Biography:
I am trained as an environmental engineer and toxicologist. I have a passion for birds, plants, and insects, but I have little formal training in field biology or taxonomy--I've picked that up over the years from friends, printed references, and BugGuide. I've been taking photos of insects seriously since 1992, mostly in North Carolina. I don't really have a field of expertise, taxonomically, but I'm pretty conversant with the larger beetles of the Southeast. I also know the neuroptera/Megaloptera of that area fairly well.
FYI, my real name is Patrick Coin. More of my photos are on
flickr (or grouped into
"collections"). I also post material to iNaturalist:
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/238083.
I am very proud to be BugGuide user number
15 and to have been one of the first contributing editors. My first photo was submitted here on 8 March 2004. Of users still active as of 2010, I see that
Mike Boone submitted his first photos on 10 March, so I guess I'm an old hand! (At least that is his first photo that is still present.)
Many thanks to all the people who have helped me in learning to identify and appreciate insects: Jamie Bonner, Steve Hall, Tom and Janet Krakauer, Josh Rose, Jeff Pippen, Will Cook, Harry LeGrand, Eric Eaton, Bob Patterson, Herschel Raney, plus all the other BugGuiders. Thanks most of all to BugGuide founder Troy Bartlett for making this all possible. And, of course, many thanks to John VanDyk for taking over Troy's mantle.
Personal Favorite Photos:
Projects
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Glossary
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Entomological Etymology