FRIDAY, July 19

7:00 PM – 9:00 PM Friday Evening Presentations at the Paxton Theater – be sure to arrive no later than 6:45 pm to provide plenty of time for parking and walking to the theater.

Opening Introductions & 2024’s featured moth: This year we will be showcasing the Dot-lined White Moth, Artace cribarius, the beauty and natural history of which will be highlighted this year and featured in an original painting by artist, Ann Geise. We will also be resurrecting our Mothapalooza “On their Shoulders” tribute that acknowledges the immense contributions of brilliant scientists and artists of earlier times who have furthered our understanding of the ecology of insects. This year we are honoring Maria Sibylla Merian, 1647-1717, who untangled and promoted the secrets of metamorphosis.

The Magical Relationship Between Moths & Plants
Keynote Speaker: Kelly Capuzzi
More than any other field of nature study, learning about moths brings one’s love of wildlife and one’s love of plants into satisfying confluence. The more one learns about native plants, the more one appreciates the diversity of moth and butterfly caterpillars that feed on them. The opposite is equally true in that each field opens a window to the other, and further expands to associated skills and hobbies such as gardening with natives, habitat restoration, and rearing caterpillars without cages. This evening program will explore the relationships between plants and Leps, while simultaneously sharing outstanding photography - showcasing the works of some of the finest photographic artists in Ohio and beyond.

Kelly Capuzzi is a fisheries biologist and water quality specialist with over 26 years of experience sampling lakes, streams, rivers and wetlands throughout the state of Ohio. Kelly has a BS in Zoology from the Ohio State University and is also an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist (OCVN) for he Hocking Hills region volunteering with Camp Oty’Okwa, Crane Hollow Nature Preserve, Arc of Appalachia, Appalachian Ohio Alliance and the Hocking Hills visitors center.  Kelly has lead fish classes and presentations for Columbus Audubon Ecoweekend, Camp Oty’Okwa Educators Week, Franklin County Metroparks, Pickaway County Park District, Rural Action, Hocking County Soil and Water, Friends of the Lower Muskingum River, Raccoon Creek Partnership and the Appalachian Ohio Alliance.  Kelly’s latest obsession is learning about native bees and growing native plants for pollinators. 

SATURDAY, July 20

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Saturday Evening Presentations at the Paxton Theater – be sure to arrive no later than 6:45 pm to provide plenty of time for parking and walking to the theater.

Moths of the World - a Planetary Perspective.
Presentation by Andrei Sourakov, Keynote Speaker

Because of Andrei Sourakov’s unique biography, he has had a remarkable opportunity to study the ecological relationships of moths and their species distribution on the world stage, leading to his capable authorship of the 2022 highly illustrated and very readable book, “The Lives of Moths.” His understanding of moth’s evolutionary kinships and the intimate connection between moths and their geography, biomes, and host plant distribution - is unusually deep. During this evening program, we will be gifted with the sights and stories of some of the most fascinating and mesmerizingly beautiful moths on the planet, some of which are closely related to moths we will be seeing this weekend at the Highlands Nature Sanctuary. This program will be structured by biomes - studying the moths that carry the signature of their various home communities - whether that be desert, meadows, temperate hardwood forests, coniferous forests, or

rainforests. We will even learn the ecology of moth caterpillars who find their larval food in the water of streams, sloth fur, wasp nests, and bird tears! Prepare yourself to be astonished, not only by the content of this evening’s program, but by the gorgeous photos taken by Andrei and his colleagues.

Keynote Speaker, Andrei Sourakov, received his doctorate in 1997 from the University of Florida, conducted field work throughout the world, and was one of the founding staff members of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, where he continues to serve as a Collections Coordinator. The McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, built in 2004 on the University of Florida campus, represents the largest collections-based research and education center in the world focused exclusively on butterflies and moths.