Maxwell V L Barclay

FRES Fres ( el, Φρες) is a village and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Apokoronas, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has a ...

is a British

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

, and Curator and Collections Manager of

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

and Hemiptera at the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more ...

in London. He is a Fellow of the

Royal Entomological Society The Royal Entomological Society is devoted to the study of insects. Its aims are to disseminate information about insects and improving communication between entomology, entomologists. The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological Socie ...

, and a member of the editorial board of The Coleopterist journal. He has been described as ‘one of Britain’s leading entomologists’.

Career

Barclay is one of the four virtual ‘Scientist Guides’ of the

’s new Darwin Centre and was among the group that showed the building to

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educa ...

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'' presented by

Jimmy Doherty Jimmy Doherty (born 24 May 1975) is an English television presenter and farmer. A childhood friend of Jamie Oliver, Doherty is known for the show '' Jimmy's Farm'', detailing the operation of the Essex Pig Company that he and his wife Michael ...

. 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'. In 2016 he gave the Royal Entomological Society's Verrall Lecture speaking on 'Collections: the last great frontiers of exploration'. In 2008 he was involved in the identification of a species of bug new to Britain in the Museum’s garden. Barclay is best known for his work on beetles (

), and is author of scientific papers and co-editor of a text book on the subject. He worked as a volunteer in the Department of Entomology for several years before being offered the post of Curator in 2001. The collection of the

that he manages includes more than 20,000 drawers of beetles, including specimens collected by Joseph Banks,

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

and Alfred Russel Wallace. He has travelled extensively in search of specimens, including to

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and

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, and has discovered new species.

Recognition

94 beetle species have been named in his honour by fellow scientists, including:

Carabidae Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it is one of the 10 most species-rich animal fam ...

* ''Goniotropis barclayi'' Deuve, 2005 * ''Platynus barclayi'' Schmidt, 2009 * ''Orictites barclayi'' Balkenohl, 2017 * ''Brachinus barclayi'' Hrdlička, 2019

Hydrophilidae Hydrophilidae, also known colloquially as water scavenger beetles, is a family of beetles. Aquatic hydrophilids are notable for their long maxillary palps, which are longer than their antennae. Several of the former subfamilies of Hydrophilidae ...

* ''Berosus barclayi'' Ponomarenko & Soriano, 2019 (Upper Eocene fossil) Ptiliidae * ''Acrotrichis barclayi'' Darby, 2014

Staphylinidae The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With roughly 63,000 species in thousands of genera, th ...

* ''Naddia barclayi'' Rougemont, 2016 * ''Asimos barclayi'' Chatzimanolis, 2023

Scarabaeidae The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change in recent years. Several sub ...

* ''Ixorida'' (''Pseudomecinonota'') ''barclayi'' Legrand, 2008 * ''Gynaecoserica barclayi'' Ahrens, 2009 * ''Clinterocera barclayi'' Legrand & Chew, 2010 * ''Copris'' (''Sinocopris'') ''barclayi'' Ochi, 2010 * ''Protaetia'' (''Macroprotaetia'') ''maxwelli'' Jakl, 2011 * ''Madecorphnus barclayi'' Frolov, 2012 * ''Onthophagus maxwellianus'' Moretto, 2013 * ''Mesomerodon barclayi'' Seidel, Jameson & Stone, 2017 * ''Wernoryctes barclayi'' Takano, 2020

Cantharidae The soldier beetles (Cantharidae) are relatively soft-bodied, straight-sided beetles. They are cosmopolitan in distribution. One of the first described species has a color pattern reminiscent of the red coats of early British soldiers, hence the ...

* ''Themus'' (''Haplothemus'') ''barclayi'' Svihla, 2006 Heteroceridae * ''Tropicus'' ''maxwelli'' Skalicky, 2010 Limnichidae * ''Phalacrichus'' ''max'' Ribera & Hernando, 2001 Throscidae * ''Trixagus barclayi'' Kirejtshuk, 2019 (Upper Eocene fossil)

Eucnemidae Eucnemidae, or false click beetles, are a family of elateroid beetles including about 1700 species distributed worldwide. Description Closely related to the family Elateridae, specimens of Eucnemidae can reach a length of . Bodies are slight ...

