Mike Quinn
Former entomologist for the State of Texas
Co-authored Texas Parks & Wildlife’s An Introduction to Butterfly Watching
Speaker Profile
About Mike Quinn
Mike Quinn, former entomologist for the State of Texas is one of the top five contributing editors at BugGuide.net, where he has created over 1,500 Guide Pages and posted photos of over a quarter of Texas' estimated 7,500 beetle species. He is an experienced botanist and ornithologist, as well as the compiler of the Caterpillar Food Plants of the Lower Rio Grande Valley list. An avid butterflier, he even co-authored Texas Parks & Wildlife’s An Introduction to Butterfly Watching, but these days it is all about the beetles.
Did you know beetles co-evolved over the last 200 millions years with the flowering plants they pollinate? Their presence on Earth and this symbiotic relationship pre-date the bees and the butterflies. Pollination by beetle even has its own term: canthrarophily. Although many mistakenly believe beetles to be garden pests, Quinn's enthusiasm for them is contagious; so, stick around the National Butterfly Center for what promises to be an extraordinary and insightful "bug" hunt!