to the Canacoll Foundation (www.canacoll.org), > which supports improvements to the CNC by visiting specialists. > Cheques made out to the Canacoll Foundation can be sent to the > treasurer, Andrew Bennett, at the K.W. Neatby Building, 960 Carling > Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada. Tax receipts will be issued. > > Jeff > -- > Jeff Skevington, Research Scientist > Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes > Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada > 960 Carling Avenue, K.W. Neatby Building > Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada > Phone: 613-759-1647 > FAX: 613-759-1927 > E-mail: jhskevington at gmail.com > > _______________________________________________ > Syrphidae mailing list > Syrphidae at lists.nottingham.ac.uk > http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/syrphidae > This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and > may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in > error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do > not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in > any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this > email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. > > This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment > may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system: > you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the > University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pkevan at uoguelph.ca Sat Nov 17 18:38:27 2012 From: pkevan at uoguelph.ca (Peter Kevan) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2012 13:38:27 -0500 (EST) Subject: [Syrphidae] Re: Dick Vockeroth's passing In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <704888569.492832.1353177507037.JavaMail.root@erie.cs.uoguelph.ca> Thank you, Jeff, for passing on the sad news and fun bio. Dick would have liked that. Peter ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeff Skevington" To: syrphidae at lists.nottingham.ac.uk Sent: Friday, November 16, 2012 8:52:55 PM Subject: [Syrphidae] Dick Vockeroth's passing Richard (Dick) Vockeroth, 2 May 1928 to 16 November 2012 The Diptera community suffered a great loss today. Dick Vockeroth passed away on the morning of November 16th 2012, at the age of 84. Almost everyone who studies flies knew Dick, and most of us have some hilarious Vockeroth stories that will undoubtedly continue on for several generations. His breadth of knowledge was unsurpassed and many of us owe him considerably as a mentor. He always amazed us by seeming to know something about virtually every fly species put in front of him. Of course, putting a fly in front of Dick was just the excuse to open the floodgates. For those who could concentrate for long enough, his stories always had a point. They could continue for a long time, but they always wound back to where they started, completing another lesson for those willing to listen. If only we had a way to save all of his immense knowledge. Fortunately, he was always willing to share. He published 120 papers on 27 families of flies over his career. His unpublished manuscripts and keys also fill many boxes in our collection. Copies of many of these are spread around the world with Dick?s colleagues and will ultimately be incorporated and published as part of new studies. In addition to giving freely of his scientific knowledge, Dick was a true philanthropist. He seemed to donate virtually every penny that he had to anyone who stopped at his door or called. He was incredibly frugal with his own purchases and we all benefitted/endured from his purchases of cheap (or free) produce and bread that often had seen better days. His immune system seemed to enjoy these nutritional challenges although ours were perhaps not always up to it. We recall a few years ago when Dick had the first cold that he could remember having since he was a child, as well as the first headache in his life a year or two later. Diabetes was his primary health challenge and it was a significant one in his later life. It was likely a contributing factor to the Alzheimer'sthat eroded his mind over the last three years. The following is excerpted from: Cumming, J.M., Sinclair, B.J., Brooks, S.E., O?Hara, J.E. and Skevington, J.H. 2012. The history of dipterology at the Canadian National Collection of Insects, with special reference to the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. The Canadian Entomologist 143: 539-577. This paper is the introduction to a three volume Festschrift in The Canadian Entomologist honouring Dick and the other coordinators of the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Picking through these papers, you will find some classic stories about Dick and expand your impression of the impact that he played in the Diptera community over the last 60 plus years. Dick was born on May 2nd 1928 in Broderick, Saskatchewan. He received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon in 1948 and 1949, respectively, and his D.Phil. on the genera of Scathophagidae from Oxford University in 1954. He officially joined the Canadian National Collection of Insects (CNC) Diptera Unit in 1949. Dick retired in 1991, but contributed broadly to Diptera activities at the CNC as an Honorary Research Associate until 2009. He became a world expert on several families, particularly Mycetophilidae s.l., Dolichopodidae, Syrphidae, Scathophagidae, and Muscidae. He was an avid collector and contributed over 220,000 pinned Diptera to the CNC. Dick authored or co-authored 120 scientific