Wetlands Park Friends and Clark County Wetlands Park are collaborating on a three-part lecture series! This third lecture is entitled, “The Diversity and Function of Butterfly and Moth Color Patterns.” The speaker is Dr. Richard Gawne, Curator of Natural History, the Nevada State Museum. Dr. Gawne will provide answers to these and other questions: How have butterflies and moths evolved throughout the ages? How have color and patterns on the wings of these insects impacted the world around them? He will tie his presentation to our local environment.

Dr. Richard “Rick” Gawne is Curator of Natural History for the Nevada State Museum. He is an entomologist who works in the field of evolutionary developmental biology. Richard completed his Ph.D. at Duke University, and subsequently held postdoctoral positions at the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (Vienna, Austria), and Tufts University (Boston, USA). In addition, he has been a visitor at several national and international institutions. This includes a Fulbright fellowship awarded to study at the University of Copenhagen’s Center for Social Evolution, and a stay at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (Entomology). For more information: https://www.lasvegasnvmuseum.org/.