Austin, Texas, is home to about 170 species of butterflies. It is also the home of the Austin Butterfly Forum, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to butterfly conservation and to enriching people's lives through butterflies. The Austin Butterfly Forum is a club that organizes field trips, conducts butterfly counts, promotes native gardening, performs conservation activities, and meets monthly for an educational presentation. We are a community of butterfly enthusiasts who also enjoy dragonflies & damselflies, bees, beetles, spiders and arthropods in general, and our meeting presentations span this gamut as well. Join Us!
 Ross Winton discussing poo, photo by William Dingus |
Meetings are held in the Zilker Garden Center, 2220 Barton Springs Rd., Austin, TX, 78746 at 7:00 PM on the fourth Monday of each month except December.
- Mar. 23, 2020, 7 PM meeting: Meeting Canceled
Why I Play with Poo and So Should You: An Introduction to the Life History, Species and Ecological Significance of Texas Dung Beetles, presented by Ross Winton.
- Dung beetles play a critical role in our Texas ecosystems and it is a role that not many other wildlife would like to take on themselves. They process a wide variety of dung (Poo) and use it to complete their lifecycle and recycle critical nutrients. We will examine this role and discuss some of the species found in Texas and why they are in need of conservation. *Disclaimer: The unmentionable topic of Poo will be discussed at length during this presentation.
Ross is the Invertebrate Biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife. His current work is focused on implementing conservation actions for Texas’ Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) and increasing the knowledge of their distribution and abundance. Ross received his B.S. in Wildlife Management and his M.S. in Entomology both from Montana State University. Ross has worked with a wide variety of invertebrates found in habitats from caves to forest canopies across North America and the West Indies. In Texas, Ross has begun efforts to advance our knowledge regarding our important pollinators, unique dune endemics and engaging with institutions and citizen scientists to learn more about the many invertebrate species that call Texas home.
- Apr. 27, 2020, 7 PM meeting: TBA
MembershipAll of our normal events are open to the public, but you may want to become a member of the Austin Butterfly Forum to help support us and our events. We also treat members to some extra goodies, such as reduced admission to special programs that have a fee and discounts on purchases made at meetings. Annual membership is $20 per individual or $25 per household, payable during meetings or by mail to Lois Schubert, ABF Treasurer, 3823 Arrow Dr., Austin, TX 78749. For more information, please contact Mike Quinn, ABF president at 512-577-0250 or |