publications, including 12 chapters in the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. He has published 173 new Diptera taxa (1 family group name, 42 genus-group names, and 130 species-group names). Dick was awarded the C.P. Alexander Award in 1997 by the North American Dipterists? Society. This lifetime award, which can only be held by a single dipterist at a time, publicly acknowledges the most important and influential member of the North American Dipterists? Society. The Award reads, ??John Richard Vockeroth is recognized as our most knowledgeable dipterist, and for his critical and unique contributions in expanding our knowledge of flies, especially flower flies, educating and encouraging a cadre of world leaders for Systematic Dipterology??. Sadly, as of today, this award is now available to be given to someone else. Evidence of the respect of Dick?s scientific achievements can be seen in the ninety-one patronyms that have been attributed to him by the entomological community (http://www.canacoll.org/Diptera/Staff/Vockeroth/Vockeroth_Patronyms.pdf). This list will no doubt continue to grow as his collections live on and support new research on the flies that Dick was so passionate about. We have all missed his antics and contributions in the lab since he left in 2009. Let?s hope that we can all leave even a fraction of the lasting legacy and legends that Dick has left behind. For those in our area, the funeral will be Wednesday 21 November at the Hulse, Playfair & McGarry Chapel at 315 McLeod Street in Ottawa. More details will be provided in the Ottawa Citizen tomorrow. If you wish to make a donation in Dick?s name, he would no doubt be honoured if it went to the Canacoll Foundation (www.canacoll.org), which supports improvements to the CNC by visiting specialists. Cheques made out to the Canacoll Foundation can be sent to the treasurer, Andrew Bennett, at the K.W. Neatby Building, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada. Tax receipts will be issued. Jeff -- Jeff Skevington, Research Scientist Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 960 Carling Avenue, K.W. Neatby Building Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada Phone: 613-759-1647 FAX: 613-759-1927 E-mail: jhskevington at gmail.com _______________________________________________ Syrphidae mailing list Syrphidae at lists.nottingham.ac.uk http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/syrphidae This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system: you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation. From mille_pierre at yahoo.fr Tue Nov 20 16:53:06 2012 From: mille_pierre at yahoo.fr (Pierre MILLE) Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2012 16:53:06 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Syrphidae] Re: Dick Vockeroth's passing In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1353430386.97826.YahooMailNeo@web172405.mail.ir2.yahoo.com> Hello Jeff ? I saw this information is unfortunately very sad?http://www.diptera.info/news.php?readmore=177?to his family. His scientific work was important in the study of Diptera. ? My condolences Pierre ________________________________ ________________________________ Pierre MILLE? 3 avenue des buttes blanches 95220 Herblay - France ? >________________________________ >De?: Jeff Skevington >??: syrphidae at lists.nottingham.ac.uk >Envoy? le : Samedi 17 novembre 2012 2h52 >Objet?: [Syrphidae] Dick Vockeroth's passing > >Richard (Dick) Vockeroth, 2 May 1928 to 16 November 2012 > >? ? The Diptera community suffered a great loss today. Dick Vockeroth >passed away on the morning of November 16th 2012, at the age of 84. >Almost everyone who studies flies knew Dick, and most of us have some >hilarious Vockeroth stories that will undoubtedly continue on for >several generations. His breadth of knowledge was unsurpassed and many >of us owe him considerably as a mentor. He always amazed us by seeming >to know something about virtually every fly species put in front of >him. Of course, putting a fly in front of Dick was just the excuse to >open the floodgates. For those who could concentrate for long enough, >his stories always had a point. They could continue for a long time, >but they always wound back to where they started, completing another >lesson for those willing to listen. If only we had a way to save all >of his immense knowledge. Fortunately, he was always willing to share. >He published 120 papers on 27 families of flies over his career. His >unpublished manuscripts and keys also fill many boxes in our >collection. Copies of many of these are spread around the world with >Dick?s colleagues and will ultimately be incorporated and published as >part of new studies. In addition to giving freely of his scientific >knowledge, Dick was a true philanthropist. He seemed to donate >virtually every penny that he had to anyone who stopped at his door or >called. He was incredibly frugal with his own purchases and we all >benefitted/endured from his purchases of cheap (or free) produce and >bread that often had seen better days. His immune system seemed to >enjoy these nutritional challenges although ours were perhaps not >always up to it. We recall a few years ago when Dick had the first >cold that he could remember having since he was a child, as well as >the first headache in his life a year or two later. Diabetes was his >primary health challenge and it was a significant one in his later >life. It was likely a contributing factor to the Alzheimer'sthat >eroded his mind over the last three years. >The following is