Dr George Beccaloni DIC, ARCS, FRES, FLS

Biography

Employment history

2012 - present   Curator of orthopteroid insects and Wallace collections, Life Sciences 
                              Department, Natural History Museum, London.

2003 - 2012        Curator of orthopteroid insects, Entomology Department, Natural History 
                              Museum, London.

2001 - 2002        Research Entomologist, Entomology Department, Natural History Museum, 
                              London.

1996 - 2000        Research Assistant, Entomology Department, Natural History Museum, 
                              London.

Qualifications

1991 - 1995        PhD - Studies on the ecology and evolution of Neotropical ithomiine 
                              butterflies (Nymphalidae: Ithomiinae) - Imperial College of Science, 
                              Technology & Medicine, University of London.

1988 - 1991        BSc Hons (1st Class) (Zoology) - Imperial College of Science, Technology 
                               and Medicine, University of London.

Professional Roles

Member of:

• Linnean Society of London (Fellow)
• Royal Entomological Society of London (Fellow)
• Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA)

Curation

The curation, conservation and documentation of the NHM's collection of orthopteroid insects:

• Blattodea - cockroaches and termites
• Mantodea - mantids
• Dermaptera - earwigs
• Grylloblattodea - grylloblattids
• Mantophasmatodea - mantophasmids
• Phasmatodea - stick insects
• Orthoptera - grasshoppers and crickets

Research

Taxonomy and systematics of cockroaches

I am very interested in the taxonomy and systematics of cockroaches (Blattodea), especially the tribe Gromphadorhini, the Madagascan hissing cockroaches. I am the creator and editor of the Blattodea Species File Online (BSF), a comprehensive online synonymic catalogue of world cockroaches, which contains approximately 6,420 scientific names (all ranks, valid and not valid). In 1986 I helped to establish the Blattodea Culture Group, a non-profit-making society whose aim is to encourage the study of world cockroaches. I am the deputy editor of the Group's journal, Cockroach Studies, which publishes articles about the taxonomy, ecology and biology of cockroaches (a pdf copy of the first issue is available to download PDF 5.7 Mb) and I also help to manage the Groups' website and the Forum.

Alfred Russel Wallace

Another of my interests is the life and work of the neglected co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection, Alfred Russel Wallace. In 1999 I set up the A.R. Wallace Memorial Fund which has restored his grave in Broadstone (Dorset) and erected memorials to commemorate him at his birthplace and elsewhere. I am currently doing historical research on his insect specimens, especially on his specimen labels.

In 2002 I played a key role in helping the NHM Library acquire a very important collection of Wallace’s manuscripts, books and insect specimens from his surviving family, and in 2006 I initiated the NHM library's project to acquire the largest collection of Darwin-related publications ever assembled (3,500 items). At £985,000, the Kohler Darwin Collection is the biggest purchase of any collection in the Museum's 125-year history.

Evolution of mimicry

In the past I done work on the evolution of mimicry, macroecological patterns in butterfly-hostplant relationships, and novel methods to quantify the diet breadths of phytophagous insects. I also designed, and am still responsible, for the LepIndex database: a uniquely comprehensive on-line synonymic catalogue of the living and fossil butterflies and moths of the world (see LepIndex). LepIndex is by far the largest contributor of names to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System-Species 2000 Catalogue of Life (253,680 of 1,009,000 in the Catalogue of Life, i.e. about 25%, are taken from Lepindex). My Blattodea Species File database supplies the cockroach names listed in the Catalogue.

Publications

Publications

2007

• Beccaloni, G. W. ( 2007 ) Alfred Russel Wallace’s private insect collection. AES Bug Club Magazine 15(1) : 18 - 20 .
• Beccaloni, G. W. and Fritzsche, I. ( 2007 ) Editorial Cockroach Studies 2 : 2 - 3 .
• Beccaloni, G. W. and Fritzsche, I. ( 2007 ) BCG meetings - Invitation for 2007. Cockroach Studies 2 : 53 .

2006

• Beccaloni, G. W. ( 2006 ) Alfred Russel Wallace’s private insect collection. Science updates. Nature First 43 : 15 - 16 .
• Beccaloni, G. W. ( 2006 ) Hidden treasures: The unusual. Nature First 43 : 21 - 22 .
• Beccaloni, G. W. ( 2006 ) Alfred Russel Wallace’s private insect collection. Spotlight on science Second Nature 17 : 10 - 11 .
• Fritzsche, I. and Beccaloni, G. W. ( 2006 ) Editorial Cockroach Studies 1:1 : .

2005

• Beccaloni, G. W. ( 2005 ) The quest for the British mole cricket. Waterhouse Times 50 : 10 .
• Museum website ( 2005 ) . Rare insect, the mole cricket, discovered in Oxfordshire garden

2001

• Robinson, G. S., Ackery, P. R., Kitching, I. J., Beccaloni, G. W. & Hernández, L. M.   ( 2001 ) Hostplants of the Moth and Butterfly Caterpillars of the Oriental Region . The Natural History Museum, London & Southdene, Malaysia 744pp .

1999

• Symons, F. B. & Beccaloni, G. W.    ( 1999 ) Phylogenetic indices for measuring the diet breadths of phytophagous insects. Oecologia 119: 427-434. . The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com

1997

• Beccaloni, G.W. ( 1997 ) Vertical stratification of ithomiine butterfly (Nymphalidae: Ithomiinae) mimicry complexes: the relationship between adult flight height and larval host-plant height. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 62 : 313 - 341 .

1996

• Beccaloni, G.W. ( 1996 ) Microhabitat segregation of guilds of Neotropical ithomiine butterflies (Nymphalidae: Ithomiinae) and the evolution of mimicry. Proceedings of the XX International Congress of Entomology (Florence) : 255 .

1995

• Beccaloni, G.W. and Gaston, K.J. ( 1995 ) Predicting the species richness of Neotropical forest butterflies: Ithomiinae (Lepidoptera Nymphalidae) as indicators (Correction to 71: 77). Biological Conservation 72(3) : 407 .

1994

• Beccaloni, G.W. ( 1994 ) Microhabitat segregation of butterfly guilds and the evolution of mimicry. Bulletin of the British Ecological Society 25(4) : 272 .
• Beccaloni, G.W. and Gaston, K.J. ( 1994 ) Predicting the species richness of Neotropical forest butterflies: Ithomiinae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) as indicators. Biological Conservation 71(1) : 77 - 86 .

1993

• Beccaloni, G.W. ( 1993 ) A new species of Extatosoma Gray (Phasmatodea: Phasmatidae) from Papua New Guinea, with remarks on the species in the genus. Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 136(2) : 113 - 123 .

1991

• Beccaloni, G.W. ( 1991 ) Balta notulata (Stål) is a domiciliary cockroach in Papua New Guinea. Medical & Veterinary Entomology 5 : 507 - 509 .

1987

• Beccaloni, G.W.   ( 1987 ) Species report number 1: Gromphadorhina portentosa (Schaum). Blattodea Culture Group Newsletter 2(2) : 3 - 4 .

1985

• Beccaloni, GWS. ( 1985 ) Some observations on insect egg-laying in  autumn and winter. Exotic Entomology Group Newsletter 61 - 62 .

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