Western Maine Audubon plans to sponsor its third nature talk, a presentation by Dr. Ron Butler entitled “Maine’s Damselflies and Dragonflies,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 11, in the University of Maine at Farmington’s Lincoln Auditorium at 270 Main St.

This presentation, open to the general public, will begin with a general overview of the evolution, ecology and behavior of damselflies and dragonflies (Order Odonata), according to a news release from the chapter. This will be followed by a brief survey of some of Maine’s 161 known odonate species.

Conservation concerns for this group of insects will be discussed, and resources to facilitate contributions by community members interested in furthering our understanding of Maine’s odonate fauna will be explored.

Butler retired in 2021 as Emeritus Professor at the University of Maine at Farmington after 40 years of teaching.

He has published papers on the ecology and behavior of mice, beavers, gulls, petrels, guillemots, skuas, penguins, damselflies, dragonflies and bumble bees, and he is co-authoring a book, “Butterflies of Maine and the Canadian Maritime Provinces.”

For more than 20 years, Butler has helped plan and coordinate statewide community-science projects focused on Maine insects, and he remains active in research and conservation initiatives in collaboration with Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

For more information, contact Will Jones at 207-491-2443 or [email protected].