Evenhuis was born in
Southern California to parents who had immigrated to California from the Netherlands in 1938. In 1974, he received a
Bachelor of Science degree in Botany and Entomology from
California State Polytechnic University in
Pomona. In 1976, he started working as a scientific illustrator at the
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. Evenhuis also campaigns for teaching school children to discern
native species from
alien species.
Taxonomy humor In the entomological community, Evenhuis is also known for his sense of humor, and
binomial names coined by him have attracted attention. After discovering a new species of bombyliid from the genus
Phthiria in 1985, he decided to name it
Phthiria relativitae as a pun on
theory of relativity. To ensure publication of the name in a scientific journal and thus its acceptance while avoiding criticism of English-speaking scientists, he had to submit it to a Polish journal. In 2002, he named a genus of extinct mythicomyiids
Carmenelectra in honour of the model
Carmen Electra's "splendid" body. The same year, he described
Pieza kake ("piece of cake"),
Pieza pi ("pizza pie")
, Pieza rhea ("pizzeria")
, and
Pieza deresistans ("pièce de résistance"), as well as
Reissa roni (named after
Rice-A-Roni). In 2013, he named a new species of fly from
French Polynesia as
Campsicnemus popeye for its resemblance with the cartoon character
Popeye in having swollen forearms. ==Frisbee record==