Calendar

Monday Jan 28 meeting: An overview of fire ant-parasitoid-pathogen studies for bio-control, by Steven Gibson, Resident Manager of Stengl “Lost Pines” Biological Research Station. The talk will begin with the invasion of fire ants starting with their introduction into N. American in the 1950's through their elevation to “pest” status. Along the way, I'll detail some key points that created this scenario. Next, I will describe our efforts over the past two decades to attempt to understand and manipulate the system as it currently exists in the state of Texas. Specifically, I'll bring to light our use of biological organisms, including parasitoid phorid flies, in an attempt to help restore balance in our local arthropod communities, detailing current successes and future potential. Zilker Botanical Garden 7 pm.

February 25 meeting: Guide to the Seasons in an Urban Wildland, Lynne and Jim Weber. Book signing. 7 pm Zilker Botanical Garden.

Monday, March 24 Meeting: Studying Moths in your Backyard. Club members Dan Hardy, Bill Dempwolf and others will talk about their experiences attracting, identifying, and photographing moths at backyard lights. Double your hobby time by studying butterflies by day and moths by night! Plus, moth species outnumber butterflies ten to one. Zilker Botanical Garden 7 pm.

Saturday, March 30 Butterfly and Wildflower Field Trip to Enchanted Rock State Park. Please meet in the Planet Fitness parking lot at the “Y” in Oak Hill at 8 a.m. Google Map to meeting location: http://goo.gl/maps/PxYCP

We will carpool from the “Y” to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, north of Fredericksburg. Travel time will be ~1 hr 45 minutes. Please bring a brown bag lunch to eat in the park. We will probably stay in the park until around 2 p.m.

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/enchanted-rock. Entrance Fee: Adults: $7, Child 12 Years and Under: Free

Recommended plant guide is Enquist's “Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country” http://www.amazon.com/Wildflowers-Texas-Country-Marshall-Enquist/dp/0961801301

April 6-7 Zilker Garden Festival 2013.

April 22 Meeting: Butterfly and Moth Collections. Club member, Bill Dempwolf, will talk about lepidoptera: collecting (equipment, techniques, locations), spreading, storage, and curation.

Sat, May 4 - 6th Annual ABF Butterfly Workshop. Zilker Botanical Garden. 10am to 4pm. We will spend about 2.5hrs in the Zilker Botanical Garden Center classroom, eat a light lunch, and spend 2.5hrs on the trails. We'll have a wide variety of books to look at in the classroom before we start at 10am. We will provide the lunch. And, we'll also provide some plants to enhance your butterfly garden.

It costs $3 to park at Zilker Garden. Arrive at the Garden by 9:30am to ensure a parking place.

To register, please call Jeff Taylor at 255-0368 or [email protected]. The cost is $35.00 payable at the door.

Mon May 27 meeting: TBA.

June 24 meeting: Moths that Pretend to be Spiders. Joe Lapp and Dan Hardy. There are moths with wing patterns that mimic one of their feared predators, the jumping spiders. What is the evidence for this and what is its function? Joe and Dan will discuss the literature on this subject and illustrate some local moths that have adopted this strategy. Zilker Botanical Garden 7 pm.

July 22 meeting: Bumblebees of Texas Michael Warriner, Invertebrate Biologist, Texas Parks and Wildlife.

While most everyone has heard at least something in the news about declining bees, most press coverage has been directed toward the plight of the non-native European honeybee. Very little attention is directed towards native bees, like bumblebees. Over the past few decades a substantial body of research has identified declines in bumblebee populations in Europe and North America.

Bumblebees have gone virtually unstudied in most states in this country despite their critical roles in agriculture and natural ecosystems. There is a real need to evaluate bumblebees in the United States to assess how their populations are faring and if conservation actions are needed.

7 pm. Zilker Botanical Garden.

August 26 meeting: Butterfly Basics. Val Bugh.

