photograph local insects for a book.

American Dr. Dan Hilburn lived in Bermuda from 1986 to 1989 as the Plant Protection Officer at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

He returned to co-author a book on Bermuda's land animals with Aquarium curator Dr. Wolfgang Sterrer.

"The book is going to be for the layperson interested in natural history and will be great for visitors,'' Dr. Hilburn said.

The book will be the third in Dr. Sterrer's series. The first was about Bermuda's marine animals and the second volume, which is soon to be finished, is about the Island's seaweed.

Dr. Hilburn has written the section in the third volume on Bermuda's insects and has returned to photograph different species for the book.

When Dr. Hilburn was working in Bermuda he conducted an insect survey.

"There are between 1,000 and 2,000 species on the Island -- a lot more than you'd think,'' he said.

He spent the past week-and-a-half visiting all the "insect hotspots'' such as Spittal Pond, the Botanical Gardens and Ferry Reach with amateur photographer Richard Ground.

They have been trying to photograph the insects in their natural habitats but Dr. Hilburn added: "It is very difficult when they won't stand still! "We won't be able to find a few of the species so we'll take pictures of the specimens we already have.'' Dr. Hilburn said one of the best shots they got this week was of a seven-inch long St. David's centipede.

"There is something about those centipedes that is innately scary,'' he said.

The pair also photographed cockroaches and different types of ants.

Dr. Hilburn included a section on butterflies -- his special interest -- in his summary of insects.

When he was working in Bermuda, he set up a project to tag the Island's monarch butterflies to see where they migrate.

"We discovered that most of them breed year-round on the Island,'' he explained.

Dr. Hilburn was also concerned about Bermuda's lack of milkweed plants -- the only plant the monarch feeds on -- and set up a programme to give away free seeds for people to plant in their gardens.

"It has been great to be back and see some of the results of that work,'' he said. "I started a demonstration garden of milkweed plants at the Botanical Gardens that was only ten feet by ten feet. Now it's much bigger.'' Dr. Hilburn was also interested to see what was happening with the ficus tree problem on the Island, which he worked on extensively while he was here.

During this trip, he met with Agriculture and Fisheries summer student Kenya Francis who is in charge of the ficus fight.

Dr. Hilburn was also interested in beekeeping.

"During my inspections of beehives I always encouraged the beekeepers to market their honey for more visitors rather than just the locals,'' he said.

"Now I see smaller bottles of honey all around in gift shops and I'd like to think I was a part of that.'' Dr. Hilburn returned to Oregon on Thursday where he is the administrator of the Plant Division at the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

The book should be finished in about a year.

"It has been fun to come back after so long,'' he said. "It has brought back so many memories, especially of my first impressions of the Island.

"I first noticed the blueness of the water, the lushness of the vegetation and the colours of the houses.'' INSECTS INS