Neal Luit Evenhuis (born Kornelus Luit Evenhuis on 16 April 1952
Education and career
Evenhuis was born in Southern California to parents who had immigrated to California from the Netherlands in 1938. In 1974, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Botany and Entomology from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. In 1976, he started working as a scientific illustrator at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum.
Two years later, he graduated with a 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. degree in Entomology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and was soon promoted to full Entomologist. He has since described more than 800 new species of insects and authored more than 700 scientific publications,
specializing in the families
Bombyliidae and
Mythicomyiidae. In 1992, he received the Thomas Say Award for his research by the Entomological Society of America.
He is interested in the history of
dipterology and nomenclature, and is a former president of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.
Evenhuis also campaigns for teaching school children to discern
native species from
alien species.
Taxonomy humor
In the entomological community, Evenhuis is also known for his sense of humor, and
coined by him have attracted attention. After discovering a new species of bombyliid from the genus
Phthiria in 1985, he decided to name it
Phthiria relativitae as a pun on theory of relativity. 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 in honour of the model
Carmen Electra'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). In 2013, he named a new species of fly from
French Polynesia as
Campsicnemus popeye for its resemblance with the cartoon character
Popeye in having swollen forearms.
Frisbee record
On 12 May 1980, he set a record for gridiron mini field goal distance in flying disc games, which he held for 20 years.
External links
