Arthropods in our World and at Rancho La Puerta

Week of July 3, 2021

What are insects and what do they do? Why are they important? What do they tell us about our world? The world of insects is a vital part of our surroundings but how much effect they have on our lives is a mystery to most. Let’s break down those barriers and talk bugs! Once we get acquainted with our arthropod friends, we can observe them with greater respect and appreciation. They are often overlooked but an intrinsic part of what makes Rancho La Puerta an extraordinary place.

 

Peter H. Kerr is an entomologist who grew up admiring native wildflowers and chasing after birds and bugs in the chaparral of Southern California. He went on to study Biology at University of California, Santa Cruz, and Tropical Biology at the University of Costa Rica. After graduation, he returned to Latin America to explore the most biological rich forests in the world, including the Amazon Basin of Ecuador, where he collected insects and worked as a naturalist guide and nature interpreter at a remote tourist jungle lodge. Eventually, Peter returned to the US to earn his Ph.D. in Entomology at the University of Maryland, and serve as a resident Research Fellow at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, in Washington, D.C. Currently, Peter is a Senior Insect Biosystematist at the California Department of Food & Agriculture and Primary Molecular Biologist for the State of California. His lab research focuses primarily on the systematics and taxonomy of a group of flies known as the fungus gnats (Mycetophilidae). He resides in Davis, CA, with his wife, Malin, a botanist and organic farmer, and their three children.