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Field notebook, Cuba and Jamaica, 1937, 1941, [1947]

by: Chapin, Edward A

Publication date: 1937

Topics: Entomology, Entomologists, Termites

Collection: biodiversity; biodiversity

Contributor: Smithsonian Institution Archives

Language: English

restrictions: Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu.

Edward Chapin collected materials and compiled notes relating to his collecting trips to Cuba and Jamaica in 1937 and 1941, conducted for the Smithsonian Institution. The diary is typed and paginated. Entries are chronological and listed by the date. During his visit to Cuba and Jamaica in 1937, Chapin traveled to Havana, met with colleagues at the University, before traveling to Santiago de las Vegas and the Estacion Experimental Agronomica de Cuba and Jamaica. In Jamaica, he mostly based out of Kingston, conducting daily collecting trips on the island. Photographs include images of colleagues at the University of Havana (identified in caption); historical sites and places where he collected; friends and family members; and demonstration of collecting dung beetles. In entries he discusses his voyage; descriptions of specimens and environments where found; visiting friends; and the local effect of the National Fruit Co. He returns to Jamaica in 1941 to collect in many of the same locations as in 1937, collected and inspected termite infestations, and collected ant specimens among other varieties of insects. He mentions two of the goals of the 1941 trip for a colleague are collecting samples of native hardwoods and living specimens of the Jamaican Iguana. Locations visited in Jamaica include: Maumee Hill, Hope Botanical Gardens, Annotto Bay; Ferry River; Bluefields bay; and Cinchona Botanical Gardens

Abstract: Edward Chapin collected materials and compiled notes relating to his collecting trips to Cuba and Jamaica in 1937 and 1941, conducted for the Smithsonian Institution. The diary is typed and paginated. Entries are chronological and listed by the date. During his visit to Cuba and Jamaica in 1937, Chapin traveled to Havana, met with colleagues at the University, before traveling to Santiago de las Vegas and the Estacion Experimental Agronomica de Cuba and Jamaica. In Jamaica, he mostly based out of Kingston, conducting daily collecting trips on the island. Photographs include images of colleagues at the University of Havana (identified in caption); historical sites and places where he collected; friends and family members; and demonstration of collecting dung beetles. In entries he discusses his voyage; descriptions of specimens and environments where found; visiting friends; and the local effect of the National Fruit Co. He returns to Jamaica in 1941 to collect in many of the same locations as in 1937, collected and inspected termite infestations, and collected ant specimens among other varieties of insects. He mentions two of the goals of the 1941 trip for a colleague are collecting samples of native hardwoods and living specimens of the Jamaican Iguana. Locations visited in Jamaica include: Maumee Hill, Hope Botanical Gardens, Annotto Bay; Ferry River; Bluefields bay; and Cinchona Botanical Gardens.