Sept 23 meeting: TBA

Oct 28 meeting: Butterfly Gardening for Texas, Geyata Ajilvsgi. Geyata, club member and author, will have an book signing for her forthcoming book, Butterfly Gardening for Texas. The program will open forum to ask question about gardening and butterflies. Zilker Butterfly Garden, 7 pm.

Her book can be pre-ordered at Amazon.

Nov 25 meeting: Show and Tell Meeting.

Holiday dinner.

Monday, Jan 23: Plant-Insect Interactions: Aggregative Feeding and Chemical Ecology of the Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly. Chris Nice, Ph.D. Texas State University.

Monday, Feb 27: The World of Nature in Central Texas. Steve Schwartzman. 150 artistic photographs, with commentary, showing some of our native plant species, as well as some of the small creatures that live on them. 7 pm Zilker Botanical Garden.

Monday, Mar 26: Butterflying at Birding Lodges of Ecuador. Ron Martin. Ron's plan is to show how easy it is to find butterflies in Ecuador by going to the lodges known for birding. Zilker Botanical Garden. 7 pm.

Sat Mar 31 and Sun April 1: Zilker Garden Festival. For more infomation: Zilker

Insecta Fiesta. Saturday, April 21, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. UT Austin event. The event will be held at the University of Texas Insect Collection, Lake Austin Center, 3001 Lake Austin Blvd. for more information: Insect Fiesta

Monday, April 23 meeting: Milkweed, Monarch Butterflies and their Magnificent Migration. Butterfly evangelist, caterpillar wrangler, Master Gardener and weekend rancher Monika Maeckle writes about butterflies and the life cycle we all share at the Texas Butterfly Ranch, a place that rewards those who pay attention with the daily miracle of metamorphosis. Maeckle has tagged more than 1400 Monarch butterflies and logged 24 recoveries. She will talk about the seductive spell cast by Monarchs, their much studied migration, her visit to the roosting spot in Michoacan, and who’s got milkweed. 7 pm. Zilker Botanical Center.

Sat May 5, 2012 - 5th Annual Workshop: How To Know and Grow Austin Butterflies. Learning to identify common butterflies of our area is only one aspect of the Austin Butterfly Forum’s Fifth Annual Butterfly Workshop, held from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Zilker Botanical Garden Center. Topics will cover hostplants, how to raise caterpillars and watch metamorphosis at home, strategies for caterpillar survival, as well as books and resources about this rapidly growing hobby. The workshop will also include a light lunch and a hands-on walk to identify butterflies at Zilker’s Doug Bachly Butterfly Trail. Participants will be given plants to take home to begin attracting butterflies to their own gardens.

To register, please call Jeff Taylor at 255-0368 or [email protected]. The cost is $35.00 payable at the door.

Monday, May 28: Trail of Silk: How Spiders Came to Be. Arachnids have been around for as long as insects, and spiders for nearly as long, yet insects have tremendously diversified morphologically, while spider morphology has remained virtually unchanged. Why? Because spiders are tool users. Their tool is silk, and they have adapted to new circumstances by adapting their use of silk. In this talk we'll trace the evolution of spiders from their arachnid ancestors and see how spiders came to use silk in so many different ways. This is an introduction to spider taxonomy, evolution, and ecology. The speaker, Joe Lapp (aka “Spider Joe”), will also share some of his own research on flower crab spiders and show how even amateurs can make discoveries.

Sat June 9 - Annual Butterfly Count.

Note the date this year. Meet in the Zilker Botanical Garden parking lot at 8:00 am. If it is pouring rain we will postpone till the next day. This is the second year we have ad the count several weeks early than usual to avoid the heat and find more late spring butterflies.

For more information contact Dan Hardy, [email protected]. Everyone is welcome, including all skill levels. We count butterfly adults and caterpillars within a 15 mile diameter circle centered at Mount Bonnell. In addition to the Botanical Garden, we visit many of the best butterfly spots around town, including the Barton Creek Greenbelt and St. Edward's Park in NW Austin. We usually work as a single group.

This is the butterfly equivalent of the Christmas Bird counts. The results are submitted to NABA (North American Butterfly Association). In 2007 we had a record number of species (63) and observers (25).

