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!

Cactopinus atkinsoni, Dr. Atkinson's namesake beetle

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.

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July 23, 2018, 7 PM meeting: Life Under the Bark: The Secret Lives of Bark Beetles, presented by Dr. Thomas H. Atkinson.

A review of the natural history, ecology, and diversity of a large group of tiny beetles, some of which behave badly and cause economic damage.

Tom Atkinson grew up on the edge of the swamps in southern Florida. Since leaving home he has moved on to higher education and to higher ground where he has remained ever since. The relentless fauna of subtropical Florida probably explains his early interest in insects and their control. As a result of 4-H he realized that one could actually get paid to study bugs and has never looked back. He was educated at the University of Florida, receiving a B.S. (1972), M.S. (1976), and Ph.D. (1979) in the mysteries of entomology.

His career path could best be described as “taking the scenic route”. He has worked for:

• Chiquita Banana in Panama,
• the National School of Agriculture in Mexico,
• a biological reserve on the Pacific coast of Mexico,
• the University of Florida,
• the University of California, Riverside.
• Dow AgroSciences Research & Development doing field research in the continuing struggle to outwit termites, cockroaches, ants, and similar vermin.
• The insect collection of the University of Texas at Austin.

He has published 98 scientific and technical articles and book chapters on obscure aspects of the lives of cockroaches, and termites, and bark beetles. His current research focuses on the systematics and biogeography of Neotropical bark and ambrosia beetles. One of his ongoing projects is www.barkbeetles.info which is an authoritative and exhaustive atlas, catalog, and image library of North and Central American bark and ambrosia beetles.

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Aug. 27, 2018, 7 PM meeting: Beetles ~ Airborne Armor, presented by Valerie Bugh.

Of all animal orders, Coleoptera contains the most species. From minute specks almost invisible to the human eye to hefty insects that can cover your palm, beetles are a substantial segment of just about every terrestrial ecosystem. In spite of their abundance and diversity, beetles often go unnoticed by many people and, undoubtedly, part of their success is due to remaining so discreet. With tough outer body protection and the ability to fly, beetles are equipped to disperse and utilize habitats from desert to aquatic. We'll look at the variety, characteristics, life cycle, behaviors and relationships of these fascinating and beautiful creatures.

Val Bugh is a local naturalist specializing in the arthropods of the Austin area, with interests in taxonomy and photography. She runs the Fauna Project at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, leads insect discovery walks, teaches entomology courses, provides insect/spider identifications, gives talks to local organizations, and has published pocket guides to "Butterflies of Central Texas" and "Spiders of Texas." Website: Austin Bug Collection