Open to the public:
Friday, March 27, 2026
Richard P. Reading, PhD presents:
Butterflies, Fireflies, Bees, & Tarantulas: Butterfly Pavilion’s Research & Conservation Initiatives
NOTE: When you submit your RSVP, you will not receive an email confirmation, but you will see a pop up that says “Thanks, we received your RSVP!”
LOCATION: Avalon, 6185 Arapahoe Rd., Boulder, Colorado 80303
TIME: Noon – 2:30 pm (doors open at 11:30 am)
COST: $20 cash/check at door
Bring a “brown bag lunch” if you like; drinks are provided.
Abstract:
Unknown to most of the public, Butterfly Pavilion engages in a large number of research and conservation projects in Colorado and across the world. International projects include butterfly conservation in Mongolia and Indonesia, “bee fencing” to mitigate human-elephant conflicts in Tanzania and Botswana, stingless bee conservation in Ecuador, pollinator restoration in the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Monarch butterfly habitat restoration in Mexico. Today I’ll talk a bit about our work in Mexico but focus my discussion primarily on our work in Colorado. Our main work in the state focuses on pollinator conservation, but also includes other species, particularly tarantula biology and ecology and firefly restoration. Here in Colorado, we engage local people in community conservation projects, such as our Colorado Butterfly Monitoring Network, Urban Prairies Project, and Healthy Habitat Gardens. We also monitor pollinators and pollinator-plant associations across the state, but so far primarily located in the western part of the state on land managed by the US Bureau of Land Management. Our tarantula work has focused on biology and ecology of these little studied animals, but also practical research into the efficacy of highway underpasses to facilitate long-distance movements of tarantulas during the mating season. Finally, we work to restore invertebrate populations in Colorado, such as dragonflies and fireflies.
Bio:
Richard Reading, Ph.D. is the Vice President of Science and Conservation at Butterfly Pavilion. He serves as an Affiliate Faculty with the Department of Agricultural Biology at Colorado State University; and as Chair of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. Dr. Reading received a Ph.D. and three Master’s degrees from Yale University in Wildlife Ecology and Human Dimensions of Wildlife and an Honorary Doctorate from the National Education University of Mongolia. In 2020, Rich was honored to receive the Order of the Polar Star, the highest honor from the Mongolian National Government for expatriates, for contributions to conservation. He has conducted or overseen projects in dozens of countries, working primarily on grassland and arid ecosystems on six continents, with a focus on the Great Plains of N. America, the steppes and deserts of Mongolia, the savannahs and deserts of Botswana, and the Altiplano of Peru. His work focuses on developing pragmatic, effective, and interdisciplinary approaches to the conservation of wildlife and protected areas through research, capacity development, and working with local people and governments. Dr. Reading serves on the boards of directors or advisors for several non-profit organizations in the U.S. and overseas; serves as an associate editor for 4 scientific journals; has published over 245 scientific papers and book chapters; written dozens of popular articles; and written or edited 10 books.