Be prepared for walking through brush and wet areas. Wear long pants, hat, sunscreen, and insect repellent. Bring water, snacks, close focusing binoculars, and (optional) butterfly nets. The count typically lasts until mid afternoon, although you may leave at any time. We will have a lunch break at a restaurant.

Monday, June 25: Insects that bite and make you sick. Jeff Taylor.

Some historians consider mosquitoes “Angels of Death”. Bed bugs and kissing bugs typically visit you while you’re sleeping like an angel. Infectious diseases spread by the bite of insects and other arthropods have greatly influenced the course of history; changing the outcome of conflicts and influencing development of nations. During this presentation you will learn about what infectious diseases are spread by insects and other arthropods in the United States and Texas. The speaker will discuss the life cycle of these infectious agents in nature, how the infectious agents are spread to humans and where the diseases occur in the US and Texas. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to protect yourself from these carriers of plagues and pestilence.

Monday, July 23: How the Butterfly Got Its Spots: The Science of Evo-Devo Dan Hardy. See Home page for description of talk.

Monday, Aug 27: All About Arachnids. Val Bugh. An overview of spiders and related arthropods, their place in the ecosystem, and their relationships with insects. Often considered to be among the creepiest of creatures, spiders become much less mysterious (read “scary”) when we know more about them. This program will delve into their intriguing world, examining predator/prey relationships, survival strategies, life histories and identification.

Mon, Sept 24 meeting: Investigating Climate Change Impacts with the Edith's Checkerspot Butterfly by Nichole Bennett.

What can butterflies tell us about the state of the environment? Those that are restricted to certain ranges due to climate can be indicators of change. By comparing past ranges to current ranges, scientists have shown that many species have moved around or changed the timing of their activities to track changing climate. Climate change has already affected many biological systems, including the Edith’s Checkerspot butterfly. This program will guide you through what has been learned about climate change impacts using this system.

Nichole Bennett is a PhD student at UT. She focuses on climate change and species interactions. She is also heavily involved with science outreach through her radio show and lecture series.

Meet at Zilker Botanical Garden at 7 pm. Everyone is welcome.

Mon, Oct 22 meeting: How to Landscape for Butterflies by club member Jeff Keverline. The talk will start with a step-by-step description on how he transformed his yard from all lawn into prime habitat for butterflies. He'll discuss design, lawn removal, bed preparation, mulches, what to plant and not to plant, and describe in detail how to grow specific plants he has found to work best for butterflies.

Meet at Zilker Botanical Garden at 7 pm. Everyone is welcome.

Monday, Nov 26: Club Meeting, Member's Show and Tell. Members can present photos from trips or tell stories about the year's most memorable butterflies. This is always one of the best meetings of the year. We have a laptop and projector, so just bring you flash drive. The coordinator is Dan Hardy, [email protected].

Monday, Dec 10: Holiday Dinner. Zilker Botanical Garden, 7 pm with setup starting at 6:30 pm. The club provides the ham and members are asked to bring a dish. This is a relaxed meeting and we always enjoy the time to talk and eat. All members are invited.

Monday, Jan 24: Rocky Mountain Butterflies, by Ron Martin. An overview of the butterflies Susan and I encountered during our trips into the Rocky Mountains in the last six years. The emphasis will be on the butterflies and localities easily accessed at higher elevations in several states.

Ron is an ABF member and retired educator who relocated from Louisiana two years ago to a more hospitable climate and ancestral roots. He taught primarily organic and environmental chemistry at Louisiana State University-Shreveport and Centenary College in a 35-year academic career. Research activities were concentrated on the chemical ecology of monarch butterflies and their milkweed host-plants. More specific interests were the nature of the cardiac glycosides present in the genus Asclepias and those sequestered by the monarchs. Over the years he and Susan have become average birders and hope to achieve the same with butterflies.

