ABOUT THE AUTHOR......
Dr. Gary Noel Ross is a native Louisianian educated at Louisiana State University, earning the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Entomology in 1967. He received early professional distinction as an entomologist specializing in lepidoptera at the age of 23 when his graduate research on the unusual life history of a Mexican Metalmark butterfly was featured in the "Science Section" of Time magazine (December 6, 1963). After a teaching career of 24 years at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Dr. Ross retired (1991, Full Professor) to devote full time to his primary interest, butterflies. Louisiana's "Butterfly Man" enjoys an outstanding international reputation as natural history writer, photographer, lecturer, and tour leader with both professional and popular audiences. He has texts and/or photographs in over 150 professional journals and popular magazines such as Americas, Audubon, Brooklyn Botanic Garden Series, International Wildlife, Louisiana Conservationist, Louisiana Environmentalist, National Geographic, National Wildlife, Natural History, Playgirl, Reader's Digest, and Wildlife Conservation. Two of his books, Gardening For Butterflies In Louisiana and Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Butterflies are now standard references. Dr. Ross has been the technical consultant to Louisiana Public Broadcasting, Moody Institute of Science, National Audubon Society, National Geographic Society, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, and the Instituto de Biologia (Mexico). Within the Baton Rouge Audubon Society (President, 1993-1995) he actively promotes "Fourth of July Butterfly Counts" and the establishment of butterfly and hummingbird sanctuaries throughout Louisiana. Dr. Ross has been featured in two television-video productions: "The Wonders Of God's Creation," a three-part video presentation of Moody Institute of Science & Questar Video, 1994, showcasing Dr. Ross' pioneering work documenting a trans-Gulf route of the annual migration of the monarch butterfly and "An Enchantment Of Butterflies," a special feature of Louisiana Public Broadcasting, 1997, showcasing various aspects of Dr. Ross' life-long pursuit of butterflies. Dr. Ross holds seats on the Advisory Commission on Pesticides (La. Dept. of Agriculture and Forestry), Baton Rouge Earth Day, Inc., and the Botanic Council of Independence Park. In the fall of 1994, he accepted the position of "Consultant for Educational Programming" for the BUTTERFLIES IN FLIGHT exhibit at Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. In February 1996, Dr. Ross was awarded a research grant from the National Geographic Society for research on the life history of the Diana butterfly in Arkansas. On April 1, 1996, he was the recipient of the John Burroughs Association Annual Award of Recognition for Outstanding Published Natural History Essay in 1995 ("Butterfly Wrangling in Louisiana," Natural History magazine, May 1995). In August 1997, Dr. Ross was instrumental in premiering the first annual "Mt. Magazine International Butterfly Festival" in Paris, Arkansas and the first annual "Festival of Butterflies '97" at Powell Gardens (Kansas City, Missouri). As the result of these projects, Dr. Ross was appointed (1997) Director of Butterfly Festival Development for the North American Butterfly Association. From May 1 - October 1, 1998, Dr. Ross resided in southwest Missouri as the state's first "Lepidopterist in Residence," a position created by The Nature Conservancy of Missouri. The Author may be contacted at:
Gary Noel Ross, Ph.D.
6095 Stratford Avenue
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808
(225)927-8179
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