Gary Anweiler
Awarded 2006
Gary Anweiler has developed his enthusiasm for Lepidoptera, to become one of the premier experts on Noctuids in North America. This has all been done on his own time, after his regular working hours. He has always shared his time freely, helping many others and spreading his infectious enthusiasm. He has made a huge contribution to entomology in Alberta. He was instrumental in bringing together local lepidopterists, at first informally, but later as the Alberta Lepidopterists’ Guild, which incorporated as a society in December 1999. He was the founding president and currently serves as Secretary/Treasurer. Considered an unofficial “goodwill ambassador” for Alberta Lepidopterology, Gary is always willing to host a social gathering, or lead a collecting trip when a visiting collector comes through town. He has donated countless hours of his time to the Strickland Museum at the University of Alberta, as well as to other institutions. Currently, Gary is finishing up a revision of the genus Panthea of North America, is involved in several biological surveys of special places and protected areas, and is responsible for the Noctuoidea section of a comprehensive checklist of the Lepidoptera of Alberta in preparation.
Terry Thormin
Awarded 2005
Terry Thormin refers to himself as the Bug Room Supervisor at the Royal Alberta Museum, even though his official title is Acting Curator of Invertebrate Zoology. His interest in bugs dates back to his early childhood when a flight of Monarch Butterflies through the family yard sparked an interest in learning more about insects and starting his first insect collection. As the Bug Room Supervisor, Terry looks after the welfare of the live bugs and helps develop educational programs and special events for visitors to the museum. One of his favorite jobs is going to schools to present programs on insects and spiders. He also spends considerable time answering questions about bugs from the general public and has developed a large section of the museum’s web site that does the same thing. Terry’s photos grace this web site, and he has photographed over 700 species of Alberta insects and spiders. Terry was also a key member of the team that created the museum’s new habitat gallery, Wild Alberta. Terry has been with the Provincial Museum since 1978 and has run the Bug Room, which he developed, since 1992.
Donald James Buckle
Awarded 2004
Donald James Buckle received the Carr Award in recognition of his contributions to spider taxonomy and identification, and advancement of science through assistance provided to graduate students and scientists worldwide. Don was born in January 1947 in Preeceville, Saskatchewan, and grew up in Lady Lake. Don started collecting spiders in 1961. In 1963, between Grades 10 and 11, Don got a summer job with arachnologists Albert Turnbull and Charles Dondale in Bellville, Ontario. While completing Grade 12, he authored his first scientific publication on spiders. To date, Don has contributed to 26 publications, and presently is working on several other projects, including preparation of the linyphid section of “Spiders of North America” and an annotated checklist of the spiders of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Because of Don’s keen ability to detect differences within species groups, Don has had two spiders named after him. In 1972, Norman Platnick who was then at the American Museum of Natural History described Ebo bucklei. In 1975, Torbjörn Kroensted of the Swedish Museum of Natural History described Pardosa bucklei. Don is a “professional amateur”. He does not have an academic degree, but he has the knowledge and abilities of any respected biologist. For his many contributions, Don is well deserving of the Carr Award.