excerpted from: Cumming, J.M., Sinclair, B.J., >Brooks, S.E., O?Hara, J.E. and Skevington, J.H. 2012. The history of >dipterology at the Canadian National Collection of Insects, with >special reference to the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. The Canadian >Entomologist 143: 539-577. This paper is the introduction to a three >volume Festschrift in The Canadian Entomologist honouring Dick and the >other coordinators of the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Picking through >these papers, you will find some classic stories about Dick and expand >your impression of the impact that he played in the Diptera community >over the last 60 plus years. >? ? Dick was born on May 2nd 1928 in Broderick, Saskatchewan. He >received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Saskatchewan in >Saskatoon in 1948 and 1949, respectively, and his D.Phil. on the >genera of Scathophagidae from Oxford University in 1954. He officially >joined the Canadian National Collection of Insects (CNC) Diptera Unit >in 1949. Dick retired in 1991, but contributed broadly to Diptera >activities at the CNC as an Honorary Research Associate until 2009. He >became a world expert on several families, particularly Mycetophilidae >s.l., Dolichopodidae, Syrphidae, Scathophagidae, and Muscidae. He was >an avid collector and contributed over 220,000 pinned Diptera to the >CNC. Dick authored or co-authored 120 scientific publications, >including 12 chapters in the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. He has >published 173 new Diptera taxa (1 family group name, 42 genus-group >names, and 130 species-group names). Dick was awarded the C.P. >Alexander Award in 1997 by the North American Dipterists? Society. >This lifetime award, which can only be held by a single dipterist at a >time, publicly acknowledges the most important and influential member >of the North American Dipterists? Society. The Award reads, ??John >Richard Vockeroth is recognized as our most knowledgeable dipterist, >and for his critical and unique contributions in expanding our >knowledge of flies, especially flower flies, educating and encouraging >a cadre of world leaders for Systematic Dipterology??. Sadly, as of >today, this award is now available to be given to someone else. >? ? Evidence of the respect of Dick?s scientific achievements can be >seen in the ninety-one patronyms that have been attributed to him by >the entomological community >(http://www.canacoll.org/Diptera/Staff/Vockeroth/Vockeroth_Patronyms.pdf). >This list will no doubt continue to grow as his collections live on >and support new research on the flies that Dick was so passionate >about. We have all missed his antics and contributions in the lab >since he left in 2009. Let?s hope that we can all leave even a >fraction of the lasting legacy and legends that Dick has left behind. >? ? For those in our area, the funeral will be Wednesday 21 November >at the Hulse, Playfair & McGarry Chapel at 315 McLeod Street in >Ottawa. More details will be provided in the Ottawa Citizen tomorrow. >? ? If you wish to make a donation in Dick?s name, he would no doubt >be honoured if it went to the Canacoll Foundation (www.canacoll.org), >which supports improvements to the CNC by visiting specialists. >Cheques made out to the Canacoll Foundation can be sent to the >treasurer, Andrew Bennett, at the K.W. Neatby Building, 960 Carling >Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada. Tax receipts will be issued. > >Jeff >-- >Jeff Skevington, Research Scientist >Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes >Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada >960 Carling Avenue, K.W. Neatby Building >Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada >Phone: 613-759-1647 >FAX: 613-759-1927 >E-mail: jhskevington at gmail.com > >_______________________________________________ >Syrphidae mailing list >Syrphidae at lists.nottingham.ac.uk >http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/syrphidae >This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it.? Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment.? Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. > >This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment >may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system: >you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the >University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation. > > > ________________________________ ________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rhinobaccha at yahoo.co.in Sun Nov 25 09:14:57 2012 From: rhinobaccha at yahoo.co.in (Kumar Ghorpade) Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2012 17:14:57 +0800 (SGT) Subject: [Syrphidae] Re: Dick Vockeroth's passing In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1353834897.55581.YahooMailNeo@web190906.mail.sg3.yahoo.com> Dear Jeff : ??? Tell me if I can write about Dr Vockeroth in some detail based on my personal interaction with him ?? Some questions :? 1.? Is his Eristaline part of the Flower flies of Canada, Alaska and Greenland published, after his Syrphinae part (# 18) that came out in 1992 ? 2.? Can I be sent his notes on the?Genera of the Bacchini (Syrphidae) which he ws preparing way back in 1974 ? Dr Kumar Ghorpade, Post-Graduate Teacher & Research Associate, Department of Agricultural Entomology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Krishi Nagar, Dharwar 580 005, Karnataka, INDIA. Postal Mailbox:? P.O. Box 221, K.C. Park Post Office, Dharwar 580 008, INDIA. Registered mail to:? 