Luna Moth by Sharon Mammoser

Date: July 15, 2025

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Location: Landrum Library

Speaker: David Ahrenholz

Native giant silkworm and hawk moths are our largest North American insects, but they go largely un-noticed. Dr. Ahrenholz presents backyard photographs from his Landrum home to illustrate the lives of these beautiful but rather secretive creatures.

Dr. Ahrenholz began his interest in butterflies and moths as a child in Iowa. He taught himself photography because family and friends were not interested in dead insect specimens. After medical school he continued his passion for nature photography, photographing butterflies across the US and tropical South America. His photographs captured new species and led to an appointment as a Research Associate in the Entomology Department at the Smithsonian. He has pursued a 25-year project with the museum to document the butterflies of Ecuador in photographs and by collecting specimens. After retiring from his surgical career at the University of Minnesota, he moved with his wife to their horse farm in the Landrum area where he enjoys equestrian foxhunting and sharing images from his butterfly garden.

The Landrum Library Speaker Series programs are made possible thanks to our partnership with the Spartanburg County Public Libraries.

Contact Pam Torlina, pam@conservingcarolina.org, with questions or for more information.