The Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast will host Dr. Jack Longino, award-winning naturalist and biologist, for the a lunch lecture called "Where Have All The Praying Mantises Gone?" at 11:30 am on Wednesday, April 20, at Michael’s On East.

A Sarasota native whose family owned an 8,732-acre ranch, Longino is a professor of biology at the University of Utah. He specializes in tropical insect diversity and has coordinated large-scale biodiversity inventory projects in Central America. In 2006, he was awarded the E. O. Wilson Naturalist Award from the American Society of Naturalists. He holds a Ph.D. from The University of Texas, Austin, and a B.S. from Duke University.

During the program, Longino will give his personal reflection of Sarasota ranchlands, describing how the animals and plants of his family's Longino Ranch inspired his career in the natural sciences, how the landscape has changed over his lifetime, and how conservation efforts need to be persistent and long-term. Tickets are available here.