WEBSTER GROVES NATURE STUDY SOCIETY
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​WGNSS Entomology Group - Co-Chair: Christopher Brown and Ted MacRae 


Dear WGNSS Membership,
 
**The Entomology Group meetings are held from October through April, typically on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7:00 pm. However, note that for March the meeting will be held on the 4th Monday.

WGNSS Entomology Group
June outing 
June 27th - 28th, 2026
Location: Pinewoods Lake Recreation Area


Instead of Loggers Lake, please plan on joining us instead at Pinewoods Lake Recreation Area in Carter County. I have probably spent more nights blacklighting at Pinewoods Lake than any other spot on the planet, so you know it will be good. The area features a trail around the lake through mixed scarlet oak and shortleaf pine forests, boasting a diversity of both diurnal and nocturnal insects. There are ten campsites (including two for groups); however, all are available only on a first-come first-serve basis. I will plan on arriving early Saturday (or possibly even Friday night) to try to snag one of the group sites (up to 10 occupants allowed) or two of the single sites (up to 8 occupants allowed) for WGNSS members; non-members must provide their own camping. Like Loggers Lake, grills, firepits, and pit toilets are available in the campground, and pets and campfires are allowed. For those who prefer restaurants, there is a small cafe in the nearby town of Ellsinore.
 
Directions to Pinewoods Lake from the St. Louis area are as follows:
  • Take Interstate-55 south to U.S. Highway 67 (Festus).
  • Travel 113 miles south on U.S. Highway 67 to US Highway 60 (north of Poplar Bluff).
  • Exit onto U.S. Highway 60 West (to the right).
  • Travel 16 miles west on U.S. Highway 60 (just past the town of Ellsinore).
  • The site is on the south (left) side of U.S. Highway 60.

For more information, contact Chris Brown at [email protected]. The meetings below will be available via Zoom and likely in person at Webster University as well, but the room is in the process of being confirmed. Watch email announcements for updates.
 
Best Regards,
 
Chris Brown | Entomology Group co-chair

​Reach out if you are interested in sharing, and how much time you will need.

​​For more information, contact Chris Brown at [email protected] or Ted MacRae at [email protected]

​Join WGNSS for botany, birds, bugs, books & photography!​

Learn More about Insects and Entomology at these Nature Websites!

Beetles in the Bush.  Ted MacRae is a Research Entomologist, and Beetle Taxonomist, Editor of the The Pan-Pacific Entomologist, Layout Editor for the journal Cicindela, and Editor of WGNSS Nature Notes. Ted has one of the top insect nature blogs on the internet, with lively informative discussions and amazing photos.
Beneficial Pollinators. The St. Louis Zoo is helping insect pollinators!  Learn about beneficial insect pollinators, how to identify them, and how you can help pollinators too!
BugGuide. Is an online community of naturalists who enjoy learning about and sharing our observations of insects, spiders, and other related creatures!
Bug Squad. Happenings in the Insect World. Kathy Keatley Garvey is a communications specialist with the Department of Entomology and Nematology at UC Davis. Her blog is part of the University of California's Agricultural and Natural Resources website.
Butterflies and Moths of North America. "Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) is an ambitious effort to collect, store, and share species information and occurrence data. You can participate by taking and submitting photographs of butterflies, moths, and caterpillars."
Dunlap Cognitive Ecology. Dr. Aimee Sue Dunlap is a Ecology and Evolution Research Entomologist   studying cognitive ecology within the Biology Department at the University of Missouri- St. Louis. Her lab is also affiliated with the Harris World Ecology Center and the Center for Neurodynamics.
Gardening with Binoculars. Anne McCormack discussions bringing nature (especially birds) to your back yard!
Getting Into Nature.  Don Corrigan – Environmental Journalist and Nature Writer, and Professor; of Media Law, and Global & Environmental Journalism at Webster University. Author of Environmental Missouri: Issues and Sustainability-What You Need to Know (2014), and Show Me...Nature's Wrath: Tornadoes, Floods, Ice Storms, and Other Natural Disaster (2009).
Jo Alwood's YouTube channel.  Wonderful and informatively narrated videos of birds, insects, & nature! 

Another WGNSS member writes this fascinating site about the birds, butterflies and plants of Colombia. Find even more blogs by checking the links of the Nature Blog Network. 

Ozark Bill. An Illuminating and educational nature blog featuring the incredible nature and wildlife photography of Bill Duncan.
Rachel Brant- Urban Bee Ecology  With tips for starting or improving your own bee-friendly gardens!

