Inventory of the Robbin W. Thorp Papers
D-657
Liz Phillips
University of California, Davis Library, Dept. of Special Collections
2019
1st Floor, Shields Library, University of California
100 North West Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292
speccoll@ucdavis.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Davis Library, Dept. of Special Collections
Title: Robbin W. Thorp Papers
Creator:
Thorp,
Robbin W. (Robbin Walker), 1933-
Identifier/Call Number: D-657
Physical Description:
3 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1966-2002
Abstract: Materials related to the research career of
emeritus professor of entomology and expert in bee biology Dr. Robbin Thorp. The collection includes field data,
correspondence and notes, meeting and conference proceedings, and publications.
Physical Location: Researchers should contact Archives and Special
Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Biography
Dr. Robbin Thorp (1933-2019) was a distinguished emeritus professor of entomology who taught at UC Davis from 1964-1994
and who continued to contribute to UC Davis and other research institutions until his last moments. He was born on August
26,
1933 in Benton Harbor, Michigan and earned his bachelor of science in zoology in 1955 at the University of Michigan; his
master's degree in zoology in 1957 at the University of Michigan; and his PhD in entomology in 1964 at UC Berkeley. That same
year, he joined the entomology department at UC Davis where he taught courses that ranged from insect classification, general
entomology, the natural history of insects, field entomology, California insect diversity, and pollination ecology. Dr. Thorp
also taught a 9-day intensive summer workshop from 2002-2018 that focused on bee biology and taxonomy: it was sponsored by
the American Museum of Natural History at the Southwestern Research Station, Portal, Arizona. This summer course was
considered the premiere native bee biology and taxonomic course.
Aside from a distinguished teaching career, Dr. Thorp was also a leading researcher and expert in the entomology and
taxonomy of bees. He co-authored a few books, Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (Princeton University,
2014) and California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday, 2014) and continued to pursue research
projects at the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology and the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven (a half-acre bee garden on Bee
Biology Road operated by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.) Some of his research involved monitoring bees
in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, where he established a baseline in 2008 and detected more than 80 species of bees. His
expertise in his field of study has earned him multiple honors and recognition among his peers across the nation, one of
which is the Distinguished Emeritus Award in 2015. According to a colleague, Norman Gary, emeritus professor of entomology
at
UC Davis, he was the go-to person to distinguish a bee by species. As a result, his academic peers regard his level of
expertise unmatched and regret that such expertise will no longer be available. He passed away at the age of 85 on June 7,
2019 in Davis, six months after his wife Joyce died at the age of 84 on December 9, 2018. Their survivors are three children,
Kelly, Katie, and Jeff and two stepchildren, Donna Gary and Steve Gary.
Biography by Vanessa Cardona-Ocegueda
Source:
Scope and Contents
Materials related to the research career of bee biology expert Dr. Robbin Thorp. The collection includes field data,
correspondence and notes, meeting and conference proceedings, and publications.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Liz Phillips with help from student assistant Aditi Sinha and Vanessa
Cardone-Ocegueda.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Robbin W. Thorp Papers, D-657, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of
California, Davis.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Transferred to UC Davis Library by Lynn Kimsey, 2019.