* ''Bioxylus'' ''barclayi'' Otto, 2016

Elateridae Elateridae or click beetles (or "typical click beetles" to distinguish them from the related families Cerophytidae and Eucnemidae, which are also capable of clicking) are a family of beetles. Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, sp ...

* ''Athous'' ''barclayi'' Platia, 2010

Ptinidae Ptinidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Bostrichoidea. There are at least 220 genera and 2,200 described species in Ptinidae worldwide. The family includes spider beetles and deathwatch beetles. The Ptinidae family species are hard ...

* ''Clada'' ''barclayi'' Zahradník & Trýzna, 2018

Dermestidae Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetles, and khapra beetles. There are over 1,100 species described. Dermestids have ...

* ''Orphinus barclayi'' Hava & Matsumoto, 2021 * ''Anthrenus'' ''barclayi'' Háva, 2019 * ''Thaumaglossa'' ''barclayi'' Kadej and Háva, 2015 Scirtidae * ''Scirtes maxi'' Yoshitomi & Ruta, 2010 * ''Cyphon barclayi'' Yoshitomi, 2012 Psephenidae * ''Falsodrupeus barclayi'' Lee, 2011 * ''Homoeogenus barclayi'' Lee, 2016

Buprestidae Buprestidae is a family of beetles known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles because of their glossy iridescent colors. Larvae of this family are known as flatheaded borers. The family is among the largest of the beetles, with some ...

* ''Endelus barclayi'' Kalashian, 2011 * ''Aphanisticus barclayi'' Kalashian & Kubáň, 2014 * ''Sphenoptera barclayi'' Kalashian, 2017

Lycidae The Lycidae are a family in the beetle order Coleoptera, members of which are commonly called net-winged beetles. These beetles are cosmopolitan, being found in Nearctic, Palearctic, Neotropical, Afrotropical, Oriental, and Australian ecoregions ...

* ''Sulabanus barclayi'' Dvorak & Bocak, 2007 * ''Alyculus barclayi'' Palata & Bocak, 2012

Coccinellidae Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as the ...

* ''Serratibia barclayi'' Gordon, Canepari & Hanley, 2013 Helotidae * ''Neohelota barclayi'' Lee, 2015

Nitidulidae The sap beetles, also known as Nitidulidae, are a family of beetles. They are small (2–6 mm) ovoid, usually dull-coloured beetles, with knobbed antennae. Some have red or yellow spots or bands. They feed mainly on decaying vegetable matt ...

* ''Pocadius barclayi'' Cline, 2005 Latridiidae * ''Cartodere barclayi'' Rücker, 2012 Aderidae * ''Zarcosia barclayi'' Gompel, 2020 Anthicidae * ''Tomoderus barclayi'' Telnov, 2005 * ''Macratria maxbarclayi'' Telnov, 2011

Ischaliidae The Anthicidae are a family of beetles that resemble ants. They are sometimes called ant-like flower beetles or ant-like beetles. The family comprises over 3,500 species in about 100 genera. Description Their heads constrict just in front ...

* ''Ischalia barclayi'' Young, 2011

Tenebrionidae Darkling beetle is the common name for members of the beetle family Tenebrionidae. The number of species in the Tenebrionidae is estimated at more than 20,000 and the family is cosmopolitan in distribution. Taxonomy ''Tenebrio'' is the Latin ge ...

