I'm an urban naturalist, home gardener, public speaker, and workshop facilitator, specializing in urban gardening for habitat with native plants. I'm particularly interested in ecological associations, especially insect-plant interactions. I've been documenting the biodiversity of my own garden here on iNaturalist:
Flatbush Gardener's Garden
Life List

I've led walks and workshops in green spaces around New York City, including Wave Hill, The High Line, Madison Square Park, Green-wood Cemetery, and community gardens in Brooklyn and on Staten Island.

Blog: https://flatbushgardener.blogspot.com/
Flickr (photos): flatbushgardener
Slideshare (past presentations): xrisfg
Social: https://ecoevo.social/@xris
Discord: Xris#1374
OrcID

Some of my past presentations are available on SlideShare.
2020-09-13: Village of Ocean Beach Environmental Committee (VOBEC), Fire Island, Gardening for Habitat on Fire Island
2018-06-18: Native Plants in the Landscape Conference, Urban Gardening with Native Plants
2015-05-12: Long Island Botanical Society, Place, Purpose, Plants: Urban Gardening with Native Plants

If I have followed you here on iNaturalist, it's likely because I've noticed your Observations in Brooklyn! I'm one of the Brooklyn Borough Captains for the City Nature Challenge in New York City:
2022
2021
2020
2019

iNaturalist Records - New York State

My Observations which are the first iNaturalist records of that species in New York State.

2014-08-10: Coelioxys sayi, Say's sharptail, cuckoo leaf-cutter bee
2014-08-23: Melissodes denticulatus
2017-07-22: Dioprospa clavata, four-speckled hover fly - Also the first NY State Observation on BugGuide.
2020-05-03 Callidiellum rufipenne, Japanese cedar long-horned beetle

Species Home Page Reference Photos

My photos which are the index photo for species home pages.

Megachile texana
https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/25433749
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/16844856
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/199128-Megachile-texana

Neolasioptera thurstoni
https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/83518476
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/52534319
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1273377-Neolasioptera-thurstoni

Syrphus rectus, yellow-legged flower fly
https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/163587971
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/98276823
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/886220-Syrphus-rectus

Favorite Places

Except for college years, I've lived all my life within a few miles of the Atlantic Ocean.

EcoRegion Level III 84, Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens
https://www.inaturalist.org/places/united-states-atlantic-coastal-plain

Identification Guides - Online

Note that the Vermont Atlas of Life has an extensive list of identification guides, both online and printed, for all taxa.

Insects

https://cjai.biologicalsurvey.ca/taxonomic-index/,
Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification. Extensive list of keys, indexed to Family level. Some are limited to Canada.

Diptera, flies

https://sites.google.com/view/flyguide

Eristalis, drone flies

https://sites.google.com/view/flyguide/species-guides/syrphidae/eristalini/key-to-eristalis

Syrphus

https://www.inaturalist.org/posts/61745-key-to-the-syrphus-of-north-america

Hemiptera

Phymata

Taxonomic revision of the Nearctic erosa species group of Phymata Latreille, 1802 (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae). Paul Masonick, Christiane Weirauch. 2020.

Hymenoptera

Anthophila, bees

• https://www.sharpeatmanguides.com/wild-bee-id-guide-new-york - Guide to Wild Bees of New York State, Paula Sharp and Ross Eatman.
• https://val.vtecostudies.org/projects/vtbees/all-genera/ - For wild bees in Vermont. Applicable to New England, New York state, and adjacent Canada.
• A Shutterbee Guide to the Bees of St. Louis - Photographic key to distinguishing groups of bees

Vespidae, vespid wasps

https://cjai.biologicalsurvey.ca/bmc_05/keys.html - Key-based, not visual

Ichneumoids of North America

http://ichsofna.org/

Plants

New England

https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/ - For plants found in the wild in New England, northeastern U.S., and adjacent areas, such as New York state.

Viola, violets

https://people.ohio.edu/ballardh/vgpena/
https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/dkey/viola-key-for-chasmogamous-flowering-material/

Helpful iNaturalist Links

• Frequently Used Responses
• City Nature Challenge Help Forum

Cool iNat Tools

Find the LEAST observed species among your observations!
https://elias.pschernig.com/wildflower/leastobserved.html

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9563-5815

Grupos de especies (taxa) favoritos

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