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Rosser was a giant, non only from a scientific point of view, but also because he was really tall. But termites are able to build nests taller than him! Picture taken in Namibia, in April 2007.

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D07-0840 Namibia Rosser Garrison paisaxe con termiteiro

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In 2014 Rosser, Haomiao Zhang and myself participated in a fieldwork period in China, including a study of the behaviour of Pseudolestes mirabilis in Hainan. I have a vivid memory of the terrestrial leeches that were abundant and attacked us. Rosser was apparently not worried at all!

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I have many thoughts about Rosser. One thing I admire most about him was that no email went unanswered. Even if he was busy he would promise to respond later and ALWAYS did. I admire not only his knowledge, but the kindness and urgency showed in sharing that knowledge. As someone who was trained in labs outside the Odonata community, his responsiveness, caring, generosity, and email mentoring mean the world to me!

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Looking back through some of my correspondence with Rosser, I am reminded of just how supportive he was over the years. From my earliest days to right up until his passing, Rosser was not only incredibly generous with his knowledge (of which he had an abundance), but he was also unfailingly supportive and encouraging. And it wasn’t just with me. I had the opportunity to serve with Rosser on several committees, and I was always struck by how much he cared about helping others and making things better for those around him. He will be deeply missed, not only for his immense knowledge and contributions to odonatology, but also for his tremendous kindness and generosity.

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I interviewed him once, he was such a great and kind person. Best wishes to Natalia.. 

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I interviewed him once, he was such a great and kind person. Best wishes to Natalia.. 

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Rosser certainly ranks among the greatest odonatologists in the field of taxonomy, and he was undoubtedly the foremost of his time. He and his wife, Natalia von Elleriender, established a high standard of quality for dragonfly taxonomy publications. A draft manuscript revised by him was a guarantee to be thoroughly scrutinized. Nonetheless, his generosity, kindness and genuine friendship were among his most notable personal attributes. My PhD thesis would not have been possible without his tireless efforts to guarantee that I got access to critical, and often rare, material. I will miss you, my friend, and will never forget our lengthy discussions about nomenclature, taxonomy, and the classification of our favorite insects: the Odonata.

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In 2021, Rosser had already been helping me with my work for several years. During one of our conversations, he mentioned a species he had collected in Brazil that had not yet been described. Historically, it had been identified as Brechmorhoga tepeaca, a species endemic to Mexico, but Rosser had realized that the Brazilian specimens actually represented a distinct, undescribed species endemic to Brazil. He told me, “I’m focused on Argia now, so I’m not going to describe it.” Then he made a prediction: “If you find it in Brazil, I’ll give you all the support you need to describe it.” Two months later, while examining some material I had received for identification, I had an incredible surprise: several specimens of the mysterious Brechmorhoga were there! Rosser was very excited. He sent me several images and provided all kinds of support, and we eventually named the species Brechmorhoga goncalvensis, in honor of the locality where it had been collected. I invited him to join the paper, but, as always, he said that being acknowledged was more than enough.

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Two food-related memories from 2017 come to mind. In Brazil, Rosser gave me famous California almonds and later brought beef jerky on a brief Atlantic Forest field trip; I disliked it, but a hemipterologist colleague gladly took the package. At the Symposium on Neotropical Aquatic Insects in Santa Tereza, we ordered hamburgers named after action movies. I chose the “Predator” for its extra meat, I hated it, and Rosser simply said, “That’s fine, pass it over here.” Days later in São Paulo, we ended up in the emergency room… most likely because of the “Predator.”

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In 2012 as I was starting my PhD at Rutgers, I went to visit Rosser and Natalia. I was looking for specimens of Polythoridae for the molecular phylogeny that I didn't find at FSCA. They hosted me for a few days in at their home with her puppy Luna. He taught me how to hydrate the specimens, to take ligulas out, and to carefully take the legs out of the specimens. If someone taught be about how works with the specimens was Rosser! I'm so honored to have been learning beside him at some point in my life.

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November 2026 we visited Rosser and Natalia with Chris Beatty. 

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I will miss our FaceTime conversations! Forever in my heart dear friend.

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From the moment I met Rosser in 2004, he was a genuinely kind colleague who was supportive and shared his time and knowledge freely! I remember sitting with him and Natalia over boxed lunches in Namibia in 2007, or visiting him in Sacramento to talk about morphology, and seeing him at meetings and in each case he was a true friend. I will miss him! All my love to you, Natalia! Jessica

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I met Rosser in Brazil on the day of my 18th birthday. I was in my very first days as an undergraduate student and it was also my first week at the lab. I had no idea of who he was, so when he asked what I was working on, I proudly said: dragonflies! He let me talk about them as if he weren't one of the greatest odonatologists of all time. It was only months later, when I was constantly consulting and learning from his books and papers that I realized who he was. I am so grateful for the kindness he showed me.

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I have no doubt that Garrison will be remembered as one of the greatest odonatologists of the Americas. He is that rare kind of specialist you can trust with your eyes closed, due to his profound knowledge and, most importantly, his integrity regarding the taxonomy and nomenclature of the group.

