Person
McQuillan, Peter B.
- Occupation
- Conservationist, Entomologist and Invertebrate zoologist
Summary
Peter McQuillan is an entomologist and conservationist whose principal interest is moths and butterflies, but whose research has covered a wide range of invertebrates. Having completed his degree in agricultural entomology from the Waite Agricultural Research Institute, he moved to Tasmania to join the Department of Agriculture. His work for the Department focused on pasture pests such as legume aphids, cockchafers and corbies. In 1992 he joined the University of Tasmania. McQuillan is committed to understanding and conserving the Tasmanian wilderness areas, particularly the insects, and has been outspoken on the ecological implications of climate change on wilderness areas. Among the studies in which he participated were the Tasmanian World Heritage Area Wilderness Ecological Baseline Study at Port Davey and the Mt Pelion area (1980s) and Tarkine BioBlitzes coordinated by the Bob Brown Foundation for which he led the invertebrate group. He served on the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act, being instrumental in having insects considered. McQuillan is a long-term member of the Australian Entomological Society, serving as Regional Councillor for Tasmania from 1983 to 1986. He has also served on the organising committees for several of the Society's scientific conferences. His extensive publications record includes popular books on insects and papers on the history of Tasmania's insects.
Details
Chronology
- 1978 - 1989
- Career position - Entomologist, Tasmanian Department of Agriculture
- 1982 -
- Career position - Member, Australian Entomological Society
- 1983 - 1986
- Career position - Regional Councillor for Tasmania, Australian Entomological Society
- 1985 -
- Career position - Member, Conservation Committee, Australian Entomological Society
- 1985
- Career position - Member, Organising Committee, 16th Australian Entomological Society Scientific Conference
- 1987
- Award - Churchill Fellowship
- 1988
- Career position - Acting Chief Entomologist, Tasmanian Department of Agriculture
- 1989 - 1992
- Career position - Entomologist, Tasmanian Department of Primary Industry
- 1990 - 1991
- Career position - Acting Chief, Plant Protection Branch, Tasmanian Department of Primary Industry
- 1991
- Education - PhD, University of Tasmania
- 1992
- Career position - Member, Organising Committee, 23rd Australian Entomological Society Scientific Conference
- 1992
- Career event - Joined the University of Tasmania
- 2002
- Career position - Member, Organising Committee, 34th Australian Entomological Society Scientific Conference
- 2008
- Award - Banksia Foundation Environment Awards (Land and Biodiversity category) (as member of the Biodiversity in Grain and Graze team)
- 2024
- Career position - Member, Organising Committee, 55th Australian Entomological Society Scientific Conference
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- McQuillan, P. B. and Forrest, J. A., A guide to common moths of the Adelaide region (Adelaide: South Australian Museum, 1985), 52 pp. Details
- McQuillan, P. B. and Ireson, J. E., Tasmanian pasture pests: identification and control (Hobart: Tasmanian Department of Agriculture, 1987), 44 pp. Details
- McQuillan, Peter, Forrest, January, Keane, David, Grund, Roger, Caterpillars, moths and their plants of southern Australia (Adelaide: Butterfly Conservation SA Inc., 2019), 196 pp. Details
- McQuillan, Peter: illustrations by Julie Virtue, Butterflies of Tasmania (Hobart: Tasmanian Field Naturalists Club, 1994), 104 pp. Details
- Semmens, T. D., McQuillan, P. B. and Hayhurst, G, Catalogue of the insects of Tasmania (Hobart: Tasmanian Deptartment of Primary Industry, 1992), 104 pp. Details
Book Sections
- McQuillan, Peter B.; Semmens, Trevor D., 'Thompson, Edward Henry (1851-1928), entomologist and Anglican clergyman' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 12: 1891 - 1939 Smy-Z, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1990), p. 209. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/thompson-edward-henry-8786. Details
Journal Articles
- Bar-Ness, Y.D.; Kirkpatrick, J.B.; and McQuillan, P.B., 'Crown structure differences and dynamics in mature and old-growth Eucalyptus obliqua', Australian Forestry, 75 (2012), 120-129. Details
- Fletcher, Murray, 'Grey area [Peter McQuillan and Bill Humphreys]', Myrmecia, 60 (3) (2024), 39-43, https://www.austentsoc.org.au/public/111/files/Myrmecia/Myrmecia%2060%3B3_FinalV2_reduced%20(1).pdf. Details
- Henry, Shasta Claire, Kirkpatrick, Jamie B. and McQuillan, Peter, 'The half-century impact of fire on invertebrates in fire-sensitive vegetation', Austral ecology, 47 (3) (2022), 590-602, https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13141. Details
- Holderness-Roddam, Bob and McQuillan, Peter, 'Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) as a predator and disturbance agent of wildlife in Tasmania', Australasian journal of environmental management, 21 (4) (2014), 441-52, https://doi.org/10.1080/14486563.2014.952787. Details
- McQuillan, Peter, 'Obituary: Ernest J. Martyn (3.iv.1926 - 5.vi.1989)', Myrmecia, 26 (1990), 189-90. Details
- McQuillan, Peter B., Williams, Ted and Camilleri, Jenny, 'Oswald Bertram Lower (1864 - 1925): a South Australian pioneer in the discovery of Australia's biodiversity', Historical records of Australian science, 35 (1) (2024), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR22015. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 15 July 2025