Silent Spring for the giant earwig?

[Richard.Zander at MOBOT.ORG]

Interesting how logic rears its head and bites everybody. You can't prove a
negative. This means that conservationists can't prove extinctions but
neither can developers.


______________________
Richard H. Zander
Bryology Group, Missouri Botanical Garden
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-----Original Message-----
From: Fabian Haas [mailto:haas.smns at NATURKUNDEMUSEUM-BW.DE] 
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 2:19 AM
To: TAXACOM at LISTSERV.NHM.KU.EDU
Subject: Re: [TAXACOM] Silent Spring for the giant earwig?

Well Ken, strictly speaking we cannot write off that species, though it
wasnt found with two extra expeditions, you are right. There is still the
possibility that they looked at the wrong place at the wrong time, and after
all it is an earwig and not too many people are interested in them. So in
contrast to birds and butterflies the search and recording frequencies are
quite low in any case. That is probably one reason why there are only these
two collecting events in 1789 and 1960's.

Though this time the earwig is a real big one and attracts considerable
'extra' attention because of this.

Hans Hendericks told me that the late Dr. Leleup said it is there but at
some rather special place. Unfortunately Dr. Leleup seemingly did not record
& publish this.

Anybody going to St. Helena, shortly?

Best
Fabian Haas



Ken Kinman schrieb:
> I think it is still premature to write off the giant earwig as extinct.
My understanding is that none were collected between its discovery in 1798
and the specimens found in the 1960's.  In spite of its size, maybe this
species is just particularly elusive for some reason.  Although expeditions
(such as those in 1988 and 2003) failed to find it, who knows if this
species may still be hanging in there (like the ivory-billed woodpecker).
In any case, maybe it will help save some of the other 200 endemic
invertebrate species on the island by delaying, modifying, or even
preventing plans on constructing a controversial airport.  If tourists are
too lazy to go there by boat, maybe they should just go elsewhere (where the
wildlife has already been exterminated anyway).
>   -----Ken Kinman
>
>

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*****

Dr. Fabian Haas, FRES
Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart Rosenstein 1
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