Mayo, Russell (1957 - 2023)

Summary

Russell Mayo was an entomologist who collected widely across Australia for over 50 years. He was especially interested in butterflies (Lepidoptera, particularly Hesperiidae and Lycaenidae) and jewel beetles (Buprestidae). His large collection included type specimens and many specimens of rarer species. Important specimens were donated to museums and other public collections. Mayo's publications record was small, but he contributed significantly to papers of other entomologists by sharing data on important discoveries including range records, early stages and food plants. He discovered several species that were new to science or had not been collected for many decades, and was noted for having an acute eye for morphological differences between species and genera. Mayo was a keen participant in citizen science activities. He was a foundation moderator for the Butterflies Australia Project, checking tens of thousands of records and encouraging other participants. In his professional career Mayo reached senior management levels with the federal public service. The jewel beetles Castiarina mayoiana and Astraeus mayoi were named in his honour.

Published resources

Journal Articles

• Petrie, Ed, with input from Mark Hanlon and Tony Moore, 'Russell Mayo 3 March 1957 - 26 November 2023', Moths and Butterflies Australasia newsletter, 5 (2024), 14-6, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B5rYjuIak427R3wapl3KkIovlD6Tfacc/view. Details