Sam Jaffe, founder and executive director of The Caterpillar Lab, looking at a "Gravity" Cecropia giant silk moth.

Sam Jaffe, founder and executive director of The Caterpillar Lab, Keene, New Hampshire, will present a UC Davis virtual seminar on Wednesday, April 26 on  "Telling The Whole Story: Using Native Caterpillars, Their Ecological Connections, and Novel Outreach Tools to Showcase the Importance of Biodiversity." 

His seminar, hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology,  begins at 4:10 p.m. The Zoom link: 
https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672

Jaffe relates that he will present "an original photograph and video-packed talk that explores backyard pollinators, plants, parasitoids, and the many caterpillars that are positioned at the center of it all. I will introduce a 'Whole Story' perspective of natural history study and appreciation that just might make you reconsider an herbivore's place in our world. Throughout the presentation, I will relate these topics to my experience with outreach education, showcase invaluable educational tools such as digital microscopes, and be available for discussion about The Caterpillar Lab's outreach techniques and how they might be incorporated into your own work."

Jaffe, a New England-based naturalist, photographer, and educator who works with native insects, is a native of eastern Massachusetts, where he spend his childhood "chasing birds, mucking through ponds, and turning over leaves." For the last seven years, he has been photographing caterpillars and organizing programs "to promote these special creatures to the public." He founded The Caterpillar Lab in 2008 and now "travels across the country working with museums, nature centers, schools, and individual teachers helping native insects find their place in our everyday lives." 

Jaffe holds a bachelor's degree in ecology and evolutionary biology (2007) from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, and a master's degree in environmental science (2014) from Antioch University New England, Keene, N.H. He served as a lab technician at Harvard Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Labs for a year, gaining experience with caterpillar and ant care and reproduction, ant-caterpillar interaction research and experimental design/implementation; morphological study; native insect collection; natural history guided walks.

On his LinkedIn page, Jaffe describes The Caterpillar Lab, a non-profit corporation, as fostering "greater appreciation and care for the complexity and beauty of our local natural history through live caterpillar educational programs, research initiatives, and photography and film projects. We believe that an increased awareness of one's local environment is the foundation on which healthy and responsible attitudes towards the broader natural systems of this world is built."

The Caterpillar Lab "works with native New England caterpillar species as a resource for art, education, science, and other natural history pursuits," he writes, adding that he shows his fine art collection of caterpillar photographs at galleries and museums across the country; offers educational workshops; and works with BBC as a consultant, providing caterpillars and expertise.

On its website, The Caterpillar Lab lists links to a field guide, its Facebook page,  BugGuide.net and other resources.

Department seminar coordinator is urban landscape entomologist Emily Meineke,  assistant professor.   For technical issues, she may be reached at ekmeineke@ucdavis.edu. (See complete list of spring seminars.)