Dale Clark of Butterflies Unlimited shows off his monarch wrangling skills to class members.

The 2011 Master Volunteer Entomology Specialist class was held at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas September 26-30. Ten instructors shared skills and knowledge about insects with 29 Master Gardener and Master Naturalist volunteers.

“You provided everything we need to properly start and continue our specialist area. I feel the speakers were all experts in their area and helpful and open to questions and comments,” said one of the participants.

Participants will receive the Entomology Specialist designation from their respective programs when they complete the required number of entomology project hours. It’s hoped that graduates will become resource people for their counties or chapters and complete projects such as developing an educational insect collection, researching an insect question, or developing educational programs relating to insects.

Class participants represented seven counties and was evenly divided between Master Naturalist and Master Gardener volunteers.  Dallas county had the most participants with 11 volunteers.

This year’s field trips included visits to a butterfly rearing operation, the Dallas Zoo Insect House and local natural sites.  Highlights included a honey-tasting event and hands-on training in insect collecting.

To see pictures from this year’s class, click here.