The Ohio Lepidopterists

Butterfly Gardening

The Ohio Lepidopterists (TOL) promote butterfly gardening in Ohio as a way of educating the public about the beauty and importance of Lepidoptera. The Butterfly Gardening Committee offers a chance for butterfly gardeners to share their gardens with others. Members of TOL are encouraged to register their butterfly gardens with TOL. Members who register their gardens receive a beautiful certificate of registration (click here to see an example of the certificate). Persons who wish to register their gardens should contact Dave Parshall or Valerie Passoa (see "Contacts" on the About page).

Speakers/Presenters Committee

Part of the mission of The Ohio Lepidopterists is to educate the public about the aesthetic and scientific importance of butterflies and moths to Ohioans. The Speakers/Presenters Committee provides speakers free of charge to interested organizations and groups in Ohio. Please contact Dave Parshall to arrange a speaker for your group (see "Contacts" on the About page).

Butterfly House

In 1993 The Ohio Lepidopterists formed a partnership with The Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Wildlife to promote and staff the Division's butterfly house at The Ohio State Fair. Each August members of The Ohio Lepidopterists volunteer to work at the butterfly house and have a great time meeting the public and sharing information about Ohio's butterflies. Anyone can become a volunteer by contacting Dave Parshall or Valerie Passoa (see "Contacts" on the About page).

Butterfly Observers Group

The Ohio Lepidopterists sponsor a group for butterfly observers (watchers) known as the Butterfly Observers Group (or BOG). The BOG of central Ohio meets the first Tuesday of each month at the Museum of Biological Diversity on Kinnear Road on the west OSU campus at 7:30 PM. These meetings are open to anyone interested in learning more about butterflies or who just enjoy programs about butterflies. At these meetings, slides of butterflies in nature are shown and discussed. Other topics that have been presented are butterfly gardening, rearing butterflies and moths, and the life history of butterflies.

From April to October, on the second Saturday of each month, a trip is undertaken to various parts of the state looking for butterflies discussed on the previous Tuesday's meeting. Membership in The Ohio Lepidopterists is recommended, but not mandatory. The plans of the BOG do appear in TOL's quarterly newsletter. For more information on the BOG, please contact Dave Parshall or Jim Davidson (see "Contacts" on the About page).

Portable Displays

The Ohio Lepidopterists have professionally created portable displays to use at trade shows, presentations, etc. Please contact info@ohiolepidopterists.org for more information on the portable displays.