Branching Out Speaker Series

Title: How and Why People Count Butterflies

Description: What is the global state of biodiversity? The answer is the goal of a worldwide array of programs devoted to monitoring plant and animal populations. A focus of these programs are butterflies which are large and easy to identify. This talk will cover how butterfly counts are done, what happens to the tallies, and what has been learned. There will be a focus on results from the annual fall count done at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum since 2007 and from analyses on a larger geographic scale. The news is not good, but there will be suggestions for what we can do to support biodiversity.

Speaker: Ron Rutowski (he/him), President at Central Arizona Butterfly Association

Speaker Bio: After earning his PHD at Cornell University in 1976, Dr. Rutowski joined the faculty in life sciences at Arizona State University. There he taught and did research on animal coloration and mating systems for 40 years. His work includes over 100 publications and is the result of international field and lab work. He has been President of the Central Arizona Butterfly Association since 2014 and been active running and contributing to butterfly counts in central Arizona sine 2007.

Register Here: 7830.blackbaudhosting.com/7830/Branching-Out-Speaker-Series-10Oct2025

Interested in attending multiple lectures? Purchase a package for the September-November lectures for 10% off the ticket price: 7830.blackbaudhosting.com/7830/Branching-Out-Speaker-Series 

Please note: This presentation does NOT include admission to the Arboretum.