Monday, Feb 2, Club Meeting: “Energy Flow in the Landscape” Dr. Chuck Sexton will be offering a fun, non-technical look at “Energy Flow in the Landscape”. With examples from nature and everyday life, he explores how energy flow can be seen an organizing–and disorganizing–concept for understanding the shape, complexity, and functioning of the natural world all around us.

Dr. Chuck Sexton has been active in environmental issues around Texas for over 30 years. He grew up in southern California and migrated to Austin in the mid-1970 to attend graduate school at the University of Texas. He received his doctoral degree in 1987 studying the impacts of urbanization on bird communities. For 18 years, Chuck was co-editor with Greg Lasley of the Texas regional column of American Birds magazine, and served two terms on the Texas Bird Records Committee. Chuck is an acknowledged expert on the biology of both the Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo. He has worked for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as the biologist at the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge since 1994. He just retired from that position on December 31.

Mar 26-27: Zilker Garden Fest. The club has a table where we show caterpillars and talk about butterflies and butterfly gardening. http://www.zilkergarden.org/about/events/ZGF2011/zgf.html

Mar 28: Texas Native Bees in Your Garden: Bring 'em On, by Kim Bacon. Kim will introduce you to a variety of Texas Native Bees and how to encourage these mega-pollinators to visit your garden.

Kim's background: I'm a 6th generation Texan whose Scots-Irish ancestors arrived here in 1837. My German ancestors arrived in 1852. They brought mulberry trees and hoped to grow silkworms. I apologize.

I first started watching bees in 1971 while working in the tropical dry forests of Guanacaste province in Costa Rica, but I wasn't smart enough to know how cool they were. I spent most of my time being afraid of snakes and dodging things monkeys threw at me. I started watching bees again in 2007.

I graduated from that fine agricultural institution, Texas A&M University, back in the days when women were an unwelcome oddity on campus. There were even fewer women in my major, Wildlife and Fisheries Science. Later, I ventured out to California and worked on a Masters Degree in Ecology at the University of California– Davis. I apologize for leaving the state.

I started Texas Bee Watchers in 2007 just so I could learn about native bees. Once I found my first solitary bee nest and spent hours chasing bumblebees through Central Texas brushland, I knew I had to share stories of native bees with others.

Saturday, April 2 Butterfly Field Trip to Barton Creek Greenbelt, led by Dan Hardy. Meet at 9 am at the start of the Barton Creek Greenbelt Trail in Zilker Park. There is a long parking lot beside the Barton Creek Pool bathhouse. Go to the west end of this lot, past the Hillside Theater, and you will see the trailhead. We will end around noon or 1 pm. We will be looking for early spring specialists such as the Falcate Orangetip. Members free. Non-members $5.

April 25: How to Raise Caterpillars Several club members will share their experience with rearing caterpillars to adult. They will share tips and tricks. We should have plenty of live caterpillars to show.

Sat May 7 Meeting: Butterfly Workshop. The Austin Butterfly Forum will be hosting it's 5th butterfly identification workshop on Saturday, May 7, 2011. The workshop begins at 10:00am and ends at 4:00pm. Topics discussed in the workshop include: tips on identifying common Austin area butterflies, using butterfly field guides, understanding the life cycles of various butterfly species, and raising butterfly caterpillars. Attendees will spend approximately 2 hours in Zilker Gardens practicing how to locate and identify butterflies.

A lunch will be provided. Attendees will also be given several plants for to begin or enhance their own butterfly garden.

A $35 fee is required. Please call Jeff Taylor at 512/825-8368 or at [email protected] for more information.

Mon, May 23: Program by David L. Wagner. David an expert on caterpillars and the author of Caterpillars of Eastern North America . He gave an entertaining talk to our club in 2009 and we are happy he is returning. More details to be announced.

Sat June 4 - Annual Butterfly Count. Note the date this year. Meet in the Zilker Botanical Garden parking lot at 8:00 am. If it is pouring rain we will postpone till the next day. This year we are having the counts several weeks earlier than usual to avoid the heat and find more late spring butterflies.