Back in 2013, Garrison was the reviewer for my very first scientific paper on dragonflies (a bit intense for a mere beginner, right?). Jokes aside, his scientific rigor as a reviewer is something I have always admired. It continues to inspire me to this day and has, in a way, shaped my critical approach as a scientist. Later, in 2024, we exchanged emails during my PhD regarding type specimens from the Museu Nacional/UFRJ collection, after his wife, Natalia von Ellenrieder, kindly forwarded some of my requests to him. He was incredibly helpful, detailed, and professional with the requested data. To my surprise, he remembered me and spoke openly and with genuine familiarity. He even kindly mentioned that my work was a valuable contribution and that he was truly excited to see it published.

While in odonatology we usually treat P.S. Corbet's book as the 'bible' of the group's behavior and ecology, I would say that both Dragonfly and Damselfly Genera of The New World are the 'bibles' for every dragonfly taxonomist in South America. Furthermore, it is worth highlighting his true masterpieces on the genera Mnesarete and Telebasis, and even on the most complex and challenging ones like Argia, as well as his firm and correct stance regarding the nomenclatural stability of Leptagrion, all of which stand as a remarkable part of his legacy.

I am a deep admirer of Garrison, and much of what I know about dragonflies is thanks to the knowledge he shared through his invaluable work. RIP Mr. Garrison.

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Rosser was one of my oldest and dearest friends. For nearly 40 years I have benefitted from our long and deep friendship, both personally and professionally. In additional to many entomological pursuits, we shared a lot of Double-Doubles over the years, along with too many pints of Baskin Robbins ice cream. As well as being a treasured friend, Rosser was a superb entomologist who was always generous with his time and expertise, especially with students and the public. He was an inspiration to me and I will miss him greatly.

The photos were taken in Rosser's home lab in 2018 and in the field near Richmond, Virginia in 2024.

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by Bill Mauffray

It was sad to learn that Rosser had passed away. I had just spoken to him on the phone a few weeks ago. I first met Rosser and spent time in the field with him at the 1995 DSA meeting in New Mexico. We were both chasing the same specimen of Cordulegaster on a trail. He caught it. We later met for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and discussed the Florida Collection of Arthropods (FSCA), which I was simply a research associate at that time. I agreed to provide him with specimens from the FSCA for his proposed Hetaerina paper. Over years we were shipping specimens back in forth for all of this many papers that he, and Natalia published. He even named a few species in my honor. In June of 2024, he stayed at my house as we joined Haomiao Zhang from China in the field. Since the heat index was 110, Rosser and I conked before midday and headed back to my house. We ended up giving Odonata talk a break and binge watched a CSI series. RIP Rosser.

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I remember about 40 years ago when Rosser was first hired and came to work for the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures Department as the entomologist.

He was responsible for identifying all orders of insects to species, that were found on shipments of fruits, vegetables, and plants coming into Los Angeles County or were found in nurseries growing here. He also identified exotic fruit flies and other new pests like Japanese Beetle and Spongy Moth, that might be found in our insect detection traps.

He identified all manner of insects that the public sent or brought into him. He was extremely proficient at preparing the slides necessary to identify various scale insects, Mealy bugs, whiteflies, etc.

His knowledge of all insects was extraordinary, and he took that knowledge to the California Department of Food and Agriculture where he worked after his LA County service.

Rosser was an excellent teacher and his presentations and talks and seminars given to the County agricultural inspectors and others, were extremely well done. His love of all insects was plain to see, but I remember him telling me his joy when a member of the public sent in a dragonfly specimen, his first love.

Some various memories of Rosser include the car he drove when he first got the LA County job. I think it was a Plymouth “Cricket”. It had no heater because he had purchased it in Puerto Rico, where it apparently never got cold. He had been working there, in, I believe, a Federal position.

To go to lunch with Rosser was to be amazed at the number of ketchup packets he would need to then apply the ketchup to French fries, one by one.

Rosser arranged for the two of us to go to French Guiana together, and he collected Odanata and I collected almost everything else. We set up a black light in the forest and delighted in the sights and animal sounds and the anticipation of what fabulous insects might arrive at the sheet throughout the nights.

Rosser liked good music, and I remember the soundtrack from the movie, “Gladiator”, playing in his entomology lab. Rosser also did a very good impersonation of the character “Quint” from the movie “Jaws”.

One of the photos here is from January 15, 1988, of Rosser and I at the doctor’s office getting our vaccinations for our trip to French Guiana. Rosser’s son went with us to the doctor’s office, but not to French Guiana.

The second photo is of Rosser and I with the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures insect pest display, taken in the mid 1980’s.

Farewell dear Rosser, you touched many people in your life, added much to the world, and we will carry great memories of you always.

