Meetings and Events

Fall 2022 Meeting:

WES Fall 2022 Meeting
Suturday, November 19: 11am-4pm
Room 151 in Russell Labs on the UW-Madison campus.
Join us for a day of insect fun and comradery!  Show up early (or stay late) to mingle with fellow insect enthusiasts.  Lunch will be provided around noon, followed by our annual photo salon- you can enter up to five photos.  Please bring pictures, specimens and stories to share during the “Tales from the Field” session to showcases interesting and unusual discoveries from the current field season.  If you have something you’d like to share- even just a few brief words, pictures, or specimens- please do so! (email Kyle).
Schedule
Noon: Lunch (Glass Nickel Pizza)
1 PM: Annual photo salon contest (bring up to 5 photos; send by email, or bring flash drive, etc.)
2 PM: “Tales from the Field”: a collection of short presentations and stories from WES members. Please consider bringing a presentation, a few brief words or pictures, and/or specimens to share with the group.
4 PM: Depart
Directions/Parking: Russell Labs is located at 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706. Parking is located in the Steenbock Ramp behind Russell Labs (directly northwest).
From the east: Head west-bound on University Avenue and take the Babcock Drive exit (0.25 miles after the Charter Street intersection). Go straight through the stop sign (Linden Drive) and continue to next stop sign (Observatory Drive). Go left (west) 0.1 miles and turn left again (south) to enter the Steenbock Parking Ramp. Walk to the tall building directly to the southeast (Russell Labs) and look for signs.

From the west: Head east-bound on University Avenue take the Old University Avenue exit (immediately after the University Bay Drive intersection). Continue 0.4 miles to Walnut Street; go left (north) for 0.3 miles to the round-about. Take the first right (east) off the round-about and continue just over 0.5 miles and turn right (south) to the Steenbock Parking Ramp. Walk to the tall building directly to the southeast (Russell Labs) and look for signs.

Fall 2019 Meeting:

Sunday, October 27: 11am-4pm
Room 151 in Russell Labs on the UW-Madison campus.

Join us for a day of insect fun and comradery!  Show up early (or stay late) to mingle with fellow insect enthusiasts.  Lunch will be provided around noon, followed by our annual photo salon- you can enter up to five photos.  Please bring pictures, specimens and stories to share during the “Tales from the Field” session to showcases interesting and unusual discoveries from the current field season.  If you have something you’d like to share- even just a few brief words, pictures, or specimens- please do so! (email Kyle or PJ).

A rough schedule can be found below:

Noon: Lunch (Glass Nickel Pizza)
1 PM: Annual photo salon contest (bring up to 5 photos on a flash drive or CD)
2 PM: “Tales from the Field”: a collection of short presentations and stories from WES members. Feel free to bring a presentation, a few brief words or pictures, or even specimens to share with the group.  If you have something you’d like to share- even just a few brief words, pictures, or specimens- please do so! (email Kyle or PJ)

If you have any questions about the fall meeting, feel free to email Kyle Johnson or PJ Liesch.

Directions/Parking: Russell Labs is located at 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706. Parking is located in the Steenbock Ramp behind Russell Labs (directly northwest).

From the east: Head west-bound on University Avenue and take the Babcock Drive exit (0.25 miles after the Charter Street intersection). Go straight through the stop sign (Linden Drive) and continue to next stop sign (Observatory Drive). Go left (west) 0.1 miles and turn left again (south) to enter the Steenbock Parking Ramp. Walk to the tall building directly to the southeast (Russell Labs) and look for signs.

From the west: Head east-bound on University Avenue take the Old University Avenue exit (immediately after the University Bay Drive intersection). Continue 0.4 miles to Walnut Street; go left (north) for 0.3 miles to the round-about. Take the first right (east) off the round-about and continue just over 0.5 miles and turn right (south) to the Steenbock Parking Ramp. Walk to the tall building directly to the southeast (Russell Labs) and look for signs.


