Titus, Alabama, USA

I have been studying and collecting all kinds of insects off and on for well over 50 years, with a special interest in the Lepidoptera and Coleoptera orders. I have an Associates Degree in biology and have taken several college level courses in entomology, but I never finished and got my degree. I am retired now (from a totally different line of work) and for several years my focus has been on the small to medium sized moths in my area that I mostly overlooked for decades.

I have a respectably sized collection of both indigenous and exotic species of mostly butterflies, moths, and beetles – with my primary interest being on the large, colorful, and ornate species. I either collected or reared all of the indigenous species myself, and purchased the exotic ones from various sources online – as dried adults which I relaxed and mounted, or as ova which I reared.

Someone, who has known me all my life, asked me recently “Haven’t you gotten them all by now?” I laughingly replied that mine was a hobby in which a human lifetime was nowhere nearly long enough to “get one of them all” – which would be impossible no matter how long one lived. Additionally, the more one learns about them, the more he realizes how little he really knows about them.

In addition to insects, throughout most of my life I was an avid hunter, fisherman, and general naturalist. I also spent a good deal of time studying herpetology, and at one point had quite a few “pet” snakes. I also enjoy photographing insects, spiders and their relatives, and herps.

It is my expectation that in participating here at BugGuide.net I stand to learn far more than I will be able to contribute. But, I will do what I can.


“I am glad I will not be young in a future without wilderness.” - Aldo Leopold