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Butterfly Effect: An Ecology of Lepidopterists

Free Public Event – Saturday, August 10, 2024, 2:00 - 3:30 pm, followed by a tour

Harriet Alexander Nature Center | 2520 Dale St N, Roseville, MN 55113
Follow short walking path upward toward the nature center which is tucked into the trees.

A small, chance encounter can alter the life cycle of a lepidopterist – a person who studies or appreciates butterflies and moths. Like many of their winged subjects, lepidopterists often migrate – from their childhood homes, to their places of advanced education, and onto their careers. Along the way they form a web of connections with others that share their appreciation and curiosity about the natural world. These connections lead to friendships, new understanding, and sometimes new branches of study.

This presentation explores several threads in this ecology of lepidopterists and their areas of study. From 1966-1991, Herbert Kulman, the forest entomologist at the University of Minnesota mentored many graduate students as he had been mentored years before by his advisor Alexander Hodson when he completed his PhD at the University. Herb’s research focused on managing insects that are pests of forests, such as the Spongy Moth - better known as the Gypsy Moth. But in one paper called Butterfly Production Management, he also ventured into exploring habitat management to attract butterflies for their beauty and other benefits. The paper caught the attention of noted lepidopterist R.M. Pyle, founder of insect conservation’s Xerces Society. Pyle in turn spread the word of Herb’s unique perspective on butterfly studies to future U of M graduate students Robert Dana and Marc Epstein. Now, upon the occasion of his passing, some of Herb’s former students--some in Minnesota and others migrating from beyond--reflect on their intertwined histories with Dr. Kulman.

To set the stage, Holly Menninger, entomologist and Executive Director of the Bell Museum will consider the relationship of science and scientists to public education and appreciation. Jonee Kulman Brigham, Herb’s daughter, and a Senior Research Fellow at the University, will provide a brief, child’s eye view of growing up with a forest entomologist and lover of butterflies.

The featured speaker is scientist and author, Marc Epstein, a graduate of the University of Minnesota Department of Entomology, who will describe his research there in the late 70s and 80s, which led to a career at the Smithsonian and now as the Lepidoptera specialist at the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Clearly his MS advisor Herb Kulman brought Epstein to Minnesota and he will show how this shaped his own journey of discovery in research about moths and even carabid beetles as well as his appreciation for the natural world. He will also present his public-facing work authoring Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes: The Eccentric Life of Harrison G. Dyar and contributing to Night Visions: The Secret Designs of Moths by Joseph Scheer.

The presentation will conclude with discussion, light refreshments, and a tour of the nature center. A handout with resources will be provided.

This presentation is Funded by the Herbert M. Kulman Trust, in memory of his research, teaching, and love of nature. Co-Sponsors: include the Bell Museum, the University of Minnesota Department of Entomology, and the Harriet Alexander Nature Center.

Speaker Bios for Butterfly Effect: An Ecology of Lepidopterists

Dr. Holly Menninger, Executive Director, Bell Museum

Dr. Menninger leads Minnesota's state natural history museum and planetarium. In this role, she's responsible for the implementation of the Bell's mission to ignite and sustain curiosity for nature and the universe -- through exhibits and programs that engage diverse audiences, scientific research and curated collections that investigate biodiversity locally and globally, and statewide outreach that meets communities where they live, work and play. A science communicator by passion and practice, she has long worked at the intersection of science and society – in policy, natural resource management, and public engagement in science. Link to Bio at Bell Museum.

Jonee Kulman Brigham, Senior Research Fellow, College of Design, University of Minnesota

As an environmental architect, researcher, writer, and artist, Jonee attributes the source of her appreciation of nature and commitment to its protection to her father, Herbert Kulman. She will offer a glimpse into what it was like to grow up with a forest entomologist father who loved butterflies, and how this affects her work in the world.

Link to Extended Bio

Dr. Marc E. Epstein [EPSTEEN]

Senior Insect Biosystematist at the California Department of Food and Agriculture for Lepidoptera –moths and butterflies

Dr. Epstein has worked for the last twenty years at the Plant Pest Diagnostics Center in South Sacramento. The modern lab includes dozens of scientists and technicians for entomology, plant pathology, seeds, nematology, and botany, all whose mission is critical for protecting California agriculture from plant pests. He is also a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, where he was a postdoc and on staff for 15 years. While identifying Lepidoptera of potential threat to agriculture, he researches their evolution and classification with an emphasis on the moth family Limacodidae, and the history of entomologists who were his predecessors.

He authored “Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes: The Eccentric Life of Harrison G. Dyar [DIE-er], Jr.”, published in 2016 by Oxford University Press. He received a Ph.D. and M.S. from the Department of Entomology at the University of Minnesota, 1988 and 1982, and a B.S. in Entomology at Colorado State while on a music scholarship in 1977. Outside of work Marc continues to perform and teach clarinet around Sacramento, performing klezmer, classical, and Latin jazz. He is active in iNaturalist.com, to teach and encourage raising caterpillars around the world, particularly of his limacodid moths for the purpose of determining their identities. He continues his butterfly survey work in his native Colorado at Roxborough State Park, which he began in 1979. Dr. Epstein has been a guest on NPR’s “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross in 2004 about his work on the book “Night Visions: The Secret Design of Moths.”

Awards & Grants:

2017 Hodson Alumni Award, University of Minnesota, Department of Entomology NSF as biosystematist collaborator-Ecology of limacodid caterpillars,
2008-2013 Lucid key development for light brown apple moth and invasive tortricids of agricultural importance
2007-2011 Lepidoptera Tree of Life (Twig coordinator for Zygaenoidea)
2005-2009 Ecuador Project – BSI (Biotic Systems & Inventories (L. Dyer, PI), 2005-2009 ACG Project – BSI (D.H. Janzen, PI), Santa Rosa, Costa Rica

Links to Oxford University Press Author’s blog Part 1 and Part 2 about the process of writing the book on Dyar.

Speaker Bios for Butterfly Effect: An Ecology of Lepidopterists

Lecture Video (1:45:21)

Event Photos