I was trying to get pics of the beautiful Western Azalea in bloom at the UC Botanical Garden when a couple of butterflies showed up. A Western Tiger Swallowtail in the Azalea, and a Chalcedon Checkerspot in the Wallflower. They didn't stick around for a carefully composed shot, but I did get photographs of them. But I have been back several times since then to this same spot with no luck. Those winged insects keep moving around!
As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, I studied Conservation of Natural Resources. I took a couple of entomology classes and became very interested in insects. After I graduated, I held several jobs working with bugs: in the fields of central California, the forests of Connecticut and Idaho, and the labs of Berkeley. Then I went to grad school and studied entomology at UC Riverside and UC Berkeley (back in the olden days when UCB had an entomology department). When my kids were little, I wanted to share my love of insects with them, so I started a butterfly garden before butterfly gardens were popular. Then of course, their teachers asked me to bring caterpillars into the classroom and I started doing classroom presentations. I do presentations in elementary schools, provide teacher trainings, teach adult school classes, and bring live insect specimens to garden fairs. My book is perfect for helping elementary school kids learn about butterflies.
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