Saturday: Meet Live Butterflies, Discover How to Attract Them!

This Saturday at our Butterflies exhibit, you'll be surrounded by hundreds of live butterflies, and at 2 p.m., you'll discover the area's best spots to find them, gardening to attract butterflies, butterfly photography, joining a butterfly count, habitat preservation, monarch migration and more from local butterfly enthusiast Sue Anderson.

Local Butterfly Hot Spots is the kickoff of the Museum's High Desert Perspectives series of butterfly lectures, which build on the popular live Butterflies exhibit. The series is included in admission.

“The Butterflies exhibit has been tremendously well-received, and we are offering this in-depth lecture series to further enhance the educational aspects by highlighting several themes: local species, the interplay of plants and butterflies, and conservation,” said Dana Whitelaw, vice president of programs.

On select Saturdays, a different expert will help expand your knowledge about butterflies as they address a range of topics.

Coming up Jan. 8 at 2 p.m.: Butterflies and Moths of the High Desert with Dr. Ralph Berry, professor emeritus in entomology at Oregon State University and co-creator of our live Butterflies exhibit. He will discuss some of the butterfly and moth species found in the High Desert and the influence of host plants on their biology.

And on Jan. 29 at 2 p.m.: Cascadia Lepidoptera Conservation, a presentation by Dr. David G. James, associate professor of entomology at Washington State University, exploring people’s fascination with butterflies and the scientific and environmental reasons why we should care about them. He will also discuss some of the Northwest’s key butterfly species and the role of butterflies in the region’s vineyards.