About Me

If you asked me when it all started, that is, when did insects take over my life, I would have to admit I have no recollection of a time when my life was not overrun by insects. I still remember seeing a photo in an old magazine, it was of a man looking up at a ceiling full of emerging comet moths and I knew from that moment exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. I recall the puzzled look that my speech therapist gave me when four-year-old me sat down in her office for the first time and said, “I need to pronounce the word lepidopterist”, which became my goal for three years.

Moths in peculiar have always been an obsession of mine. When I was four my dad and I built our first light trap for moths. Before this I had the privilege of holding an Atlas moth in David Bohlken’s butterfly tent at the MN state fair, and when I was five, I began rearing my own Cecropia moths. It blew my mind as a young person that a giant moth like a Cecropia could live right here in my own back yard. I have been rearing Cecropia every year since then and it’s been amazing to get to see a young person’s face light up, the way mine did, the first time they lay their eyes on one of these magnificent creatures.

I believe the brilliance of God’s character can be clearly seen in a butterfly, which is why my wife and I have named our business Designed for Discovery. Our mission is to help others discover how brilliantly designed a butterfly is, and ultimately to give glory to their creator. We want to see our society love and value insects more, by allowing young people to experience these creatures firsthand, and by providing educational materials that allow kids to use this time of curiosity to learn more about the uniqueness of each species. You offer classes and butterflies.