NEXT MEETING:Thursday, February 13, 2025
7:30 p.m. ![]() Topic: Secrets of the Spider Beetle
Robert Chambliss will discuss his research on spider beetles (Subfamily Ptininae) in the American Southwest. He wandered New Mexico with eyes tuned for the small troglophilic beetles, seeking dark refuges from the heat and dryness of the Chihuahuan desert. In these caves and crevices, from the Rio Grande Gorge to the Mescalero Sand Dunes, New Mexico revealed a small fraction of its great biodiversity to Robert, though limited time and funds meant that most was left undiscovered. Speaker: Robert Chambliss Robert Chambliss is currently a Wilderness Ranger with New Mexico Wild. He found wilderness in New Mexico first as a Masters student from Western Kentucky on a research trip, studying spider beetles. Returning to New Mexico in 2023 as a recreation intern for the Bureau of Land Management, Robert was introduced to land management, experiencing the trials and triumphs of trail planning and maintenance, federal partnerships, dumpsite reclamation, and seemingly endless stacks of NEPA documents. Acting as a liaison between the BLM’s Rio Puerco Field Office and wilderness rangers from NM Wild in late 2023, he was invigorated by the field-based lifestyle and wilderness-focused work. As a Wilderness Ranger with NM Wild, Robert is busy tramping about wilderness and sawing away at logs, though not too busy to appreciate the bees, longhorn beetles, and sawflies among the montane flowers. Directions to the Meeting: The Albuquerque Friends Meeting House is located at the corner of 5th and Bellamah. From I-40, take the 6th street exit, then South to Bellamah. Support AWF's work!
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