I appreciated his commitment, hard work, and generosity with his time. I know he was doing what he loved and it was wonderful that he shared it with the community.
I never met him, and referred to him as the “Bug Man” instead of remembering his name, but always respected his passion.
Rest in Peace Stephen “Bug Man” Thorpe.
This is such a tragedy. I met Stephen a few times through the Whau River Catchment Trust. He was a gentle, knowledgeable and passionate man. He contributed so much for little reward. May he rest in peace.
Such terribly sad news - it’s such a loss when so much knowledge is snuffed out, and in such a sudden, incomprehensible way.
So very sorry to hear this. He will be seriously missed.
This is heartbreaking and terrible news. I hope the killer is caught soon.
Welcome, to everyone coming in for the first time to post memories. I only wish that it were under better circumstances. 
Stephen Thorpe will be honoured during a special livestream at the start of the Entomological Society of NZ Conference. All welcome!
Time and date (NZ): 9.30am on the 28th August 2024.
Meeting URL: https://canterbury.zoom.us/j/91233506443?pwd=yB7TicqdJFa0apbVSKULFb3OVyGD8C.1
Meeting ID: 912 3350 6443
Passcode: stephen
Also see the event post at https://www.facebook.com/events/2640980579407761
Nooo! I have another thing at exactly that date and time! Will there be a recording?
Those of us who live here in Blockhouse Bay are absolutely horrified that this could have happened here - and especially to Stephen who wouldn’t have hurt a flea. It’s been a terrible few days.
As you probably know, Stephen spent much of his time working from The Whau River Catchment Trust in the Blockhouse Bay Recreational Reserve – which is where his life ended.
The WRCT and the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust have been working with Auckland Council and the Whau Local Board to create more insect-friendly habitat within that park.
These two charities, with permission from the Whau Local Board, plan to install a park seat in a grassed area looking over the new “no-mow” zone and native restoration project so that people can sit and enjoy the beautiful space. We believe Stephen would be pleased that we are encouraging more people to enjoy our biodiversity.
If you would like to contribute - or interested in learning more - please check out:
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/a-memorial-for-stephen-thorpe
What sad news. Someone commented on his final observation that those with the knowledge should ID his observations that haven’t reached research grade. I wanted to pass this along here.
I’ve been trying to ID his ladybug observations and others from New Zealand. There are a lot of new species I need to learn
I just read on the news that an arrest has been made - I don’t want to derail the thread into any discussion of it, but I was relieved to hear of it and thought others might wish to know as well.
Stay safe out there my friends.
Stephen, you had a unique body of knowledge and you are truly irreplaceable. We honour the huge and invaluable contribution you made to New Zealand entomology. Our community will be forever poorer for your loss, but your legacy will survive. Rest in Peace.
Hi I didn’t know Stephen except in my identification form.
Yet it hard to not say anything about him.
His contribution will assist me in my journey of Inaturalist.
For this I am grateful.
Thank you Mr Thorpe.r.i.p.
I’d been feeling extremely sad and depressed after his passing as he was one of the people who got me into arthropod taxonomy. But he will not come back anyway, and I decided to move on.
So, I went to a serious iNatting trip yesterday with my friend and recorded some uncommon herps and arthropods which I will post later.
Maybe doing more iNatting / adding IDs is the highest tribute we can pay to him.
It was really nice to see hundreds of comments on the official journal by iNatNZ, his last observation, and this forum post.
Thank you everyone, for sharing your appreciation and thoughts about Stephen. It makes me feel a bit better and I’m sure many of you do too.
For those of you in NZ; his funeral will be at Blockhouse Bay on Monday 2nd Sept.
https://www.facebook.com/events/428294840246346/?rdid=gGmI0WOD6sH7XqIX&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2FSGS4YJ87zBKbiVFu%2F
I met Stephen at Blockhouse the first day after arriving NZ from LA.
He looked positively “mad” fitting with my image of his uniqueness and stature worldwide.
Mentioned he never goes to a doctor or dentist—a real John Muir type from the 19rh C.!
Didn’t own a car ( who knew?)
So we went in my rental to some of his favorite spots including a mall where we hit moths before going out to the field.
He walked at a fast clip until a leaf sparked his interest.
After returning to the “Block” he courteously introduced me to the staff of tennis pros and drink
masters. I was amazed how he had turned this place into his private research lab!
Ordered a drink for me I had never tried; it was Swell!
Mark Richman
Imasongster
As @invertebratist says, the real livestream today is at https://m.youtube.com/live/oc0TDG3_Gx8?feature=share - beware that there has been some fraudulant links to other places.
It is a huge loss for the scientific community.
Horrifying. Hard to believe. Love to all who knew him.
Stephen put a fair few IDs on insect observations I made, depsite them being across different orders, and on two different continents, neither of which were his!
He seems a thoroughly decent bloke and it’s a shock that such a crime happened to him in a so seemingly safe place.
All lives are equal, and yet some losses seem greater.