Background:
Insects have fascinated me ever since I can remember, but it wasn't until I was about 10 years of age that I started keeping them as pets. A bit later I began a collection, going into empty lots, fields and woods to look for different insects. I was lucky to have parents willing to buy me all the collecting gear I wanted--a net, a glass-topped insect case, pins, spreading boards, insect books. I convinced them that I was going to be an entomologist when I grew up and all this equipment was necessary in order to achieve my life's goal!

I did not become an entomologist (I work for the Government) but my interest in insects has stayed with me. I used to feel a bit embarrassed about telling people that my vacations are spent collecting bugs (because that's someting kids do, not adults), but as I get older, I find that I don't care what they may think!

Present Interests:
I like almost all insects (the exceptions are the ones that bite or suck blood, such as fleas, mosquitoes, horseflies) but I'm especially fond of rhinoceros beetles and stag beetles. Many of the larger species have spectacular horn and mandible development that are, for lack of a better term, "cool!"My home state of California reportedly has more species of insects than any other state but, unfortunately, only one rhinoceros beetle (and it's a small one, with a little horn) and several very small stag beetles. Thus, all my serious collecting trips are out of state, usually in the South.

Rearing rhinoceros and stag beetles is something I really enjoy; it's almost as good as the hunt! Getting eggs from the adults I collect, waiting for them to hatch, watching the larvae progress from tiny things to full-size, then pupation and finally emerging as adult beetles gives me something to look foward to each day as well as a great deal of satisfaction.