diversity Article A Tribute to Guillermo (Willy) Kuschel (1918–2017) Rolf G. Oberprieler 1,*, Christopher H. C. Lyal 2 , Kimberi R. Pullen 1, Mario Elgueta 3, Richard A. B. Leschen 4 and Samuel D. J. Brown 5 1 CSIRO Australian National Insect Collection, G. P. O. Box 1700, Canberra A. C. T. 2601, Australia;
[email protected] 2 The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK;
[email protected] 3 Área de Entomología, Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Casilla 787, Santiago 8320000, Chile;
[email protected] 4 New Zealand Arthropod Collection, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Private Bag 92170, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
[email protected] 5 Plant & Food Research, Private Bag 92169, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +612-6246-4271 Received: 10 August 2018; Accepted: 12 September 2018; Published: 14 September 2018 Abstract: This tribute commemorates the life and work of Guillermo (Willy) Kuschel, who made substantial contributions to the understanding of weevil systematics, evolution and biology. Willy was born in Chile in 1918 and studied philosophy, theology and biology. He became fascinated by weevils early on and completed his Ph.D. degree on South American Erirhinini. Subsequent employment by the University of Chile provided him with many opportunities to further his weevil research and undertake numerous collecting expeditions, including to remote and rugged locations such as the Juan Fernandez Islands and southern Chile. In 1963 he accepted a position at the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in New Zealand, where he became Head of the Systematics Group in the Entomology Division.