Our February, 2025, meeting was held at our member, Carol’s home. We had roughly a dozen members attending. Prior to the formal presentation, we had a number of discussions. These included:

• We reviewed our 2025 insect passport. Members in good standing are encouraged to search for the “insect of the month: and send a photo to Mark (along with location information). Those who submit the most photos of insects throughout the year may win a prize. Details can be found in the linked PDF file.
• We also distributed printed copies of our meeting calendar for 2025.
• We reviewed an insect identification handout I developed to encourage more to identify the insects they encounter. In a nutshell, I encouraged everyone to start using their phones with AI capabilities as a start.
• We discussed the best way to inform members in good standing of planned meetings. It was agreed that text messages would be the preferred approach for the majority. I will ask all who receive a text message to reply with either a Y or N to have a count of planned participants. There are a few who prefer phone calls, and we had members volunteer to keep those individuals informed of meetings.
• Doug M. indicated he planned to the Wild Things conference on March 1 in Rosemont. Overall, it looks like a great one day conference. There are several poster sessions discussing insects along with some presentations on pollinators and other insects. He also mentioned resources which can be found at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and the Xerces Society.
• I discussed my progress to date in identifying and documenting our former member, Gordon Adams, insect collection. Nearly 1,000 specimens have been identified to date representing over 400 species.
• We discussed plans for a field trip to the Illinois Natural History Survey later this year. It appears late May or June would be preferred as we must go during the week.
• We concluded the meeting with my presentation on Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Illinois Insects. I provide a PDF of the handout notes in the event others find this useful.
• Our next meeting will be held on March 15. We will tour Funk’s Grove Mineral Museum and Prairie Home.