I am a contributing editor and volunteer for the Maryland Biodiversity Project (https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/index.php), whose goals include cataloging all the living things in Maryland, and a member of the board of directors of the Maryland Ornithological Society.

My backgound is in birding--both locally and globally, but my interests have expanded to other wildlife in recent years, especially arthropods. With respect to IDing arthropods, I am most knowledgeable regarding those of the mid-atlantic region of the U.S. I'm interested in most arthropods, but particularly fond of flies, beetles, aquatic insects, springtails, jumping spiders, and anything obscure such as fungus weevils or tiny parasitic wasps. And of course the charismatic megafauna of the insect world – butterflies and odonates – are always cool to encounter.

I don't post all my photo observations here, but my Flickr page contains many of my other photos of note: https://www.flickr.com/photos/35716495@N08/albums

I am retired and also have a doctorate in philosophy and law degree, but those don't directly help me at iNatting :-)

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Some species for which I have added the first records on iNaturalist:

–A "Druid" fly, family Clusiidae, found in Maryland in 2024: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/233590850

–A beetle, which is the only member of its family north of Mexico, also found in Maryland in 2024: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/220665650

–A dragonfly found in Bhutan in 2024: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/216823370

-- A scarab beetle also found in Bhutan in 2024: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/217965001

–A tiny marine goby that is one of the smallest vertebrates on earth, found in Indonesia in 2023: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/191408074

–A moth from the highlands of northern Peru in 2022: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/142567387

Some likely undescribed species added to iNaturalist:

–A Lauxaniid fly found in Maryland in 2024: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/230717500

–A lady beetle species also from the highlands of northern Peru in 2022: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/142931519

–A moth species from Papua New Guinea in 2023: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/170976955

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(Not sure if this is necessary, but since I see it on some other profiles I will note that in the event of my death, I wish my account and all my records to stay on iNaturalist indefinitely.)

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