One of the most distinguished and interesting people on Earth passed away last night. But I cannot be sad, thinking of loss. Dr. Michener, or Mich as he asked me to call him at our first meeting in 1992, was the world’s leading authority on those most important insects, bees. His scientific life began as a child as he made water colors of plant life around Pasadena, southern California. His prolific publishing career began at age 16. Mich’s inspiration to others came quietly, in the way he lived – generous, encouraging, honest. As a Masters student at KU, it was hard for me to say no when Mich came by daily (Tues-Fri), promptly at 11.55 am, with a single query, “Lunch?” A small group always departed for the union (On Mondays, we all gathered in Snow for a talk).
Later, my own Ph.D. monograph was inspired by Mich’s Ph.D. thesis on bees – that text recalibrated all subsequent research on bees! It was the best monograph to prop next to my computer.
Returning to KU as a faculty was unexpected; the unplanned treat was returning to the daily rhythm of lunch with Mich. This time round, I tried to absorb as much of him, acutely aware that with time’s passing, I would not have his insights, nor enjoy his easy camaraderie with Dr. George Byers (our other elderly and dear emeritus professor), nor have the pleasure of spending time with Mich’s wife, Mary Michener (an equally delightful and inspiring figure).
In recent years, I zoomed in on subsociality of cassidine beetles and made a leap to view the broader array of defenses in each life stage. Mich was my sounding board as I re-read and researched literature on a century of ideas about sociality, including his key contributions. He was so helpful to my preparation of a new, integrated research on cassidines.
My last long visit with Mich was at his home, Sept 17th on my birthday. He was fragile, fading, but his responses were still sharp, perceptive, and encouraging. Mich was a treasure to the end.
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