In the summer of 2009—whoa, that is already eleven years ago!—Peter was featured in the monthly newsletter of the Hymenoptera Group for the University of Kentucky. It's a wonder he could go anywhere without being recognized that summer. And no doubt you devoured this particular issue of the newsletter, but it's been eleven years so let me refresh your memory. That particular summer Peter was an intern at the Systematic Entomology Lab at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in DC. His job: to pin teeny tiny wasps to cards. He wandered into the internship and as far as I can remember it was his only experience with bugs (with the exception of killing them for me on occasion over the years) but he had a great summer and for a guy who has always loved any kind of museum, it was a thrill and he really enjoyed working there. His boss wrote in the piece: "
Fortunately for all of us, a very talented, enthusiastic and
reliable intern by the name of Peter Harrison took a position
with me at the USNM to learn the curatorial arts of
microhymenoptera. I taught Peter the joy and
excitement of card mounting cynipoids: the palpable
anticipation of dehydrating specimens over the vacuum pump, the thrill of the perfect drop of shellac gel, the
careful and often fanciful arrangement of wasps on the
mounting stage, and above all, the exuberance of the
perfectly mounted and labeled eucoiline wasp! Peter came to the USNM through the Smithsonian
Institution intern website. Peter is a DC resident, and is presently an
undergraduate at the American University pursuing a
degree in the School of Public Affairs. Peter greets each
day in the Hym Unit with a smile and loads of
enthusiasm, and does not seem to be too put-off by
some of the rather interesting humor that takes place in
the Hym Unit on a daily basis." Some things never change: he's still the same ol' Peter, even if he's no longer curating wasps.
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