MEDIA RELEASE

Need to ID a Weird Weed or Arthropod? CSUN Biologist Jim Hogue is Your Man

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Feb. 14, 2008) — Cal State Northridge biologist Jim Hogue seems surprisingly sane for a man who spends scads of time in the company of 50,000 bugs and at least half as many dried plants. But the co-author of the "Field Guide to Beetles of California" is not only sound of mind, he is deeply conversant with and respectful of things that crawl upon or spring forth from the earth.

So when researchers from across the country call CSUN for specifics on this arachnid or that leaf type, or when regional residents ring up because they’re curious—or nervous—about some fanged, winged thing buzzing outside the screen door, he is quick to respond.

Collections manager for Cal State Northridge’s Biology Department since 1997, Hogue presides over some 21,000 specimens of plant life and an army of more than 50,000 insects in the university’s herbarium and insect collection cabinets: spiders, giant walking sticks, flowers, ants, plants, seeds, weeds, and a wicked Central African flying beetle too big to swat.

Recently, the scientist has begun single-handedly computerizing the data on CSUN’s plant collection, a monumental task allowing him to retrieve information for scientists nationwide in a flash. "I don’t have to paw through drawers; I ask the computer and I have it just like that," said Hogue.

When he is closer to completing the complicated data entry project—he has entered about 9,000 specimens so far—Hogue will share the information with the Consortium of California Herbaria, a repository of statewide data on plant life.

A plant dating back to the late 1870s is the old-timer of the herbarium, which boasts specimens from all over the world as well as a generous representation from the San Fernando Valley region.

But bugs, spiders especially, excite most callers’ inquiries. So far, none of those reported compare to the collection’s heavyweight champ—a monstrous horned Peruvian beetle, genus Megasoma, which sports a four-inch body and a seven-inch leg span.

Local residents can call, e-mail images or mail in specimens, and Hogue has even made a few house calls to eyeball the occasional suspect. But he encourages callers to visit CSUN so he can get a close-up look at the plant or insect. "People get excited when they see that the university is here to help them, and that it maintains these kinds of collections."

Hogue welcomes calls from the public at (818) 677-3310.