Contact WGNSS Website Coordinator, Miguel Acosta, to have your Nature Blog listed here.

Past Programs:
​2021
February 15, 2021 – Unexplored Niches: What Treasures Pocket Gopher Burrows Hold…and Other Beetle Projects, presented by Reese Worthington, of the Missouri Department of Conservation 
​2020
November 9, 2020 – A Smell with a Spell: How 3 decades of stink bugs research would define the future of entomology, presented by Anthony Dimeglio. 
​October 20, 2020 – Threatened and endangered insect species in Missouri. Steve Buback, natural history biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
September 21, 2020 – workshop on “Soil food web and ecosystem services”, Harit Bal ​
January 20 – "Life in the city: Analyzing urban bee behavior, and the implications for pollination services and species persistence.",  Rachel Brant
​2019
October 21 ─ “A pollinator-centric look at pesticide safety testing and risk assessment” Daniel Schmehl
September 28 ─ Field outing to observe the splendid tiger beetle, Cicindela splendida at Hughes Mountain Conservation Area.
​2018
January 21 – "Highlights from nearly 20 years of chasing tiger beetles in Missouri"  Ted MacRae and Chris Brown
November 19 – "Habitat management in agro-ecosystems: advances and challenges to preserve and promote natural enemies to reduce the effects of pests". Dayane Reis
October 15 – "Biological control in agriculture, the factors that influence its success or failure" Peter Asiimwe 
​May 11-12 – BioBlitz at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center
April 16 – "Where Have All the Insects Gone?”, Rich Thoma, Research Biologist
March 19 – “Photographing Missouri’s Insects; Techniques, Equipment and Images” Bill Duncan, Research Biologist
​February 19 – “Not exactly insects; An introduction to spiders and their kin” James Trager, Shaw Nature Reserve naturalist 
January 15 – “Undertaking Conservation – An Effort to Save the Endangered American Burying Beetle” Bob Merz of the ​St. Louis Zoo. 

  • About WGNSS
  • WGNSS Event Calendar
  • Contact - WGNSS Board
  • Events
  • Historian's Corner
  • Birding
  • Book Club
  • Botany
  • Conservation
  • Entomology
  • Nature Photography
  • Membership Information
  • Scholarships and Education
    • Bo Koster Grant
    • Menke Scholarship
    • Mickey Scudder Scholarship
  • WGNSS Memorials
  • WGNSS In Memoriam
  • WGNSS Rules of the Photo Contest
  • 2025 WGNSS Photo Contest Winners
  • 2023 WGNSS Photo Contest Winners
  • 2021 WGNSS Photo Contest Winners
  • 2019 WGNSS Photo Contest Winners
  • 2017 WGNSS Photo Contest Winners
  • 2015 WGNSS Photo Contest Winners
  • 2013 WGNSS Photo Contest Winners
  • Birds of the St. Louis Area
  • Where to find Eurasian Tree Sparrow
  • 'Nature Notes' Archive
    • 2010 - 2019 >
      • 2012, Vol. 84, No. 1-10
      • 2011, Vol. 83, No. 1-10
      • 2010, Vol. 82, No. 1-10
    • 2000 - 2009 >
      • 2009, Vol. 81, No. 1-9
      • 2008, Vol. 80, No. 1-8
      • 2007, Vol. 79, No. 1-10
      • 2006, Vol. 78, No. 1-9
      • 2005, Vol. 77, No. 1-10
      • 2004, Vol. 76 No. 1-10
      • 2003, Vol. 75, No. 1-9
      • 2002, Vol. 74, No. 1-10
      • 2001, Vol. 73, No. 1-10
      • 2000, Vol. 72, No. 1-10
    • 1990 - 1999 >
      • 1999, Vol. 71, No. 1-10
      • 1998, Vol. 70, No. 1-10
      • 1997, Vol. 70, No. 1-10
    • 1980 - 1989
    • 1970 - 1979
    • 1950 - 1959
    • 1960 - 1969
    • 1940 - 1949
    • 1930 - 1939 >
      • 1930, Vol. 1, No. 3-6; Vol. 2, 1-8
      • 1931 Vol. 2, No. 9-12; Vol. 3, 1-4
    • 1920 - 1929 >
      • 1929, Vol. 1, No. 1 -2
  • WGNSS Associated Blogs
  • Favorite links