Soon to be identified click beetle encountered the first day of the 2012 Invertebrates in Education and Conservation Conference (Tucson, AZ). Click to enlarge.
I’m back in Arizona for the 2012 Invertebrates in Education and Conservation Conference. I really enjoy this conference. Lots of great people, conversation, time for me to be out in the field each day, excellent presentations, excellent Mexican and Peruvian food already during this trip… It’s always a lot of fun and I take back so many things that I can use in my Introductory Biology and Field Biology classes.
My first day was devoted to a field trip, Border Bugs 2012, led by Jim Melli from the San Diego Natural History Museum. This has been the first field trip I’ve taken part in each of the last three years. Jim is quite knowledgeable, easy going, and a great guide. We headed out around 7 AM for a day of collecting and photography and made it back around 9 PM.
I took a large number of good pictures of insects, particularly beetles, that I hadn’t seen during the past two summers. My field guides, which have proven exceptionally useful the past two summers, aren’t doing the job regarding some of the species encountered yesterday.
Today begins with morning presentations, followed by an afternoon workshop, followed by an evening of night insects with Lary Reeves (Department of Entomology and Nematology/McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, University of Florida) and Zack Lemann (Audubon Insectarium, New Orleans).
Looking forward to the day!
Great photo of the beetle Dave! Enjoy your time in Arizona…school will be starting soon! Again loved the post and wish I were there!
Thanks, Rob. Lots of really big, new things resulting from the earlier onset of the monsoons. It promises to be a great week!
[...] One of the many beetles photographed in the Sonoran Desert during the 2012 Invertebrates in Education and Conservation Conference in Tucson, AZ, my favorite conference each year! Original link – “Invertebrates in Education and Conservation Conference, 2012“ [...]