Evolutionary Biology and DesertLeps

I started collecting Lepidoptera, i.e., butterflies and moths, around age nine. I remember in Erie, Pennsylvania, around age nine, rearing a monarch (Danaus plexippus), watching it pupate and then emerge as an adult. This was a time of more freedom compared to the present with restrictive regulations on certain activities, even on those by children like me when I was nine. My lepidopteran interests have continued to the present. I have 72 Cornell drawers (each drawer has a dimension of 19”x16.5”) of collected butterflies and moths, and a significant number of papered specimens that need to relaxed and mounted. This may seem like a lot but I have a very small collection compared to the collections of many other avocational lepidopterists. When I entered college I wanted to get a degree in astronomy but I did not do well in physics and so I switched to getting a degree at ASU in the Zoology department. The department had a number of entomologists and early on I specialized in that area. However, in a few years I became interested in evolutionary biology and genetics and specialized in those areas for my M.S. degree. My research for the degree was on the butterfly Chlosyne lacinia. The butterfly and my research on it is described in the webpage called Chlosyne lacinia. In February 2006 I started a discussion group called DesertLeps. It is devoted to all aspects of Lepidoptera, from biogeographic sightings to phylogenetics plus discussions of other issues important to lepidopterists. Although the group is technically restricted to essentially almost all states west of the Mississippi River (those that have deserts or desert-like area), membership is open to anyone worldwide. My philosophy is that a fuller understanding of a species is only possible when all research is considered wherever it may have been conducted. My very short list of publications are: 1. The genetics of three polymorphic larval colour forms of Chlosyne lacinia 2. The genetics of three larval color forms in Chlosyne lacinia and the phenotypic frequencies of this polymorphism in natural     populations 3. Learned and selected food oviposition preference in single and mixed species populations of Drosophila simulans and     Drosophila melanogaster 4. Still More on Bonanza King Mine Canyon 5. Notes on the bionomics, life history, and preparatory stages of Chlosyne lacina

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