For more information contact Dan Hardy, [email protected]. Everyone is welcome, including all skill levels. We count butterfly adults and caterpillars within a 15 mile diameter circle centered at Mount Bonnell. In addition to the Botanical Garden, we visit many of the best butterfly spots around town, including the Barton Creek Greenbelt and St. Edward's Park in NW Austin. We usually work as a single group.

This is the butterfly equivalent of the Christmas Bird counts. The results are submitted to NABA (North American Butterfly Association). In 2007 we had a record number of species (63) and observers (25).

Be prepared for walking through brush and wet areas. Wear long pants, hat, sunscreen, and insect repellent. Bring water, snacks, close focusing binoculars, and (optional) butterfly nets. The count typically lasts until mid afternoon, although you may leave at any time. We will have a lunch break at a restaurant.

Mon June 27 Club Meeting: Pipevines and the Butterflies that Love them. Dan Hardy. This lecture will explore the fascinating ecological relationship between the Pipevine Swallowtail-group of butterflies and the special plants they use for caterpillar food plants.

The Pipevine Swallowtail is the commonest dark-colored swallowtail in Austin, but it's native caterpillar food plant is an obscure grass-like plant hidden in the fields around us. That plant is poisonous, but the caterpillar overcome the poison and turn it to its advantage. We will use that biology to explore defensive chemicals, mimicry, host-plant relationships, and evolution. From Austin we will roam through Mexico, South America and the Old World to find other butterflies that use the pipevine. In addition, the pipevine plant's biology, pollination, flower structure, and folk medicine uses are fascinating in themselves.

7 pm. Zilker Botanical Garden.

July 25 Meeting: What do Warblers Eat?, by Mike Quinn. ABF President Mike Quinn is breathing new life and light, through photography, into his master's thesis on the Golden-cheeked Warbler's diet. During the summers of 1993-94, Quinn and his cohorts quantitatively collected some 50,000 insects and other arthropods. Since 2010, Quinn has been resurveying similar habitat at Wild Basin, but this time photographing the resulting insects.

Mike has an extensive knowledge of the insects of central Texas, as well as a wonderful collection of photographs. This will be an interesting presentation for both insect enthusiasts and bird-lovers who want to know more about our special local bird. Come hear Mike as he details one of the most intensive insect surveys conducted in Texas and shares how his findings correlate with what we know about the Golden-cheeked Warbler's diet.

7 pm.; Zilker Botanical Garden Center. Free.

Aug 22 Meeting : True Flies - Masters of the Air, by Val Bugh. Vectors of disease, pests of livestock and humans, “worms” that damage fruits and vegetables: these are all typical associations that we have for flies. However, this group of insects also includes predators, pollinators, waste recyclers, and a key component of all terrestrial and freshwater habitats. Through vibrant photographic images, we will explore the diversity, physiology, life cycle, and survival strategies of this important order of insects.

Sept 26: Wild silks of the world, by Richard Peigler, Ph.D, Incarnate Word College, San Antonio. More than 95% of all silk in commerce comes from the domesticated silkworm that feeds on mulberry. However, silks from several kinds of moths in the familes Saturniidae and Lasiocampidae are also exploited in China, India, and other countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. This presentation covers the non-mulberry silks. Images include moths, caterpillars, textiles, and people spinning and weaving these silks.

Mon, Oct 24 Club Meeting: Urban Landscapes, Peg Wallace.

Monday, Nov 28: Club Meeting, Member's Show and Tell. Members can present photos from trips or tell stories about the year's most memorable butterflies. This is always one of the best meetings of the year. We have a laptop and projector, so just bring you flash drive. The coordinator is Dan Hardy, [email protected]

Monday, Dec 12: Holiday Dinner. Zilker Botanical Garden, 7 pm with setup starting at 6:30 pm. The club provides the ham and members are asked to bring a dish. This is a relaxed meeting and we always enjoy the time to talk and eat. All members are invited.

