RIP, Justin [science]
Feb. 20th, 2023 06:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeisterOne of my longtime social insect heroes, Justin Schmidt, just died. Actually, this follows rather closely on the heels of the death of another well-known and well-loved social insect biologist, John Alcock.
Both of them worked with many of the incredible flying stinging insect species of Arizona, albeit each in different ways. Actually, both of them were also participants in the long-running joint Hexapodium meeting series organized between the two larger state universities in Arizona. And they both wrote phenomenal popular science books and articles about insects.
I first got to know Justin through the Hexapodium talks. I think it was at a meeting at the Sonoran Desert Museum, where we wound up sitting at a table together. I can't overemphasize just how wonderfully enthusiastic and welcoming he was to me as a newcomer graduate student first falling in love with the social insects. It is HUGE to show up to a talk where the audience is mostly expert strangers and be warmly greeted from someone who is just full of sheer joy for talking about social insect biology.
Justin is best known for the Schmidt Sting Scale, which is incorporated in a wonderful fashion in his book The Sting of the Wild. His work should be contrasted with the sensationalist and exploitative use of stinging social insects on social media and video platforms; Justin always noted that his sting experiences were incidental, over the course of work with a wide range of different species. I would discourage you from supporting more sensationalist uses of social insects, as this sets a bad standard for how to relate to some of the spicier wild animals that are out there.
He was also interested in sting properties from the standpoint of understanding the evolution of venom across stinging insect species. It's thanks to Justin that I gained an appreciation for the diversity of compounds found in different types of venoms, and the diversity of venom effects.
Here's a wonderful interview of Justin from a 2016 Entomology meeting: https://youtu.be/Nv8bH_TcmR0
Justin will be greatly missed by many people.
Both of them worked with many of the incredible flying stinging insect species of Arizona, albeit each in different ways. Actually, both of them were also participants in the long-running joint Hexapodium meeting series organized between the two larger state universities in Arizona. And they both wrote phenomenal popular science books and articles about insects.
I first got to know Justin through the Hexapodium talks. I think it was at a meeting at the Sonoran Desert Museum, where we wound up sitting at a table together. I can't overemphasize just how wonderfully enthusiastic and welcoming he was to me as a newcomer graduate student first falling in love with the social insects. It is HUGE to show up to a talk where the audience is mostly expert strangers and be warmly greeted from someone who is just full of sheer joy for talking about social insect biology.
Justin is best known for the Schmidt Sting Scale, which is incorporated in a wonderful fashion in his book The Sting of the Wild. His work should be contrasted with the sensationalist and exploitative use of stinging social insects on social media and video platforms; Justin always noted that his sting experiences were incidental, over the course of work with a wide range of different species. I would discourage you from supporting more sensationalist uses of social insects, as this sets a bad standard for how to relate to some of the spicier wild animals that are out there.
He was also interested in sting properties from the standpoint of understanding the evolution of venom across stinging insect species. It's thanks to Justin that I gained an appreciation for the diversity of compounds found in different types of venoms, and the diversity of venom effects.
Here's a wonderful interview of Justin from a 2016 Entomology meeting: https://youtu.be/Nv8bH_TcmR0
Justin will be greatly missed by many people.