238 Bharatinagar, II Main, 4th Cross, Dharwar 580 001 (INDIA).? From: Jeff Skevington To: syrphidae at lists.nottingham.ac.uk Sent: Saturday, 17 November 2012 7:22 AM Subject: [Syrphidae] Dick Vockeroth's passing Richard (Dick) Vockeroth, 2 May 1928 to 16 November 2012 ? ? The Diptera community suffered a great loss today. Dick Vockeroth passed away on the morning of November 16th 2012, at the age of 84. Almost everyone who studies flies knew Dick, and most of us have some hilarious Vockeroth stories that will undoubtedly continue on for several generations. His breadth of knowledge was unsurpassed and many of us owe him considerably as a mentor. He always amazed us by seeming to know something about virtually every fly species put in front of him. Of course, putting a fly in front of Dick was just the excuse to open the floodgates. For those who could concentrate for long enough, his stories always had a point. They could continue for a long time, but they always wound back to where they started, completing another lesson for those willing to listen. If only we had a way to save all of his immense knowledge. Fortunately, he was always willing to share. He published 120 papers on 27 families of flies over his career. His unpublished manuscripts and keys also fill many boxes in our collection. Copies of many of these are spread around the world with Dick?s colleagues and will ultimately be incorporated and published as part of new studies. In addition to giving freely of his scientific knowledge, Dick was a true philanthropist. He seemed to donate virtually every penny that he had to anyone who stopped at his door or called. He was incredibly frugal with his own purchases and we all benefitted/endured from his purchases of cheap (or free) produce and bread that often had seen better days. His immune system seemed to enjoy these nutritional challenges although ours were perhaps not always up to it. We recall a few years ago when Dick had the first cold that he could remember having since he was a child, as well as the first headache in his life a year or two later. Diabetes was his primary health challenge and it was a significant one in his later life. It was likely a contributing factor to the Alzheimer'sthat eroded his mind over the last three years. The following is excerpted from: Cumming, J.M., Sinclair, B.J., Brooks, S.E., O?Hara, J.E. and Skevington, J.H. 2012. The history of dipterology at the Canadian National Collection of Insects, with special reference to the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. The Canadian Entomologist 143: 539-577. This paper is the introduction to a three volume Festschrift in The Canadian Entomologist honouring Dick and the other coordinators of the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Picking through these papers, you will find some classic stories about Dick and expand your impression of the impact that he played in the Diptera community over the last 60 plus years. ? ? Dick was born on May 2nd 1928 in Broderick, Saskatchewan. He received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon in 1948 and 1949, respectively, and his D.Phil. on the genera of Scathophagidae from Oxford University in 1954. He officially joined the Canadian National Collection of Insects (CNC) Diptera Unit in 1949. Dick retired in 1991, but contributed broadly to Diptera activities at the CNC as an Honorary Research Associate until 2009. He became a world expert on several families, particularly Mycetophilidae s.l., Dolichopodidae, Syrphidae, Scathophagidae, and Muscidae. He was an avid collector and contributed over 220,000 pinned Diptera to the CNC. Dick authored or co-authored 120 scientific publications, including 12 chapters in the Manual of Nearctic Diptera. He has published 173 new Diptera taxa (1 family group name, 42 genus-group names, and 130 species-group names). Dick was awarded the C.P. Alexander Award in 1997 by the North American Dipterists? Society. This lifetime award, which can only be held by a single dipterist at a time, publicly acknowledges the most important and influential member of the North American Dipterists? Society. The Award reads, ??John Richard Vockeroth is recognized as our most knowledgeable dipterist, and for his critical and unique contributions in expanding our knowledge of flies, especially flower flies, educating and encouraging a cadre of world leaders for Systematic Dipterology??. Sadly, as of today, this award is now available to be given to someone else. ? ? Evidence of the respect of Dick?s scientific achievements can be seen in the ninety-one patronyms that have been attributed to him by the entomological community (http://www.canacoll.org/Diptera/Staff/Vockeroth/Vockeroth_Patronyms.pdf). This list will no doubt continue to grow as his collections live on and support new research on the flies that Dick was so passionate about. We have all missed his antics and contributions in the lab since he left in 2009. Let?s hope that we can all leave even a fraction of the lasting legacy and legends that Dick has left behind. ? ? For those in our area, the funeral will be Wednesday 21 November at the Hulse, Playfair & McGarry Chapel at 315 McLeod Street in Ottawa. More details will be provided in the Ottawa Citizen tomorrow. ? ? If you wish to make a donation in Dick?s name, he would no doubt be honoured if it went to the Canacoll Foundation (www.canacoll.org), which supports improvements to the CNC by visiting specialists. Cheques made out to the Canacoll Foundation can be sent to the treasurer, Andrew Bennett, at the K.W. Neatby Building, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada. Tax receipts will be issued. Jeff -- Jeff Skevington, Research Scientist Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 960 Carling Avenue, K.W. Neatby Building Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada Phone: 613-759-1647 FAX: 613-759-1927 E-mail: jhskevington at gmail.com _______________________________________________ Syrphidae mailing list Syrphidae at lists.nottingham.ac.uk http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/syrphidae This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it.? Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment.? 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URL: From Francis.Gilbert at nottingham.ac.uk Wed Nov 28 08:06:52 2012 From: Francis.Gilbert at nottingham.ac.uk (Francis Gilbert) Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:06:52 +0000 Subject: [Syrphidae] Altai excursion from the 7th Syrphidae meeting Message-ID: <37D2AE0AED301E4ABCCD948B16BD78AA3FE86AC590@EXCHANGE1.ad.nottingham.ac.uk> hi everyone Anatolii Barkalov would like to advise anyone who would like to go to the Altai on the post-conference collecting trip that they must be vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. It is difficult to move around in the forests and marshes without ticks attaching themselves to the clothes, and regular stops to get rid of them are necessary. Even so, one risks being bitten, and the ticks can carry encephalitis. When I went to the Far East in the mid-1990s the vaccination required three injections, with a month in between each one. Thus vaccination needs to be organised well in advance. There are several types of encephalitis, and your doctor will be able to look up the one in Siberia against which you need vaccination. Please pass on this message to anyone you know who might not be on the mailing list and is thinking of going. With best wishes Francis Dr Francis Gilbert www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg School of Biology, University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK (+44)(0)115 951 3215 This email is private and may be confidential. It is intended for the recipient(s) only. If misdirected, please notify me and confirm that it has been deleted from your system. You are strictly prohibited from using, printing, copying, distributing or disseminating this email or any information contained in it to third parties without the permission of the originator. Nothing contained within this email is intended to constitute or imply the basis of a contract with the recipient. All contracts can only be entered into following signature by an authorised signatory of the University of Nottingham. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davidiliff at talk21.com Wed Nov 28 16:45:54 2012 From: davidiliff at talk21.com (David Iliff) Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:45:54 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [Syrphidae] Re: Altai excursion from the 7th Syrphidae meeting In-Reply-To: <37D2AE0AED301E4ABCCD948B16BD78AA3FE86AC590@EXCHANGE1.ad.nottingham.ac.uk> References: <37D2AE0AED301E4ABCCD948B16BD78AA3FE86AC590@EXCHANGE1.ad.nottingham.ac.uk> Message-ID: <1354121154.16922.YahooMailNeo@web87305.mail.ird.yahoo.com> Thank you, Francis ? I shall include your timely warning in the forthcoming hoverfly newsletter (due to go out early in the New Year), which will also?carry a notice about the Symposium. ? Best wishes ? David ________________________________ From: Francis Gilbert To: Hoverfly discussion list Sent: Wednesday, 28 November 2012, 8:06 Subject: [Syrphidae] Altai excursion from the 7th Syrphidae meeting hi everyone ? Anatolii Barkalov would like to advise anyone who would like to go to the Altai on the post-conference collecting trip that they must be vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. It is difficult to move around in the forests and marshes without ticks attaching themselves to the clothes, and regular stops to get rid of them are necessary. Even so, one risks being bitten, and the ticks can carry encephalitis. ? When I went to the Far East in the mid-1990s the vaccination required three injections, with a month in between each one. Thus vaccination needs to be organised well in advance. There are several types of encephalitis, and your doctor will be able to look up the one in Siberia against which you need vaccination. ? Please pass on this message to anyone you know who might not be on the mailing list and is thinking of going. ? With best wishes ? Francis ? ? ? ? Dr Francis Gilbert www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg School of Biology, University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK (+44)(0)115 951 3215 ? This email is private and may be confidential.? It is intended for the recipient(s) only.? If misdirected, please notify me and confirm that it has been deleted from your system. You are strictly prohibited from using, printing, copying, distributing or disseminating this email or any information contained in it to third parties without the permission of the originator.? Nothing contained within this email is intended to constitute or imply the basis of a contract with the recipient.? All contracts can only be entered into following signature by an authorised signatory of the University of Nottingham. ? _______________________________________________ Syrphidae mailing list Syrphidae at lists.nottingham.ac.uk http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/syrphidae -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: