Judy Burris

We are Judy Burris and Wayne Richards (and Wayne's wife Christina also contributing photos), a sister-brother author and photographer team. We have been intrigued with butterflies since we were children. We were raised to have a strong respect for the natural world and always enjoyed spending time on hiking trails looking for animals and trying to identify the trees, wildflowers and insects that we saw. As adults, this childhood interest in animal and plant life has translated into a nearly full-time devotion to gardening specifically to support butterflies in every stage of their development, (egg - caterpillar - chrysalis - butterfly). We have spent many years observing, hand-raising, and photographing these miraculous creatures in our own backyard butterfly gardens. We live in northern Kentucky just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. We enjoy teaching others about flower gardening, nature photography and butterfly life cycles. We encourage everyone to give more serious thought to natural habitat conservation and responsible, poison-free management of their own backyards to support native flora and fauna for future generations to enjoy. Our first book, "The Life Cycles of Butterflies" (2006) won two Teacher's Choice Awards - one for 'Children's Books' and one for 'Product of Excellence for the Family'. We have been documenting the life cycles of other insects including lightning bugs, giant silk moths, lady bugs, lace wings, spiders, praying mantis, and many others so we decided to write a book about those. Our second book, "The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs" (2011) won the National Outdoor Book Award (NOBA) and also the Teacher's Choice Award for 'Product of Excellence for the Family'. So then we decided to write a book that includes mushrooms, spring flowers, birds, animals and lots of fun projects. Our third book, "Nature's Notes" (2012) won Creative Child Magazine's "PREFERRED CHOICE AWARD" in the Kids Educational Books category, as well as the Mom's Choice Awards GOLD seal for best in family-friendly products, and also FIRST PLACE for the Royal Dragonfly Book Award in the category of photography. We are also public speakers and offer a wide range of subjects and presentations for workshops and events including: Master Gardeners Flower and Garden Shows Libraries Garden or Camera Clubs Nature Preserves and Parks Conservatories Wildlife Conferences Schools and Universities Our presentations can include the following for any age group: Power point slide show - book signing and sales - live insects (seasonal) - how to attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your pesticide-free garden - educational display setups - insect specimens for show and tell - question and answer session - tips on how to photograph insects in your own garden and in the wild - habitat conservation and wildlife interaction in healthy habitats - the life cycle stages of butterflies and other insects - identification of host and nectar plants and why they are so important - instructions on how to hand raise your own butterflies and insects for fun and education - the importance of focusing on native plantings to preserve and support our native insect populations. We customize our presentations for your event. Check out our website at ButterflyNature.com