Eric R. Eaton is author of Insectpedia (Princeton University Press, 2022), and Wasps: The Astonishing Diversity of a Misunderstood Insect (Princeton University Press, 2021). He is lead author of the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007), co-author of Insects Did It First (Xlibris, 2018), and contributor to several other books including The Butterfly Gardener’s Guide (Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 2003) and Wild in the City: a guide to Portland’s natural areas (Oregon Historical Society Press, 2000). He has also written articles about insects and other animals for Natural History, Birds and Blooms, Ranger Rick, Missouri Conservationist, Timeline (journal of the Ohio Historical Society), and other magazines.
Mr. Eaton studied entomology at Oregon State University, and has worked as a professional entomologist for “Butterfly Magic” at the Tucson Botanical Gardens, Chase Studio, Inc., and the Cincinnati Zoo. He has worked on private contracts for the University of Massachusetts (Amherst), West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, and Smithsonian Institution.
He enjoys the respect of his network of professional colleagues, and has built a loyal following in social media (Facebook and Twitter), and as a volunteer expert and consultant to WhatsThatBug.com, and AllExperts.com (where he was one of the top 50 experts for the year 2009), and Bugguide.net. His empathy for the squeamish and scared, knack for identification of mystery bugs, and his accurate, jargon-free explanations of insect biology have made him a leading figure in popular entomology.
Mr. Eaton is available for speaking engagements, media interviews, field and laboratory workshops, and contract work preparing and curating preserved arthropod specimens. He welcomes writing or editing assignments for publications, websites, and other media.
Eric currently resides in Leavenworth, Kansas, with Heidi Eaton. He lived previously in Portland, Oregon; Cincinnati, Ohio; Tucson, Arizona; and Colorado Springs, Colorado.
You may contact me through the following avenues:
Follow me on:
Facebook where I post notifications of new blog posts, plus links and news items related to insects and arachnids. You may also pose questions to me by leaving a message.
I also have a group page on Facebook called Arthropods Colorado & Wyoming where I post recent images of insects and spiders I find close to home; and where others can post their images as well. Please ask to join and I will add you within a day or so.
I am @bugeric on Bluesky.
My LinkedIn profile is where I update my work experiences and projects apart from blogging. Connect with me there if you like.
You can see my best images of insects, birds, and other wildlife on my Flickr photostream.
Feel free to follow me on iNaturalist and Project Noah, too, where I post "spottings" from all across the U.S.
Thank you for your interest in my activities. I look forward to supporting your own endeavors in natural history.
Thank you. Are you using this method yourself?
ReplyDeleteNot sure what you are referring to.
Deletewow.. I love your pictures and words.. thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I love insects, and your site and compassion are invaluable to me. All blessings to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteI love your articles. Please, never stop writing them. I am a pest control entomologist and received some small wasps that were in a sliding door frame. From your article, I found out they were aphid wasps. Cool!
ReplyDeleteHelp! There’s a new Tachytes nest outside our front door. A new puppy, 3 dogs, and 2 cats come and go from that door. What do you advise? Keep in mind, we are avid pollinator habitat restorers, with acres of it around our property. Also, I raise monarchs. The wasps (in significant numbers) won’t affect them, will they? Thanks for any and all guidance!
ReplyDeleteHelp! New Tachytes nests outside the front door. New puppy, 3 adult dogs, and 2 cats come and go from that door. We are restoring acres of prairie for pollinator habitat, so any and all are welcome—as long as they leave the mammals alone! What should we do? Also, raising monarchas. Tachytes won’t bother them, right? Thanks much for any and all advice!
Hello Eric, I am not sure if you are still writing on Cat Head Spiders. but I have had one that has lived on my screen sense the summer of 2018, she did survive the winter and now has made her home up in the corner of the roof, she has her egg sac all made and stays near it. I understand once a female has her eggs the pass with the very first frost..which will be soon~ We will miss her, and we will miss watching her, we feed her flies....She has really touched our lives and we will never forget our "SpiderGirl"~
ReplyDeleteWhat insect would you say you most-closely resemble - both in appearance and behavior?? :oD
ReplyDeleteWould you please identify a bug for us?
ReplyDeleteI do that kind of thing on Facebook and iNaturalist now, and that's about it.
DeleteHow can I get someone I live in Colorado springs to identify a pest I've tried all exterminators they don't know it's a microscopic insect or pest and I need to identify what it is if you don't do that can you recommend somebody I can contact it's really too small to take a picture of
ReplyDeleteI no longer reside in Colorado Springs....You would probably need to take specimens to an entomologist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, or the entomology department at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins. Pity there is no such facility in the Springs.
DeleteHello, I reside in southeast Colorado we bought a property that sat for quite some years , we have a TERRIBLE suger ant problem, I noticed a few mounds of harvester ants as well but they don't bother me with that said I happen to notice all the harvester ants have gone except 2 mounds and today I noticed the harvester ants all around thier mound outside like knights guard the entrance to a kingdom so I took a closer look and noticed the suger ants are attacking the harvester ants , im interested to know if this is a common behavior of suger ants, I really am disappointed because I enjoy watching the harvester ants, the suger ants on the other hand ...them little shits chew holes into unopened bags of food and cause me to waste so much..im not a dirty person either my kitchen is clean thus the reason they are chewing holes into ziplock bags of cookies, chips unopened even food that I cook before it can cool to put away they are in it...so this is war but I don't want to affect the harvester ants so if u are aware of a method to deter or exterminate that would be appreciated also im really curious about the suger ants attacking the harvester ants, ive researched it but I can't seem to find anything on the subject.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your time