Image: When shrieks of surprise, delight, and (a little) fear resounded through the Natural History Building, we knew that Cecil Smith’s tour had ended with an attack of the giant spider. Cecil averaged a tour of the UGA Collection of Arthropods (UGCA) each week, so the giant spider got a lot of exercise. Cecil’s long relationship with the UGCA started in 1973 with a graduate assistantship in the museum from the Entomology Department. After earning a doctoral degree in 1980, Cecil was hired as the Associate Curator of the Collection. Later his title expanded to Associate Curator and Collections Manager to reflect his broad duties in the Collection. He retired in 2011 after 38 years of outstanding service. Although Cecil passed away on July 5, 2025, we will continue to feel the enduring impact of his commitment to the diverse missions of the Georgia Museum of Natural History (GMNH). One of a collection manager’s significant contributions is service in the form of caring for tangible and intangible records of the world around us. The UGCA is the primary systematics reference for arthropods in Georgia. Under Cecil’s guidance, the UGCA’s holdings grew to include more than 1.4 million specimens mounted on pins, 50,000 preserved in alcohol, and 129,000 on slides. Cecil enjoyed documenting insect diversity through meticulous preparation of donated specimens as well as material he collected during local field trips and trips to Central America and Taiwan. When Cecil retired, more than 70% of the insect material was determined to the species-level. Another important aspect of a collection manager’s work is specimen-based research. Cecil’s taxonomic specialties were Hemiptera (true bugs) and Coleoptera (beetles). He published major taxonomic works on these groups. He described about a half dozen new insect species and had an equal number named in honor of him by other entomologists, including Ceratocapsus cecilsmithi, a plant bug from the eastern U.S. Cecil supported entomological researchers in many ways. Each year, he hosted about 15 visiting scientists, and packed and shipped 20-30 loans totaling thousands of specimens to scholars around the world. Cecil responded to a continuous stream of questions raised by researchers, students, public officials, and the general public. In a typical year, he answered over 300 formal requests for identifications and loaned about 60 demonstration drawers of arthropods for education and outreach. Some of these drawers were borrowed by UGA faculty for academic instruction in topics ranging from ecology and entomology to scientific illustration. Student illustrations line the halls of the Natural History Building. Cecil was an excellent carpenter and the picture molding supporting these illustrations was made and installed by him. He knew that museum staff often must be skilled do-it-yourselfers. Cecil was an organizer for Insectival, an annual public service event held at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. He developed new display drawers for Insectival to illustrate specific themes using specimens from the UGCA. Each month, he created an “Insect of the Month” box to share with a local avocational entomology club. Many of these display drawers are regularly displayed in the Museum’s gallery. He also prepared scripts for Dan Gunnel’s Cooperative Extension Service radio show broadcast from UGA. For years, Cecil kept a live tarantula or two in the Museum’s conference room to entertain staff on lunch breaks. In answer to an oft-asked question, yes, they usually were alive. Cecil also installed one of the Museum’s most popular exhibit: a collection of Gary Larson’s Far Side cartoons, featuring, what else: arthropods. The UGCA will remain an enduring reflection of Cecil’s efforts and spirit. The GMNH family will miss him dearly. Remembering Cecil Smith Image: Image: Image: Image: Image: Image:
