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The popular media is filled with news stories on the precipitous decline of insect populations around the world. In this presentation, entomologist Dr. Art Evans provides an overview of the science addressing the issue, highlights some of the observed and perceived drivers of the decline in insect populations around the world, and offers suggestions for reversing this trend on a global and local scale. Simple steps will be offered to make local backyards, school grounds, and parks more insect friendly. His presentation is followed by a brief update on the Virginia Cicada Project.
Tickets are pay-what-you-will and advanced tickets can be reserved/purchased here!
This presentation will also be streamed live on the museum's Facebook page!
About the Presenter
Entomologist Dr. Art Evans is an author, lecturer, photographer, and broadcaster. He grew up on the southwestern fringes of the Mojave Desert in southern California, where he attended California State University Long Beach and received his bachelor’s (1981) and master’s degrees (1984) in entomology. Art then attended the University of Pretoria, South Africa and earned his doctoral degree (1988) in entomology.
He is an adjunct professor at Randolph-Macon College and University of Richmond where he teaches entomology, medical and veterinary entomology, and a non-science major’s course: Insects and Humans. He is also a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Institution and the Virginia Museum of Natural History, where he was appointed a trustee by Governor McAuliffe in 2016. Art’s radio program, “What’s Bugging You?” with co-host Steve Clark, aired for nearly 10 years on VPM Richmond Public Radio. Six of these episodes were recently released as animated videos. See: https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaMuseum/posts/10158999807847479
Art lectures widely on insect biology and natural history. He has published 35 scientific papers on the systematics, biology and identification of scarab beetles, as well as over 100 popular articles and books on insects and spiders. His books include the National Wildlife Foundation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America (2007), Field Guide to Beetles of Eastern North America (2014), and National Geographic Backyard Guide to Insects & Spiders of North America (2017). Art's next book, Field Guide to Beetles of Western North America (Princeton University Press) will be published at the end of September 2021.
