Maxwell V L Barclay, usually known as Max Barclay, is a British entomologist, and Curator and Collections Manager of Coleoptera and Hemiptera at the Natural History Museum in London. He is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, and a member of the Editorial Board of The Coleopterist journal. He has been described as ‘one of Britain’s leading entomologists’
Barclay is one of the four virtual ‘Scientist Guides’ of the Natural History Museum’s new Darwin Centre and was among the group that showed the building to Prince William 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. 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 publicâ€. In 2008 he was involved in the identification of a species of bug new to Britain in the Museum’s garden which led to a great deal of media interest.
In the scientific world, Barclay is best known for his work on beetles (Coleoptera), and is author of numerous scientific papers and co-editor of a text book on the subject. A lifelong entomologist, 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 Natural History Museum that he manages includes more than 20,000 drawers of beetles, including specimens collected by Joseph Banks, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. He has travelled extensively in search of specimens, including to Bolivia, Peru, Taiwan and Thailand, and has discovered numerous new species. More than 20 beetles have been named in his honour by fellow scientists, including:
Carabidae
- Pachyteles barclayi Deuve, 2005
- Platynus barclayi Schmidt, 2009
Scarabaeidae
- 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
Cantharidae
- Themus (Haplothemus) barclayi Svihla, 2006
Heteroceridae
- Tropicus maxwelli Skalicky, 2010
Limnichidae
- Phalacrichus max Ribera & Hernando, 2001
Scirtidae
- Scirtes maxi Yoshitomi & Ruta, 2010
Psephenidae
- Falsodrupeus barclayi Lee, 2011
Buprestidae
- Endelus barclayi Kalashian, 2011
Lycidae
- Sulabanus barclayi Dvorak & Bocak, 2007
- Alyculus barclayi Palata & Bocak, 2012
Coccinellidae
- Serratibia barclayi Gordon, Canepari & Hanley, 2013
Nitidulidae
- Pocadius barclayi Cline, 2005
Latridiidae
- Cartodere barclayi Rücker, 2012
Anthicidae
- Tomoderus barclayi Telnov, 2005
Ischaliidae
- Ischalia barclayi Young, 2011
Tenebrionidae
- Eurychora barclayi Ferrer, 2003
- Amarygmus barclayi Bremer, 2004
- Pseudopodhomala barclayi Medvedev, 2004
- Ulomina barclayi Grimm, 2004
- Enicmosoma barclayi Ferrer, 2005
- Chariotheca barclayi Masumoto 2006
- Tauroceras barclayi Ferrer, Soldati & Delatour, 2005
- 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 MartÃnez-Fernández & Ferrer, 2012
Oedemeridae
- Nacerdes (Xanthochroa) apicipennis barclayi Svihla, 2011
Cerambycidae
- 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
Chrysomelidae
- Cyrtonota maxhowardi Sekerka, 2011 (named for Max and his colleague Howard Mendel)
Anthribidae
- Pseudobasidissus barclayi Tryzna & Banar, 2014
Rhynchitidae
- Rubroinvolvulus barclayi Legalov, 2009
Brentidae
- Stereodermus barclayi Mantilleri, 2004
- Perapion barkleyi Alonso-Zarazaga, 2011 [sic]
Curculionidae
- Tychius barclayi Caldara, 2011
- Heisonyx barclayi Borovec, Colonelli & Osella, 2009
- Pachycerus barclayi Meregalli, 2009
as well as the wasp Platygaster barclayi Buhl, 2011
Personal life
Barclay is married with children. As a teenager he worked as a volunteer at the Durrell Wildlife Park and he cites Gerald Durrell as a significant influence.
References
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