* ''Eurychora barclayi'' Ferrer, 2003 * ''Amarygmus barclayi'' Bremer, 2004 * ''Pseudopodhomala barclayi'' Medvedev, 2004 * ''Ulomina barclayi'' Grimm, 2004 * ''Enicmosoma barclayi'' Ferrer, 2005 * ''Tauroceras barclayi'' Ferrer, Soldati & Delatour, 2005 * ''Chariotheca barclayi'' Masumoto 2006 * ''Goniadera barclayi'' Ferrer, 2007 * ''Pseudonautes barclayi'' Ando, 2007 * ''Laena barclayi'' Schawaller, 2009 * ''Othryoneus barclayi'' Ferrer, 2010 * ''Phylan barclayi'' Ferrer, 2010 * ''Hexarhopalus'' (''Leprocaulus'') ''barclayi'' Purchart, 2010 * ''Phymatosoma barclayi'' Masumoto & Akita, 2010 * ''Blaps barclayi'' Martínez-Fernández & Ferrer, 2012 * ''Rhyzodina barclayi'' Ferrer, 2015 * ''Stenochinus barclayi'' Masumoto & Akita, 2019 * ''Toktokkus barclayi'' Kamiński & Gearner, 2020 Oedemeridae * ''Nacerdes (Xanthochroa) apicipennis barclayi'' Svihla, 2011

Cerambycidae The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than ...

* ''Trypogeus barclayi'' Vives, 2007 * ''Melanesiandra barclayi'' Santos-Silva, 2011 * ''Acutandra barclayi'' Bouyer, Drumont & Santos-Silva, 2012 * ''Colobeutrypanus barclayi'' Monné & Monné, 2012 * ''Clytellus barclayi'' Miroshnikov, 2014 * ''Oncideres barclayi'' Nearns & Tavakilian, 2015 * ''Parandra barclayi'' Santos-Silva, 2015 * ''Triammatus barclayi'' Jiroux, 2016 * ''Saphanodes barclayi'' Adlbauer, 2016 * ''Elydnus barclayi'' Miroshnikov, 2017 * ''Lophobothea barclayi'' Monné M.A., Monné M.L. & Botero, 2017 * ''Dymasius barclayi'' Miroshnikov, 2018 * ''Polyzonus barclayi'' Skale, 2018

Chrysomelidae The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle ...

* ''Cyrtonota maxhowardi'' Sekerka, 2011 (named for Max and his colleague Howard Mendel) * ''Dercetina barclayi'' Lee & Bezdek, 2013 * ''Charaea maxbarclayi'' Bezdek & Lee, 2014 * ''Diabrotica barclayi'' Derunkov, Prado, Tishechkin & Konstantinov, 2015 * ''Doryscus barclayi'' Lee, 2017

Anthribidae Anthribidae is a family of beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The ...

* ''Pseudobasidissus barclayi'' Tryzna & Banar, 2014 * ''Gymnognathus barclayi'' Perger & Guerra, 2016 Rhynchitidae * ''Rubroinvolvulus barclayi'' Legalov, 2009

Brentidae Brentidae is a cosmopolitan family of primarily xylophagous beetles also known as straight-snouted weevils. The concept of this family has been recently expanded with the inclusion of three groups formerly placed in the Curculionidae; the sub ...

* ''Stereodermus barclayi'' Mantilleri, 2004 * ''Perapion barclayi'' Alonso-Zarazaga, 2011 orrected 2013 from mistyped ''barkleyi'' Curculionidae * ''Maxwelleus'' Meregalli, 2022 * ''Barclayanthus'' Borovec & Skuhrovec, 2019 * ''Eudraces barclayi'' Borovec & Nakladal, 2018 * ''Heisonyx barclayi'' Borovec, Colonelli & Osella, 2009 * ''Larinus barclayi'' Gültekin & Lyal, 2016 * ''Pachycerus barclayi'' Meregalli, 2009 * ''Sphincticraerus barclayi'' Košťál, 2019 * ''Titilayo barclayi'' Cristovao & Lyal, 2018 * ''Tychius barclayi'' Caldara, 2011 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. As a teenager he worked as a volunteer at the

Durrell Wildlife Park Jersey Zoo (formerly Durrell Wildlife Park) is a zoological park established in 1959 on the island of Jersey in the English Channel by naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell (1925–1995). It is operated by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. ...

and he cites

Gerald Durrell Gerald Malcolm Durrell, (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservation movement, conservationist, and television presenter. He founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Zoo o ...

as a significant influence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, Maxwell V.L. Living people British entomologists Fellows of the Royal Entomological Society English coleopterists Employees of the Natural History Museum, London Year of birth missing (living people)