Bugs of a different sort

Don Ehlen is a bug man. Really. He has VWs but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I learned of his penchant for bugs when he pointed out where he had put mine. In the lime light of the Freemont show. In the course of a couple of days I learned that he has an amazing bug collection, tours schools and does pbs on what has become his life’s work and fascination. How could I pass up seeing his private collection? I couldn’t. In the couple of hours I was there, I saw just 6 of 80 boxes (the total collection is 6,000+ specimens.) Butterflies the size of a small pea, to the largest (both of my hands side by side) all beautifully categorized and presented in museum quality display boxes (5 to a box) His delight, humor and expertise apparent as he showed me tray after tray of butterflies, Luna moths, spiders, flies, walking sticks, and of course, beetles (complete with John, Paul, George and Ringo snuck in…)