How often do we pass by moths under a porch light or fluttering under a streetlamp without giving them a second glance? Yet moths, far more plentiful than butterflies, with their intricate patterns and curious coloration often emerge as beautiful as butterflies. Join us for this program to learns about the original field work of distinguished Texas naturalist, author, and photographer John Tveten. Tveten’s work stands as testament to what a person can discover by careful and systemic observations of the natural world. Beginning in 1978 until his death in 2009, Tveten kept meticulous field notes about nearly every bird, butterfly, mammal, reptile, dragonfly, and moth he encountered, using a form designed by his wife, Gloria, who shared his enthusiasm for documenting wildlife.
In addition to careful field notes detailing the when, where, and what of moth observations, Tveten’s entries were linked to corresponding photographs of the moths raised in his garage or observed in the wild. He planned to shape all of this information into a book to be called “Butterflies of the Night.”
During this program by Kathy Adams Clark, learn how she and her husband Gary Clark, close friends and proteges of John and Gloria Tveten, set out to transcribe and publish Tveten’s field notes alongside the corresponding photographs. Their latest book Book of Texas Moths (Texas A&M University Press, 2025), remains faithful to John’s original research, showing Tveten’s careful documentation on the distribution, history, and identification of 100 Texas moth species.
John Tveten was one of the most prominent naturalists in Texas until his passing in 2009. Tveten wrote the “Nature Trails” column in the Houston Chronicle from 1975 to 1999. John was a prolific writer and the author of The Birds of Texas, Wildflowers of Houston, Butterflies of Houston and Southeast Texas, Coastal Texas: Water, Land and Wildlife. Many of these were written with his wife, Gloria Tveten. John’s photos were used to illustrate many books including Birds of Houston by B.C. Robison, Texas Mammals East of the Balcones Fault Zone by David Schmidly, and the Lane Guide to the Texas Coast.