Mon Jan 25, 2010 George Winkler: “Assassin Bug Problems”. The first part of the program will deal with George’s experience with being bitten twice by African Assassin bugs. According to George, this can potentially result in death! The second part of the program will cover Assassin Bugs and their relationship to Chaga’s disease, a tropical disease that is spreading into the southern United States.

George is a Forum member. He has a BA degree in Zoology from the University of Missouri and an MS degree from St. Louis University with research in Entomology (Insect Physiology). He taught various biology courses in both high school and college and worked as the St. Louis Zoo's Entomologist for a little over six years before retiring. George collected insects for over 40 years and donated a collection to the zoo of over 1000 different species. Zilker Botanical Garden Center, 7:00pm.

Sat Feb 6, 1 pm. “Darwin, Wallace, and Evolution” By Dan Hardy. BookPeople - 603 N. Lamar. Dan is a Forum member. This talk is a modification of one he gave to the club in Sept. 2009. More information at: http://www.centerforinquiry.net/austin/events/darwin_day_2010/

Mon Feb 22: Phyllis Dolich, “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder - attitudes about landscaping that are detrimental to our butterflies (and other wildlife)” Zilker Botanical Garden Center, 7:00pm.

Recently my husband and I fought and won a battle with our Homeowner's Association to preserve the plants growing in a protected “native area” to the rear of our backyard. This area was deeded over to us in 2000 when we bought the lot and built a new house. A nine-year conflict started with one complaining neighbor who could not tolerate the native grasses and wildflowers that grew under the canopy of live oak, cedar elm and bur oaks. We had hoped to keep this area natural – even got it designated as a Best of Texas Backyard Wildlife Habitat - but our community compliance director enforced a ruling which required us to mow everything down 3 times a year.

To conserve the late season grasses and wildflowers that I had learned were so crucial to butterflies and other wildlife, we submitted a request through a committee which issues permission to add to (or change) one's landscaping. Although successful, it was later rescinded as a “mistake” and threats of fines were issued.

Finally, an appeal to the Board of Directors last year met with success, but not before a required “maintenance plan” be submitted by us, and approved by the full board. Club members will enjoy the images and emphasis on preserving native plants for the sake of our local butterflies and other wildlife in this document, which we would gladly share with anyone facing a similar situation.

I have been a resident of Sun City Texas in Georgetown for ten years. I have served as president of the Sun City Texas Nature Club in Georgetown and as president of the Williamson County chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas.

My passion is to study and document native plants, gardens, ponds, and wildlife. I have arranged my images in various formats for the purpose of education and fund raising.

I have learned to combine gardening and a concern for nature using a variety of native plants to attract, shelter and feed our wildlife. My yard was certified as a “Best of Texas Backyard Wildlife Habitat” and, as a trained Steward, I helped others plan their landscaping to benefit local wildlife.

Phyllis says: I have enjoyed being a public speaker to educate the public about conservation and native plant usage. I was honored to be asked to be a presenter at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center February 2006 Spring Symposium. My garden was featured in the Wildflower Center’s Native Plants magazine and on PBS’ Central Texas Gardening.

March 22: Pat Richardson, Soil Organisms Soil mesofauna — macroscopic invertebrates such as nematodes and arthropods play an essential role in cycling nutrients and dispersing bacteria and fungi in soil and plants. Join Dr. Patricia Richardson for a discussion of nature's incredible biological complexity beneath our feet. Learn how to manage toward that biodiversity and perhaps even create land that will inspire a rainbow! 7 PM Zilker Botanical Center.

The presentation will include video footage of colorful, charismatic mesofauna in action. You don’t want to miss this amazing presentation!

Sat and Sun, Mar 27-28 - Zilker Garden Festival, Zilker Botanical Garden.

Mon, April 26 - Club Meeting: “Photographing Butterflies” by Dan Hardy and other club members. Photographing butterflies is a favorite activity of our members. Amazing results can be had with relatively cheap cameras, or you can be as sophisticated as you want. Camera stores do not always understand what we need, so we will give you practical advice. Dan and several club members will offer you the benefit of their years of trial-and-error, showing you the cameras they recommend, what tricks they use, and how to improve. Come and enjoy this meeting on Monday, April 26 at 7 pm at the Zilker Botanical Garden. Zilker Botanical Garden Center, 7:00pm.

