Yakima, WA- Yakima Valley College, in collaboration with the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy, presents the Winter Biology Lecture Series. Admission is free and open to the community. Biology and Conservation of Monarch Butterflies in the Pacific Northwest

Presenter: Dr. David James, Associate Professor of Entomology, Washington State University, Prosser

January 30, 2018 • 7:00pm • Deccio Higher Education Center, Building 8, Parker Room

Dr. David G. James is an Associate Professor of Entomology at Washington State University, Prosser. James developed a passion for entomology at the age of eight in England by rearing caterpillars in his bedroom. He studied Zoology at the University of Salford near Manchester, then migrated to Australia to work for the New South Wales Department of Agriculture on ways of controlling agricultural pests. He earned a PhD from Macquarie University by studying the winter biology of monarch butterflies in Sydney, Australia. In 1999, he became an Associate Professor at Washington State University at Prosser and worked on conservation biological control of insect and mite pests of hops and grapes. Currently, he is working on sustainability of integrated pest management (IPM) and conservation biological control in viticulture, insect, and monarch butterfly conservation and community research and education projects.

In this talk, Dr. James will present information on our rapidly evolving new understanding of monarch butterfly biology and ecology in the Pacific Northwest. He will focus on the results of five years of citizen scientist-aided tagging of monarchs. James will also discuss the importance of creating butterfly habitat in Washington gardens, parks, and natural areas to help reverse population decline among this species.

For more information: 509.574.4869.

Press Release Contacts:
Jay Frank / 509.574.6870 / jfrank@yvcc.edu
Stefanie Menard / 509.574.4646 / smenard@yvcc.edu