This presentation will be specific to Florida native species. You can expect lots of pretty pictures, a couple of gross ones, and one that is mildly scary. Patrick will be pleased if you come away from the talk having learned the two main types of biological mimicry, AND if you say to yourself once during the talk, “that is so cool”!  If you come away as confused as he is about monarch/viceroy/queen mimicry, then you'll be up to speed with the experts. Patrick has been gardening for butterflies in Florida for more than a quarter century. He is never happier than when he has carefully gathered a handful of caterpillars to be moved to a different bed of host plants. He especially enjoys sharing his volunteer plants to get people started on their own butterfly gardening adventure.   Patrick is a retired middle school biology teacher that now volunteers twice a week at the Florida Aquarium Center for Conservation working on the Coral Reef projects. He will talk about his news-breaking discovery to protect the baby corals.  He is also an active member and volunteer with NABA Tampa Bay chapter.  

Pollinator Myth BustersDr. Kristen Lear, Bat ConservationInternational Agave RestorationDr. Mace Bauvh, Xerces SocietyDr. Vicky Wojcik, Pollinator PartnershipJessica Fox, EPRI Location: Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation Gallery, 4111-A Henderson Blvd., South Tampa (next door to Little Red Wagon Native Nursery) This is free to attend with Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation. Registration required as space is limited.

Dr. Craig Huegel has degrees in Wildlife Ecology (B.A. in Zoology and M.S. Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, PhD, Animal Ecology, Iowa State University) and picked up a minor in Botany.  Currently Adjunct professor at The University of Tampa and St. Petersburg College. Dr. Huegel has had a life-long interest in butterflies, pollinators and wildflowers.  He has written 6 books on native plants and wildlife since coming to Florida in 1985. He is the author of two blogs on Florida native plants and how to use them.   The interest in creating landscapes that support pollinators is increasing rapidly. With that, is an increased interest in native plants – especially in wildflowers. While all of this is encouraging, there are still a lot of misconceptions about wildflower “meadows” in general, and many such efforts to create them fall short of their full potential. In this talk, Dr. Huegel will discuss what some of those misconceptions are as well as ways to make a pollinator garden reach its full potential.  You can check out his blogs at: www.hawthornhillwildflowers.blogspot.comwww.werenofences.blogspot.comwww.ourkindoffolk.com

Dr. Minno has a Ph.D. in zoology and more than 35 years of professional experience as an interdisciplinary scientist.  He is currently a Water Resource Coordinator with the Suwannee River Water Management District in Live Oak, Florida. Marc and Maria Minno also work on plant and butterfly projects throughout Florida via Eco-Cognizant, Inc., their home-based consulting business. In addition to his many years of experience with wetlands, Dr. Minno is keenly interested in conservation biology and has conducted field research throughout the US and in Central America, South America, Caribbean, Europe, and India.  Since 2011 Dr. Minno has been working with biologists in Cuba to better understand the ecological relationships of imperiled butterflies in southern Florida.   He has authored (and coauthored) six books, and six book chapters on butterflies and plants.  Bring your books for an autograph!

Join Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation and NABA Tampa Bay on a butterfly walk to continue our monthly monitoring of butterfly species at Violet Cury Preserve in Lutz at 1802 Sinclair Hills Road.  This will be free for NABA members; fee for non-NABA members is $5.00.  Please bring payment morning of event. Plan for the outdoors, heat, mosquitoes, no-see-ums, getting feet wet if you don’t wear the right shoes to avoid it. Bring plenty of water to drink. Come join us to help monitoring populations of butterflies in this beautiful park. This event is subject to change due to weather. 

Bring the children in for a fun, nature filled afternoon.  Constance Nye and Alycyn Culbertson will be here reading their fantastic stories, signing their books and doing activities with the kids from 1:00 – 3:00 PM. Both books are available for purchase in the gift shop. Constance Nye, author of “Can he keep it?”, will be reading her story about catching and keeping wild creatures. This story helps kids figure out the answer to the question, “Can I keep it?” for themselves. Alycyn Culbertson, author of “Look What Happened While I was Sleeping”, will be reading her story about butterfly gardening and metamorphosis. You never know how life can change until you open your eyes after a nice long rest.