This is the second in a four-part lecture series "The Little Things That Run the World: An Exploration of the Insects in the Farmscape", which describes four fascinating insect groups and their role in regional biodiversity and agriculture.
On Thursday, 1 December 2022, 7pm, Conrad Vispo will present on "What the Ground Beetles See: Thinking about Farmland as a Patch in the Farmscape Quilt".
Through the lens of ground beetle communities, this talk will consider farmland from the perspective of the larger landscape – Does it share species with wilder lands? If so, which wilder communities are most similar to those on farms? What does this tell us about how we might manage nature on farms and, more broadly, what might it suggest about how we think about farms in the landscape? Following a quick survey of ground beetle natural history, the presentation will describe patterns in ground beetle communities and the ‘personalities’ of some of the species in involved. It will conclude with a consideration of the flow of ground beetles (and perhaps even other species!) across this changing landscape.
This free presentation will be at the Hawthorne Valley Place-based Learning Center (327 Route 21C, Ghent NY), which is in the white building attached to the red barn. If you would like to participate in this event online, please register with Josie and she will send you a Zoom link the day before the event.
Please note that for extra safety of attendees and presenters, this will be a masked event; masks will be available at the event for anyone who may not have one.
Here is a link to the recording of this lecture!