Max Barclay

FRES
NationalityBritish
Scientific career
FieldsEntomology
InstitutionsThe Natural History Museum, London

Maxwell V L Barclay FRES is a British entomologist, and Curator and Collections Manager of Coleoptera and Hemiptera at the Natural History Museum in London.[1] He is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society,[2] and a member of the editorial board of The Coleopterist journal.[3] He has been described as ‘one of Britain’s leading entomologists’.[4]

Career

Barclay is one of the four virtual ‘Scientist Guides’ of the Natural History Museum’s new Darwin Centre and was among the group that showed the building to Prince William at its 2009 opening. He is a frequent public speaker and media spokesman for entomology and for the Museum, most notably appearing in three of the six episodes of the 2010 BBC Series Museum of Life[5] presented by Jimmy Doherty. He believes that public speaking is important 'to enthuse the next generation of scientists and naturalists, and to legitimise what we do in the eyes of the public'.[1] In 2016 he gave the Royal Entomological Society's Verrall Lecture speaking on 'Collections: the last great frontiers of exploration'.[6] In 2008 he was involved in the identification of a species of bug new to Britain in the Museum’s garden.[7][8]

Barclay is best known for his work on beetles (Coleoptera), and is author of scientific papers and co-editor of a text book on the subject.[9] He worked as a volunteer in the Department of Entomology for several years before being offered the post of Curator in 2001.[10] The collection of the Natural History Museum that he manages includes more than 20,000 drawers of beetles, including specimens collected by Joseph Banks, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.[11] He has travelled extensively in search of specimens, including to Bolivia, Peru, Taiwan and Thailand,[12] and has discovered new species.

Recognition

101 beetle taxa have been named in his honour by fellow scientists, including:

Carabidae

Hydrophilidae

Ptiliidae

Staphylinidae

Scarabaeidae

Cantharidae

Heteroceridae

Limnichidae

Throscidae

Eucnemidae

Elateridae

Ptinidae

Dermestidae

Scirtidae

Psephenidae

Buprestidae

Lycidae

Coccinellidae

Helotidae

Nitidulidae

Latridiidae

Aderidae

Anthicidae

Ischaliidae

Tenebrionidae

Oedemeridae

Cerambycidae

Chrysomelidae

Anthribidae

Rhynchitidae

Brentidae

Curculionidae

as well as the wasp Platygaster barclayi Buhl, 2011, the fulgorid bug Polydictya barclayi Constant, 2016 and the fossil cockroach Mesoblatta maxi Hinkelman, 2020.

Personal life

Barclay is married with children.[10] As a teenager he worked as a volunteer at the Durrell Wildlife Park[11] and he cites Gerald Durrell as a significant influence.

References

  1. ^ a b "Staff directory - Natural History Museum". Nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  2. ^ "RES Forums". Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  3. ^ "The Coleopterist - UK Beetle Recording". Coleopterist.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 July 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  4. ^ "A Coleopterist's Handbook - £56.40 - Online shop - Amateur Entomologists' Society (AES)". Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  5. ^ "Max Barclay". IMDb.com. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  6. ^ "The Verrall Lecture". royensoc.co.uk. Royal Entomological Society. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  7. ^ Harrell, Eben (15 July 2008). "Mystery Insect Found in London". Time. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Mystery insect found in Museum garden - Natural History Museum". YouTube. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  9. ^ Cooter J. & Barclay M.V.L. (eds.) (2006) A Coleopterist’s Handbook. Amateur Entomological Society. 439 pages. ISBN 0-900054-70-0
  10. ^ a b "The Times & The Sunday Times". Thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Blog4NIW: Max Barclay". Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  12. ^ Barkham, Patrick (18 March 2010). "Meet the beetles". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  13. ^ Lee, Chi-Feng, 2011. Aquatic Insects 33: 165-169
  14. ^ "Latridiidae & Merophysiinae". Archived from the original on 17 February 2013.
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