C.P. Alexander Award

C.P. Alexander, 1971 Picture by D. Hall

The C.P. Alexander Award was established by the North American Dipterists Society (NADS) during a special meeting at the 3rd International Congress of Dipterology in Guelph, Canada, in 1994. The purpose of the Award is to recognize the contributions to North American dipterology by the greatest living North American dipterist. It is a lifetime award and can only be held by a single dipterist at a time. The C.P. Alexander Award publicly acknowledges the most important and influential member of NADS. There have been two recipients of the C.P. Alexander Award.

William (“Bill”) W. Wirth

The first recipient of the C.P. Alexander Award was Bill Wirth, who was awarded the honor in 1994 during the 3rd International Congress of Dipterology in Guelph.

W.W. Wirth, ca. 1989 Picture by S. Murphree

The Award reads, “The North American Dipterists Society recognizes Willis W. Wirth as our most productive dipterist and for his critical and unique contributions in expanding our knowledge of flies, especially biting midges and shore flies, educating and encouraging a cadre of world leaders for Systematic Dipterology.”

Due to ill health, Bill was unable to attend the Guelph Congress to receive his Award. He was presented with the Award in Florida shortly after the Congress, on 27 August 1994, by a group of Gainesville dipterists. Sadly, Bill died about a week later, on 4 September 1994, in Gainesville. Information about the awarding of the C.P Alexander Award to Bill Wirth was published in Fly Times 14: 4-5 (1995). Obituaries of Bill were published in American Entomologist 41(1): 63-64 (1995) and Florida Entomologist 78(1): 192-193 (1995). In 1996, issue 18 of Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Washington was dedicated to Bill Wirth and contained several introductory articles about his life and entomological contributions. A list of Wirth’s publications is available on the Internet.

J. Richard (“Dick”) Vockeroth

The second recipient of the C.P. Alexander Award was Dick Vockeroth, who held the award until he passed away on 16 November 2012. Dick was presented with the Award in May 1997 during a field meeting of the North American Dipterists Society.

J.R. Vockeroth, 1989 Picture by J.E. O'Hara

The Award reads, “John Richard Vockeroth is recognized as our most knowledgable dipterist, and for his critical and unique contributions in expanding our knowledge of flies, especially flower flies, educating and encouraging a cadre of world leaders for Systematic Dipterology.”

A brief biography of Dick’s professional career as a dipterist was published in Fly Times 19: 4-5 (1997).