Dr. Charles W. O’Brien: True Pioneer in Weevil Taxonomy and Publisher

Muhammad Haseeb

doi:10.1515/flaent-2024-0006

Artikel Open Access

Dr. Charles W. O’Brien: True Pioneer in Weevil Taxonomy and Publisher

Muhammad Haseeb

Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 26. März 2024

Veröffentlicht von

Veröffentlichen auch Sie bei De Gruyter Brill

Manuskript einreichen Informationen für Autor*innen Erkunden Sie dieses Fachgebiet

Aus der Zeitschrift Florida Entomologist Band 107 Heft 1

It is an honor and a privilege for me to present this Florida Entomologist Society Pioneer Lecture honoring Dr. Charles W. O’Brien. Some early history will set the stage for more than 52 years of his entomological contributions. Dr. O’Brien received a Bachelor of Arts in Entomology from the University of Connecticut at Storrs (1956). He went on to obtain an Master of Science in Entomology at the University of Arizona at Tucson in 1958. He began pursuing his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1958 but delayed his academic studies when he was hired as a field entomologist with the B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, in 1959. Following 5 months of research in Antarctica for the Bishop Museum (for which he received the prestigious Congressional Medal for Antarctic Service), he went for two months to the foggy and rainy Southern Alps of New Zealand, traveling to the northern tip of the North Island. He then traveled by way of Australia and Papua New Guinea to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate to carry out mini safaris with native Melanesian guides and carriers, living for six months in native villages in the mountains while collecting all groups of insects on five different islands (Figure 1). Dr. O’Brien returned to his PhD program in 1960 at the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated with a doctorate in Entomology in 1967.

Figure 1:

Young O’Brien with a hunting gear during the trip to Papa New Guinea and British Solomon Island.

Dr. O’Brien began his professional academic career as a Purdue Research Fellow in Agriculture at the Catholic University of Chile in Santiago (1967–1969). He then went to Texas Tech University, Lubbock, as an Assistant Professor (1970–1972). He came to Tallahassee, Florida, 1972 as an Associate Professor in Entomology at Florida A&M University (FAMU). Dr. O’Brien was promoted to full Professor in 1979 and remained at FAMU until he retired from full-time work on 31 June 2003. In August 2003, he returned to work one day per week for one more year to complete ongoing research on two of his many grants with Dr. Muhammad Haseeb. He was the first Director of the joint FAMU-United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Center for Biological Control from 1999 to 2003 (Figure 2).

Figure 2:

Dr. O’Brien at the weevil collection.

He recruited many faculty, students, and staff at FAMU to serve the Entomology Program and the Center for Biological Control. Over the years, he focused on the evolution and systematics of Curculionidae (Coleoptera) of the World, particularly the Neotropics, biogeography, ecology of Coleoptera, and biological control of aquatic and terrestrial weeds. Dr. O’Brien taught courses at FAMU in General Entomology, Insect Morphology, Medical Entomology, and Biological Control. Dr. O’Brien was responsible in whole or part for grants to FAMU totaling nearly $5 million during his tenure on the faculty. He has published more than 150 refereed journal articles and book chapters. Internationally recognized as a world expert on the taxonomy of weevils, Dr. O’Brien has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Africa to study, teach, conduct research, present research findings, and serve as a consultant. Dr. O’Brien was married for 57 years to Lois (Breimeier), a University of California, Berkeley PhD Entomology graduate. Dr. Lois O’Brien is an acknowledged world-class taxonomic specialist of Fulgoroidea (planthoppers). Drs. Charles and his wife Lois O’Brien are avid insect collectors and, through their travels and tireless efforts, have created two of the world’s most substantial collections, one of weevils (more than one million weevil specimens) and one of Fulgoroidea, (more than a quarter of a million planthopper specimens).

Dr. Charles O’Brien retired from FAMU in 2003 and moved to Arizona in 2004, where he continued his World travels, and weevil research (Figure 3). In 2017, Lois and Charles O’Brien entrusted to Arizona State University (ASU) a global collection of meticulously classified insect specimens, including over one million weevils and around 250,000 plant hoppers. This gift, one of the world’s largest and most important private collections, more than doubles ASU’s current collection and adds rare and unidentified specimens that could provide enormous scientific value and benefit future generations. Among the many species of weevils Dr. O’Brien collected throughout his career, his favorite weevils were two clone weevil species, Pachyrhynchus gemmans Chevrolat and Pachyrhynchus gemmatus G.R. Waterhouse (Figures 4 and 5). During more than five decades of active research work on weevils and travel around the World (Figure 6), Dr. O’Brien was an outstanding taxonomist and collaborator who supported weevil identification for the USDA, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry (FDACS, DPI), and many other agencies in the United States and internationally. He was a joint weevil taxonomist and weevil curator to produce useful publications and was a great human being and friend. His legacy to weevil taxonomy will continue to be recognized for many decades, and he will not be forgotten soon, not only by his friends but especially by all who stood and worked with him. Dr. O’Brien passed away on 10 August 2019.

Figure 3:

Dr. O’Brien at his workplace with weevil collection.

Figure 4:

Dr. O’Brien’s first favorite weevil species, Pachyrhynchus gemman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

Figure 5:

Dr. O’Brien’s second favorite weevil species, Pachyrhynchus gemmatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

Figure 6:

Dr. O’Brien waiting for his escort for excursion into the Museum of Qin Terracoata, Xian, China (2017).

I thank President Scott Croxton, Adam Dale, Richard Mankin, Greg Hodges, and the FES Pioneer Lecture Committee for selecting me to deliver this important presentation honoring Dr. Charles O’Brien (Figure 7). I also appreciate the photographs and anecdotes provided by Drs. Nico Franz and Lois O’Brien.

Figure 7:

Dr. Adam Dale, Chair of the FES Pioneer Lecture Committee, presenting the Pioneer Lecturer Award to Dr. Muhammad Haseeb (2023).

Corresponding author: Muhammad Haseeb, Center for Biological Control, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL 322307-4100, USA, E-mail: Muhammad.Haseeb@famu.edu

Published Online: 2024-03-26

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Artikel in diesem Heft

https://doi.org/10.1515/flaent-2024-0006

Creative Commons

BY 4.0