- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
When award-winning biology teacher Donald “Doc Boc” Bockler of Arlington (Mass.) High School, died at age 65 of an apparent heart attack on Sept. 2, 2008 at his home, two of his former students from the Class of 1993--Tabatha Bruce Yang of the Bohart Museum and Margaret Dredge Moore of Arlington--launched a fundraising drive to name an insect after him.
They selected a newly discovered species in the genus Lanthanomyia--being described by Bohart Museum senior museum scientist Steve Heydon. They sought the name, Lanthanomyia bockleri.
Heydon recently published his work on Lanthanomyia bockleri Heydon in Zootaxa, a worldwide mega-journal for zoological taxonomists and the name is now official.
“Once an article goes through the scientific review process and is published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, the name of the new species is official and immortalized in the scientific literature,” explained Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and professor of entomology at UC Davis.
Kimsey described species-naming as “a unique, lasting form of dedication” and “a great honor both for the person giving the name and for the individual or other honoree whose name is being given to the species.”
Heydon said Lanthanomyia is a genus whose species are restricted to central and southern Chile and adjacent parts of Argentina. The new species is found in the Nothofagus forests of Patagonian Chile, including Chiloe Island. It belongs to a family of parasitic wasps called the Pteromalidae. “Unlike other related species, this one has a unique dorsal attachment of the head to the thorax. If you see a specimen of Lanthanomyia with the neck attaching close to the top of the head, you know it is bockleri,” Heydon said. “Adults are reared from galls on Nothofagus and are thought to be parasites of gall-forming weevils.”
“Donald Bockler was fascinated by evolution and nature and he would have been proud,” said Yang, education and outreach coordinator at the Bohart Museum. Like many other Bockler students, she credits him for influencing her decision to pursue a career in science.
His former students and teaching colleagues said the naming of the insect is a fitting tribute to a teacher who lived for and loved science and instilled the enthusiasm in his students. Wrote one colleague in an email to Yang and Moore: “His students were blessed by his passion and devotion to inquiry learning. As a friend and mentor, he left an indelible mark on my career as a teacher and scholar… Most importantly, he helped us all believe in the value of our work.”
Bockler's obituary in the Boston Globe related that he “found his place among the subjects he loved and the students he taught. During his career he led classes in all levels of biology, environmental science, and earth science.”
“...He was past president of the Massachusetts Association of Biology Teachers (MABT), was a reader for the AP biology and Environmental Science exams, and presented at state and national conferences… He received an award for Excellence in Environmental Education in 2003 and was recognized by Tufts University for excellence in mentoring practice teachers.
“Once retired in 2003, he continued working in science education, writing curricula for the Urban Ecology Institute, home-schooling science students, and becoming a teaching assistant at Harvard University Extension. Recently he had begun working with the Encyclopedia of Life Project.
“His essence is reflected in comments made by students and teachers: "The learning community has lost one of its greats." "A gentleness is passed." "He was loved by all and will be sorely missed as our world has lost one of its finest teachers and human beings."
He and his wife, Marzina, had no children.
MABT established a memorial scholarship in his name and wrote on its website: “Don's energy and enthusiasm for teaching were an inspiration to us all. Don was a dedicated educator who taught for over 30 years at Arlington High School and before that as a Peace Corps volunteer in South America. His students learned their lessons to a high standard because of his outstanding teaching. In addition to his dedicated service to MABT, he chaired the Massachusetts Outstanding Biology Teaching Award Committee for years. Don was an avid reader; his personal library held more than 5000 volumes, the diversity of which reflected his many varied interests and his inquisitive mind.
The Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124 Academic Surge on Crocker Lane, established its BioLegacy program “to support species discovery and naming, research and teaching activities of the museum through sponsorships,” Kimsey said.
“At a time when support for taxonomic and field research is shrinking, researchers find it increasingly difficult to discover, classify and name undescribed species. Yet there are thousands yet to be discovered. Taxonomy is the basis of all biology and without species discovery and naming much of the world's biodiversity will remain unknown and therefore unprotectable.”
Agriculture and human settlement are expanding, and according to conservative estimates, around 17,500 species become extinct every year. “Most of these have not even been discovered, let alone researched or exploited,” Kimsey said. “This loss has ecological and economic consequences which, though difficult to measure, are undoubtedly of major significance. Extinction is forever!”
The Bohart Museum of Entomology posts information about naming rights and insects needing names on its BioLegacy website. A minimum sponsorship of $2,500 is requested. Participation in the BioLegacy Program is open to the public (of legal age) and scientists in research organizations. Taxonomists are expressly invited to join the BioLegacy Program. The Bohart Museum is a non-profit organization and donations are tax-deductible.
The BioLegacy Program:
- provides donors the opportunity to sponsor and give a scientific name to a newly discovered insect species;
- provides researchers responsible for identifying the new species with names provided by donors;
- ensures that names provide by donors are used in a scientifically sound and scientifically correct manner in accordance with International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature rules;
- provides donors with documentary proof of their name for the new species in question; ensures that donated funds go to the support of taxonomical research in the Bohart Museum of Entomology;
- publishes donor-named species and information about the research on its website
The Bohart Museum, dedicated to teaching, research and public service, houses nearly eight million specimens and is the seventh largest insect collection in North America. It is named for noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007).