Connie Zakowski

Connie Zakowski has taken you another step farther into the world of insect collecting. Just as her first book, The Insect Book, taught you how to collect and care for insects, Insects on Display has illustrated how to preserve your specimens. Connie lives in southeastern Wisconsin, where summer months have provided her the opportunity to raise several insect species. Her most recent "family" consisted of Cecropia and Polyphemus caterpillars, which she raised from the eggs of mated moths of...See more

Connie Zakowski has taken you another step farther into the world of insect collecting. Just as her first book, The Insect Book, taught you how to collect and care for insects, Insects on Display has illustrated how to preserve your specimens. Connie lives in southeastern Wisconsin, where summer months have provided her the opportunity to raise several insect species. Her most recent "family" consisted of Cecropia and Polyphemus caterpillars, which she raised from the eggs of mated moths of each species. Collecting all the food and caring for the caterpillars is time-consuming, and it kept her very busy. She enjoyed watching them grow, day by day. As summer comes to an end, the caterpillars will all make cocoons, and they will be returned to nature to spend the winter months in their natural environment. During the winter months, when the insects are dormant, Connie spends her time creating displays of her specimens so they can be seen close-up for all the years to come. Connie enjoys giving lectures and showing off her collection to different schools, youth organizations, and senior citizens' groups. During the winter, she brings her prepared displays; during summer, she brings live specimens. The reaction she receives from these presentations is rewarding. It always generates many entertaining stories of the viewers' encounters with the insect world. The study of entomology has been an interesting and educational avocation for Connie. She still finds a little extra time for photography and plans to include this hobby in her future endeavors. See less