Director Associate Curator, Program Director, & Associate Professor

20+ years of experience in insect ecology and teaching

Jaret is a very popular speaker and his guided garden walks and presentations have been the staple of many conferences around the country. He has authored more than 50 scientific papers, articles and books on butterflies, conservation, integration pest management and wildlife landscaping. Jaret’s research focuses on:

Among his current projects are developing sustainable pollination strategies for U.S. specialty crops, evaluating the importance of roadside mowing regimes for native insect pollinators, in-depth studies of endangered butterflies including the Schaus Swallowtail, Miami Blue, Atala and Monarch, and “Plant for Wildlife,” an evaluation of the ability of native, Florida-Friendly and exotic landscape plants to support native wildlife, including insect pollinators.

Jaret has received distinction as a University of Florida Research Foundation Professor, an award presented to select tenured faculty members based on their record of research.

B.S. in biology, St. John’s University

Ph.D in entomology, University of Florida