Sat May 1, 2010 - Workshop: How To Know and Grow Austin Butterflies. Learning to identify common butterflies of our area is only one aspect of the Austin Butterfly Forum’s Fourtth Annual Butterfly Workshop, held from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Zilker Botanical Garden Center. Topics will cover hostplants, how raise caterpillars and watch metamorphosis at home, strategies for caterpillar survival, as well as books and resources about this rapidly growing hobby. The workshop will also include a light lunch and a hands-on walk to identify butterflies at Zilker’s Doug Bachly Butterfly Trail. Participants will be given plants to take home to begin attracting butterflies to their own gardens.

To register, please call Jeff Taylor at 255-0368 or [email protected]. The cost is $35.00.Zilker Botanical Garden Center, 7:00pm.

May 24: Beetles of Texas. Mike Quinn, an entomologist and the club's president, will share his enthusiasm about the beetles of Central and South Texas. He will discuss beetle families, collection techniques, and his past and current studies on beetles. 7 pm Zilker Botanical Center.

Sat June 26 - Annual 4th of July Butterfly Count. Meet in the Zilker Botanical Garden parking lot at 8:00 am. If it is pouring rain we will postpone till the next day. For more information contact Dan Hardy, [email protected]. Everyone is welcome, including all skill levels. We count butterfly adults and caterpillars within a 15 mile diameter circle centered at Mount Bonnell. In addition to the Botanical Garden, we visit many of the best butterfly spots around town, including the Barton Creek Greenbelt and St. Edward's Park in NW Austin. We usually work as a single group.

This is the butterfly equivalent of the Christmas Bird counts. The results are submitted to NABA (North American Butterfly Association). In 2007 we had a record number of species (63) and observers (25) for Austin. See http://www.austinbutterflies.org/counts for reports from prior years.

Be prepared for walking through brush and wet areas. Wear long pants, hat, sunscreen, and insect repellent. Bring water, snacks, close focusing binoculars, and (optional) butterfly nets. The count typically lasts until late afternoon, although you may leave at any time. We have lunch at Triumph Cafe on 3808 Spicewood Springs.

June 28 Club Meeting - “Butterflies as Botanists”, Dan Hardy. 7 pm Zilker Botanical Center. Most caterpillars are picky-eaters, accepting only a few species or families of plants. Monarchs and milkweeds; Pipevine Swallowtails and Dutchman’s pipe; and Black Swallowtails and the carrot family are well-known examples.

The adults have to be skilled “botanists” in order to find a suitable plant on which to lay eggs, since placing the egg on the proper plant is the first and last act of parental care. Caterpillars born on the wrong plant will die. From the plant’s perspective the caterpillar is as destructive as any herbivore and they erect defenses, such manufacturing chemical repellants. The caterpillar has to be a sort of “chemist” in order to handle these toxins and even turn them to its advantage.

Using examples mostly from around Austin and a few from the tropics, the talk will cover caterpillar specialists and generalists, leaf-eaters and flower-eaters, uses of plant toxins, coordination of life cycles with food, the distribution of plants and caterpillars, and the role of the food plant in evolution.

July 26: Meeting, Chronicling the Lives of Starr County Butterflies, Berry Nall.

Starr County, in the upper part of the Rio Grande Valley, has a very diverse lepidoptera population. Approximately 200 species of butterflies have been recorded in the county. Berry Nall is attempting to document the life histories of as many of these butterflies as possible. He particularly enjoys working with very small species that are difficult to locate and raise. Join us as he relates some of his adventures and shares some of the methods he has learned while chronicling the lives of butterflies.

Berry Nall resides in Starr County, Texas, where he pastors a small church and teaches high school science. He is a butterfly enthusiast who enjoys raising as well as photographing butterflies. He is currently working with Dr. David Wagner to gather life history information on south Texas moths.

