Klein-Edwards Professional Services
PO Box 16809
San Diego, CA 92176-6809
copyright 2015 KEPS
All Rights Reserved

Entomology
The primary area that we focus on at KEPS is with insects and other invertebrates. Through specialized training and education we will work with Field Biologists, the general public and some of the regions preserves by training volunteers in the different disciplines so that they are competent in leading public walks. We also assist some of the preserves by doing public programs.

One of our most popular public programs is the ‘Insects at Night’ where we set up some white sheets and attach a black light to the sheet attracting insects that are active at that time. This is open to families and children are encouraged to collect an insect from the sheet in some clear plastic containers, bring that specimen to one of the experts and they would be told something about what they caught. For 2014 Michael will conduct programs at Blue Sky Ecological Preserve in Poway in August and Wright's Field in Alpine in August. Contact Blue Sky and Back Country Land Trust (Wright's Field) to get the details of the date and times for each.

We have also conducted a Sensitive Butterfly Workshop on nine sensitive species butterflies in San Diego County. This Workshop is very detailed where we discuss identification, how they may be confused with other similar looking butterflies, life cycle, habitat requirements and threats to their sustainability. Normally we hold this Workshop the first Saturday in December every other year.

We also will conduct butterfly trips on an as requested basis. We are blessed in San Diego with our wildlife diversity. We have about 155 species of butterflies in the County which does not compare too many places in the United State but of those 155, five are endemic or near endemic to the United States.

Currently we specialize in the Region's sensitive butterflies and other sensitive invertebrates. We are one of the experts for the federally endangered Quino Checkerspot Butterfly, the federally endangered Laguna Mountains Skipper, the Federally Candidate Hermes Copper, County covered species, Wandering Skipper and Thorne’s Hairstreak and near endemic Harbison’s Dun Skipper.

In recent years we have become the leader in potential pollinators of our native plants, shrubs and trees. Regional jurisdictions and local, county, state and federal agencies are now recognizing the need for understanding the reproductive requirements of many of our sensitive and protected plants. As to date we are the only company in the County that does this work while many of our competitors bid for these contracts they usually come to us since they lack the in-house experts.

Last but not necessarily least we have been the voice for the insect world as different projects come up or are being planned for. We encourage project proponents to include at a minimum an invertebrate inventory for their upcoming project(s). An example: We were approached about solar projects in the southern California deserts and were we consulted on any sensitive insects. Many times these projects will not have sensitive insects present. However, we encouraged the project proponents to develop an insect inventory because these projects will impact lizards and many have fairly selective insect food sources. It is important to know if some of these lizards begin declining, was their food source one of the reasons for their decline. These types of information make or break a project from an agency perspective.

We are probably one of the best companies in the Region that will work with you on any invertebrate issues.
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Klein-Edwards Professional Services