Summer 2019 Events:

In honor of our 50th anniversary, WES will hold multiple field outings this summer.  Please let Kyle or PJ know if you’re interested.


Wisconsin Insect Fest, Woodruff (Oneida County): Friday, July 26 – Saturday, July 27

If you’re looking for an additional collecting opportunity this summer, look no further than the Wisconsin Insect Fest being hosted by the UW-Entomology Department at the Kemp Natural Resources Station in Minocqua, WI on July 26th & July 27th.  The event is free, open to the public, and all WES members are invited to attend.

The Wisconsin Insect Fest will feature a number of talks, hands-on outings, kid-friendly activities, and the “Great Wisconsin Bug Hunt”—a 24-hour arthropod BioBlitz.

Visit the Wisconsin Insect Fest website for additional details and a full schedule: http://tinyurl.com/WisconsinInsectFest

If you have any questions about the event, feel free to reach out to PJ Liesch.

Hope to see you at the Wisconsin Insect Fest this July!


Spring Field Trip at Fort McCoy, Monroe County: Saturday, May 25 – Sunday, May 26.

This is a unique opportunity to see some of the best sand prairie, savanna, and barrens in the Midwest.  Fort McCoy is known for a multitude of rare and unusual species, some not known elsewhere in the state.

We will meet on Saturday, May 25, 9-10am for a safety briefing before exploring the property.  We will explore both day and night, and use a variety of sampling techniques including UV/MV sheets and baits.  For those interested in nocturnal surveys camping is available on site, or motels are available in Sparta and Tomah.  For those staying Sunday overnight, we must leave the property by noon on Monday, May 27.

Directions:  From I-94, take WI-21 west toward Fort McCoy.  Continue for 8.1 miles, then turn left (south) on 10th Ave/16th Ct. (this is 0.25 miles west of the Gate 20 turnoff, and 1.0 miles east of the main gate).  Continue south for 2.2 miles to the meeting area, the Badger Drop Zone (43.97605°N  90.66117°W).  Note: the meeting area is subject to change depending on military training schedules.

PLEASE let Kyle or PJ know if you might be interested, and whether or not you are considering staying overnight for nocturnal surveys.  This is Department of Defense property; anyone attending must receive a safety briefing before exploring, and remain within designated training areas.

Swamp Lover’s Preserve, Dane County: Monday, May 27.

After Fort McCoy we will travel south to Swamp Lover’s Preserve, located just outside Cross Plains.  This preserve has a multitude of habitats including oak-hickory woodland, bluff prairie remnant, sedge meadows, ponds, and tall grass prairie restoration.  Many rare and unusual insects abound.

Meeting time will vary depending on our departure from Fort McCoy (anticipated arrival 9am-1pm), but attendees are welcome to arrive early and explore on their own.  We will sample into the night.  Camping is allowed on site, or motels are available in Middleton/Madison.  Friday, May 24 will be an alternate date in the event of poor weather.

Directions:  Meeting area is the “Picnic Hill shelter” (43.12374°N  89.67227°W).  From US-14 just west of Cross Plains, go NORTH on County KP for 0.3 miles, then turn left (west) onto Scheele Road.  Continue for 0.35 miles, then turn right (north) to enter the site.  You can part at the Ice Age Trail parking along the gravel road, or take the steep drive to the top of the hill.

Wildlands of Oconto, Marinette, and Florence counties: Thursday, August 1 – Monday, August 5.

Join us in exploring the “north woods” of northeastern Wisconsin.  We will explore rich maple-beech forests, jack pine-oak barrens, bedrock outcrops, boreal wetlands, raging rivers, and many others.  This will be a chance to see boreal and eastern species at their range limits in the state.

We will be exploring many new areas – day and night – some of which have likely never been sampled for insects before.  Specific sites have yet to be determined, and are subject to change depending on weather and member interest.  We will provide further details once the date nears.  Mark your calendars!


Looking for information about a previous meeting or outing?  Check out the Previous Events page.