Urban Insects: the good, the bad, and the amazing
Date:
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Time:
12:00 to 1:00 pm
Location:
Portland Building, 2nd Floor Auditorium
Speaker:
James R. LaBonte
Affilitation:
Oregon Department of Agriculture James R. LaBonte, Oregon Department of Agriculture entomologist, will give a presentation about what is largely invisible to most of us—insects that inhabit the Portland metro area. Most insect species are rarely seen, and even less appreciated, yet they are critical to life on the earth: without them ecosystems would collapse and humans could not survive. Jim will talk about native and non-native insect species, invasive species, and how insects are a vital component of our community.
About the Speaker:
Jim LaBonte is an Oregon native and has B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Entomology from Oregon State University. Jim has been a survey entomologist, the lead taxonomic entomologist for the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), and curator of the ODA insect collection since 2004. He is a national identification expert on several groups of wood boring insects and conducts personal research on ground beetles. Through his work, Jim has found several species new to science, including a beetle (seen right) and a worm named after him.