About

Norman and Cheryl Lavers are the authors of 100 Insects of Arkansas and the Midsouth: Their Portraits & Stories (Spring 2018). 

Cheryl Lavers grew up in Porthcawl, on the south coast of Wales, in a family of nature lovers. Her earliest memories are of walks in the countryside to see birds and wildflowers, especially the delicate terrestrial orchids of the nearby sand dunes. She studied painting at Bath Academy of Art and since coming to the U.S. has painted birds and plants, most recently concentrating on the wonderful variety of leaves found in Arkansas. Cheryl has enjoyed exhibiting her bird and botanical paintings.

Norman Lavers’ short stories have won numerous awards, including the O. Henry and Pushcart prizes. He grew up in Berkeley, California, and from the time he was a child brought home every creeping and crawling thing he saw and kept it as a pet. He got an MA in English at San Francisco State, and was awarded a writing fellowship to the Iowa Writers Workshop, where he received a PhD. He has lived in various parts of Europe and Asia, and makes frequent visits to Central American jungles for bird watching. He is an active naturalist, and his current passion is in the study and photography of insects. Nature and settings in remote parts of the world figure often in his writing. He taught English all over the country before landing at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, where he taught literature and creative writing for 25 years.

Norman interrupted his study of English Literature to spend a year traveling in Europe and North Africa. On that trip, he met a young art student and happened to mention that he had heard the European robin was quite different from the American robin, and he especially wanted to see one. She said, "Wait a minute. There's one right here." He proposed to her a week later. The Lavers have just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

When Norman retired from teaching in 2000, the Lavers began studying and photographing the fantastic insects of Arkansas full time, sharing their enthusiasm for insects through presentations to Master Naturalists and Arkansas Audubon Society Adult Ecology Workshops, as well as other groups. This book is the result of the nearly twenty years the couple has spent observing, enjoying, and teaching others about insects in the wilds and gardens of Arkansas.