Many of his photos and life histories may be found on his website, http://leps.thenalls.net.

August 23 Meeting: Crickets and Kin: the Orthopterans by Val Bugh. 7 pm Zilker Botanical Garden.

Best known for their song and dance (think “Jiminy Cricket”), the real-life counterparts of the cartoon are actually fascinating creatures. The katydids and crickets are true singing insects and, along with the related grasshoppers, are distinguished by an ability to jump. Sharing a common ancestor with walkingsticks, mantises, earwigs, cockroaches and termites, the orthopterans display a wide variety of dietary adaptations, courting and territorial displays, camouflage and coloration, and, in some cases, parental dedication to their young. This program will explore the many facets of this group of insects through photos, and will cover basic identification, emphasizing our central Texas fauna.

Val Bugh is a club member and local naturalist. She recently authored and provided photos for the Butteflies of Central Texas, which is available at local bookstores and at the Zilker Botanical Garden shop.

Sept 27: “Endangered American Burying Beetle in Texas”, Kendra Bauer, University of Texas at Austin.

The American Burying Beetle, Nicrophorus americanus, (ABB) is an endangered beetle whose range has decreased dramatically since the 1930’s. Much of the life history of this beetle is unknown, including an accurate population size, specific habitat requirements, and reasons for its decline. Without knowing these life history traits it makes it difficult if not impossible to manage this species. Current research using genetic techniques to estimate population size and migration has been very helpful in determining where this beetle is and where it is moving. We can also use historic maps and museum samples to uncover some of the past habitat of the beetle. We will then look at some of the current threats to the beetle and what we can do to conserve this amazing little insect!

Kendra Bauer is a 6th year Ecology Evolution and Behavior doctoral candidate in the Section of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. Her passion for animals began at a young age and she became serious about conservation after her undergraduate degree in Biology and Animal Science at The University of Kentucky in Lexington. She then worked at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (AZA accredited Animal Park, Glen Rose, Texas) for 3 ½ years getting her feet wet in the captive animal side of conservation and quickly realized she needed a PhD to accomplish her conservation goals. She began her graduate career in 2004 working on the endangered Baird’s Tapir in Central America and is finishing her PhD working on an endangered American Burying Beetle (ABB). She is using genetics and non-invasive techniques to identify migration routes, breeding populations and status of the ABB. The techniques she is using with this endangered beetle are invaluable and wide reaching tools that can be replicated on any species, including the tapir to aid in conservation.

Oct 23: Butterfly Field Trip, starting at Zilker Botanical Garden parking lot, 9 am. Led by Dan Hardy. Meet at 9 am. We will spend the morning at the garden, then visit the Barton Creek Greenbelt. Depending on weather and interest, we plan to continue into the afternoon. Bring a sack lunch if you want to stay that long. Everyone is welcome. Members free; Nonmembers: $5.

Oct 25: Club Meeting, Jeffrey Glassberg, Ph.D, will talk about on The Best Places to Find Butterflies in the United States and Mexico. Note: Admission of $5 will be charged for non members.

Jeff is the author of Butterflies through Binoculars, The East; Butterflies Through Binoculars, The West, A Swift Guide to the Butterflies of Mexico and Central America. He is the President and founder of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA), www.naba.org, whose mission is to increase public enjoyment and conservation of butterflies. His books will be for sale at the meeting. Zilker Botanical Garden, 7 pm.

October 28-31: North American Butterfly Association 9th Biennial Meeting, Mission, Texas. There will be guided field trips and talks. See details at http://www.naba.org/meeting.html

Nov 22: Club Meeting, Member's Show and Tell. Members can present photos from trips or tell stories about the year's most memorable butterflies.

Monday Dec 6: Holiday Dinner, Zilker Botanical Garden, 7 pm with setup starting at 6:30 pm. The club provides the ham and members are asked to bring a dish. This is a relaxed meeting and we always enjoy the time to talk and eat. All members are invited.