Jim Wiseman

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Conocí a Rosser a principios de la década de 1980. Compartimos viajes de colecta a Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz y al estado de Chiapas. Desde el primer momento percibí una personalidad afable y muy proclive a ayudar. Yo apenas comenzaba a estudiar la taxonomía de las larvas de Odonata y Rosser me ayudó mucho donándome su colección de larvas y exuvias de California. Desde entonces siempre fue muy generoso con su tiempo y su saber, que era inmenso, revisando mis manuscritos y obsequiándome ejemplares adultos de odonatos de algunos lugares adonde iba a colectar. Rosser deja un enorme hueco y una huella imborrable en el estudio de los odonatos. Lo echaremos mucho de menos. Hasta siempre querido amigo.

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Rosser and I met in 2011 when he and Natalia visited the Netherlands. We spent a very nice evening together. It felt like we had known each other for years.

In 2015 we had plans to visit Peru together, but history took a different turn.

In the past 15 years we emailed often discussing taxonomic problems, preferably within difficult species complexes like the Argia nigrior-group and we appreciated each others thoughts and comments.

You always felt taken seriously in discussions with him, even though he had 100 times more experience.

We also exchanged rare material several times, sometimes via creative routes, leading to enthusiastic emails when the material arrived.

He was my role model in Odonatology and I will sincerely miss him...

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Yo estaba empezando en la odonatología, la literatura era difícil de seguir, no tenía colección de referencia y mucho menos un maestro o guía odonatólogo en Medellín.

Empecé a escribirles a Rosser y a Natalia por una Gomphomacromia que encontré en el PNN Los Nevados... Su respuesta fue increíble; me compartieron todo su conocimiento y herramientas inmediatamente. Por varios años se volvieron mis guías en el mundo de las libélulas. Recuerdo que me tomaba a veces una semana entera para poder responder a los correos de Rosser, que me hacía cuestionar cosas; me pedía nuevas fotografías o me enviaba nueva información que me ayudaba a ver todo desde otra perspectiva. Siempre tenía una nueva respuesta suya en menos de una hora; era impresionante.

En el 2009 tuve la fortuna de conocerlos en el congreso celebrado en el INECOL (Xalapa). Ahí estaban en carne y hueso, mis maestros, mis ídolos odonatológicos. Aunque mi inglés era muy malo, hablamos mucho, fue muy feliz conocerlos.

¡Agradecimiento eterno!

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Thank you for always being a wonderful mentor.

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Thank you for always being a wonderful mentor.

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Rosser, Enrique Gonzalez-Soriano, and Mike May in Veracruz, 1988

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Rosser, Enrique Gonzalez-Soriano, and Mike May in Veracruz, 1988

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A kind, humble, good-humored, and patient man. He and Natalia were endlessly generous with information and images when I was writing a guide to Trinidad & Tobago. His composure and generous disposition in the field was a strong influence on me as I progressed through the world of ode-hunting society. I will miss him.

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Lastimosamente, nunca tuve el honor de conocer en persona al profesor Garrison. Sin embargo si tuve la fortuna que intercambiar correos con él cuando recien comencé con mi vida academica. Incluso su forma de escribir denotava una pasion y un amor por la investigacion, ademas de proyectar una sensacion de pedagogia que hacia que esta el mas joven de los estudiantes viera en el a un profesor dedicado y con esa pasion por enseñar que tanto es necesaria hoy en dia. su legado, en especila sus dos libros mas famosos sobre odonatos en el neotropico se han convertido en dos biblias para cualquiera que estudie libelulas en este continente. Que en paz descanse profesor Garrison, que en su inacable trabajo alcanzo la memoria eterna de todos aquellos que lo respetan y admiran, y de las proximas generaciones de investigadores de odonata que estan por venir.

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Durante mi maestría, estuve un mes visitando las colecciones de Rosser Garrison y Natalia von Ellenrieder en el CDFA. Desde que comencé a intercambiar correos con Rosser, él siempre respondía muy rápido y atento a cualquier duda que tuviera. A pesar de que justo el día que llegué Rosser se jubiló, siempre estuvo muy atento a lo que necesitara durante mi estadía y gracias a su constante disposición a ayudarme en lo que necesitara pude terminar de fotografiar los ejemplares que necesitaba en esa ocasión. No olvidaré el entusiasmo y la emoción con que me mostraba los bichos más raros (y los no tan raros) que tenía en su colección. Yo estaba muy emocionada de conocerlos a ellos dos, siempre fueron y seguiran siendo grandes referentes para mi. Una gran pérdida para la odonatología. Envío un abrazo fuerte y cariñoso a Natalia.

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I always had a nice, prompt and positive feedback to whatever message I sent to him. We will miss him a lot

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The day we ACCIDENTALLY discovered how Enallagmas were "created"

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The day we ACCIDENTALLY discovered how Enallagmas were "created"

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I found a strange Coenagrionidae in the ICN collection (Bogotá, Colombia). It keyed as Enallagma, and none of the described species were similar, so I started working on its description. When I have the illustrations, I sent them to Rosser, and I will let these e-mail pictures describe what happened next