Butterflies of the Sierra Nevada

This is the 11th year that my wife Evi and I will teach our class on Butterflies of the Sierra Nevada for San Francisco State University. The class will be taught from July 13-17 at the Sierra Nevada Field Campus [www.sfsu.edu/~Sierra] near Bassetts, Sierra County. At this point, registration for the class is open and we have 8 persons already registered. We usually find at least 60 butterfly species during the week during our daily hikes to different localities and habitats. For each butterfly we find we provide information on behavior, nectar plants, caterpillar plants, and life hisotry. Our longest walk is about 1.5 miles in length. We have a combination of morning and evening lectures and day-time trips, usually at least a short distance by car, sometimes on gravel roads. We are also somewhat knowledgeable about other animals and plants and point out quite a few of these during the week. We are sensitive to the goals of our students and try to help each person learn the information. Students have the option of taking the class for credit.

We recommend that our students have one good book on western butterflies, either Brock and Kaufman or Opler. It is not required but students may wish to have either Sierra Nevada Natural History or Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada. We invite any inquiries about the class and encourage folks to take any of the high quality classes that might be still available.