Appreciating the Little Creatures

Understand how insects impact the world around us. This is an in-person program. Can you name a dozen types of trees? Flowers? Mammals? Probably. Can you name a dozen types of the most abundant animals on earth? Maybe not. There are more types of insects on earth than all the other animals and plants combined, yet we know so little about them. Scientists estimate that half of the insects on this planet haven?t even been discovered yet! We?re surrounded by tiny critters with fascinating lives that perform critical ecosystem functions. Not only are they feeding larger animals, pollinating flowers, and recycling organic matter, but there are insects that skate on water, form complex societies, mate in mid-air, and live their entire adult lives without eating! Insects are hard to appreciate if you don?t know what you?re looking at. Come and learn to identify the common insects of Central Oregon. Then the next time a little critter lands on you, instead of swatting it, you can take a closer look and say, ?Oh look, a ___________!? ?Wow, have you ever seen antennae like that?? After a career working as an entomologist in Virginia, Bermuda, and Oregon, Dan retired to Sunriver. Now an amateur naturalist, he enjoys observing nature at all scales, including the smallest of creatures. *ani* *cr*