LENORA LARSON is a K-State Extension Master Gardener and Kansas native plant enthusiast. Lenora has a degree in microbiology, a past career in molecular biology, and a lifelong interest in “all things creepy and crawly”. Her garden in Paola, Kansas is certified as butterfly and wildlife habitat by the Xerces Society, National Wildlife Federation, MonarchWatch, and the North American Butterfly Association. Lenora writes about butterflies for three different publications and is a frequent speaker to gardening and nature groups. Her stated mission is “to demonstrate to other gardeners that you do NOT have to compromise on beauty or functionality when inviting wildlife to share your garden”.

 

BETSY BETROS has had a lifelong interest in nature, especially insects. After earning an entomology degree at Colorado State University, she served as an Environmental Science instructor at Johnson County Community College and in regulatory posts with Johnson County’s Environmental Services. Her love of photography and insects culminated in the publication of her highly regarded book, A Photographic Field Guide to the Butterflies in the Kansas City Region (2008). She is now retired, certified as a Kansas Master Naturalist, and is currently expanding her collection of photographs of moths and dragonflies. She also enjoys finding unusual insects in her prairie and sharing their photographs on Bugguide.net.

 

LINDA WILLIAMS is a certified Missouri Master Naturalist who nurtured her passion for butterflies and birds from a young age while traveling all over the western U. S. and Canada on family vacations. Linda has a degree in Medical Technology and was a specialist in microbiology and a hospital laboratory manager during her career. Now she follows her childhood interests by gardening for wildlife, blacklighting to attract moths, performing butterfly, bird, and amphibian surveys, fishing, and exploring Missouri with her two crazy dogs, Lily and Luna. Her other obsession is nature photography and her photos have appeared in numerous publications, such as the Missouri Prairie Journal and the Natural Events Calendar from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Linda was delighted to discover the Idalia Society in 2007 and has been compiling the Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary NABA Butterfly Count since 2006 and the Powell Gardens Butterfly Count since 2017. She also reared caterpillars for many years for the Powell Gardens Festival of Butterflies “Caterpillar Experience”. This popular display showcased native Midwestern lepidoptera and their host plants, encouraging visitors to landscape with native plants and explore the life cycles of local butterflies and moths.