Publication Rights
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for
permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is
not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Bees -- Research
Bees -- California
University of California, Davis -- Faculty -- Archives
Box 1, Folder
3
10-180 + Western Regional Coordinating Committee (Western Regional Coordinating Committee (WRCC)) - 37 meeting
(missed)
1995
Box 1, Folder
4
Africanized Honey Bee (AHB) Role in MoU for CA
1993
Box 1, Folder
23-24
Africanized Honey Bee (AHB)
1989-1991
Box 1, Folder
25
Africanized Honey Bee (AHB) - news, updates & miscellaneous
1991-1993
Box 1, Folder
5
Africanized Honey Bee (AHB) - Tech Advising Committee DPU's
August 1992
Box 1, Folder
29
Bodega Long Term Ecological Research (LTER)
1989
Box 1, Folder
28
Bodega Marine Laboratory Research (BMLR) - Lupinus Arboreus
1992
Box 2, Folder
1
Bodega Misc. Correspondence
1989-1990
Box 3, Folder
30
Bodega - Proposals & Travel Vouchers
1986
Box 2, Folder
4
Bodega - Natural Reserve System (NRS) Research
1996-2001
Box 1, Folder
27
Bombus Acarinarium
November 1989
Box 2, Folder
9
Experiment Station Projects & Reports
1966-1989
Box 2, Folder
23
Fluorescent Training
1976
Box 3, Folder
1-2
Fluorescent Training
1978
Box 3, Folder
4
Fluorescent Training
1977
Box 3, Folder
7
Fremontodendron Flannel Bush Study
1979-1980
Box 1, Folder
1
Hatch (3000-H) Revision 1990
1991-1996
Box 1, Folder
2
Hatch (3000-H) Revision 1996
1996-2001
Box 3, Folder
14
Jepson Prairie Permit information
1989-1993
Box 3, Folder
11-12
Jepson Prairie Reserve (JPR) Management Committee
1992
Box 3, Folder
16-18
Jepson Prairie Reserve (JPR) Management Committee
October 1992
Box 3, Folder
15
Jepson Prairie Reserve (JPR) Project
1992-1996
Box 3, Folder
6
Jon Bishop Correspondence
1990-1992
Box 3, Folder
26-27
MelissaNewsletter
1986-1996
Box 3, Folder
31
Miscellaneous
undated
Scope and Contents
Vouchers, permits, booklets
Box 2, Folder
12
Natural Reserve System (NRS) Publications
undated
Box 3, Folder
8
Nectar Fluorescence
1974-1984
Box 1, Folder
26
Point Reyes Bee Study
undated
Box 1, Folder
21
Pollination Research Workshop
1990-1991
Box 3, Folder
28
Programa Cooperativo sobre la Apifauna Mexicana (PCAM) Apifauna Mexico
1988
Box 1, Folder
30
Randall Morgan Bee IDs
2002
Box 2, Folder
13-15
Science Citation Index (SCI) Fennel Project
1997
Box 2, Folder
16-17
Science Citation Index (SCI) Fennel Project
1998
Box 2, Folder
18-22
Science Citation Index (SCI) Fennel Project
1999
Box 3, Folder
34
Thorp Arctic Bombus Collaboration
1993
Box 3, Folder
32
Thorp Correspondence
1978-1991
Box 3, Folder
29
Thorp Fennel Project
1997
Box 3, Folder
25
UC Publications in Entomology Panel
1973-1990
Box 3, Folder
19-21
UCD - Natural Reserve System (NRS)
1990
Box 3, Folder
23-24
UCD - Natural Reserve System (NRS)
1993
Box 2, Folder
5-8
UCD - Natural Reserve System (NRS)
1994-1998
Box 2, Folder
10-11
UCD - Natural Reserve System (NRS)
1991-1993
Box 3, Folder
13
UCD - Natural Reserve System (NRS)
1998
Box 1, Folder
12
W-180
1994
Scope and Contents
W-180: Research under Agricultural Experiment Station Western Regional Project "Identification, behavioral ecology,
genetics, and management of African honey bees."
Box 1, Folder
9
W-180 & Western Regional Coordinating Committee (WRCC) - 37
1997
Box 1, Folder
11
W-180 & Western Regional Coordinating Committee (WRCC) - 37
1996
Box 1, Folder
10
W-180 & Western Regional Coordinating Committee (WRCC) - 37 Meeting
April 1997
Box 1, Folder
8
W-180 & Western Regional Coordinating Committee (WRCC) - 37 Renewals
May 1994- September 1995
Box 1, Folder
14
W-180 & Western Regional Coordinating Committee (WRCC) - 40
1991-1992
Box 1, Folder
22
W-180 Addresses
1987-1990
Box 1, Folder
16
W-180 Annual Meeting
1990
Box 1, Folder
15
W-180 Annual Meeting 1991 - Tucson
1990-1992
Box 1, Folder
20
W-180 Meeting Reports and Other Related Documents
1988-1991
Box 2, Folder
24-27
Western Agricultural Society (WAS) - British Bee Society (BBS) Group Sign-up
1978-1991
Box 1, Folder
17-19
Western Regional Coordinating Committee (WRCC) - 37
1979-1989
Box 2, Folder
2-3
Western Regional Coordinating Committee (WRCC) - 37 & W-180 Misc. Reports
1992-2001
Box 1, Folder
7
Western Regional Coordinating Committee (WRCC) - 37 Annual Meeting
1990-1991