Photographer and Biologist, Mark Moffett, also known as “Doctor Bugs”, is known for combining serious science with quirky adventure stories and photography. After earning his B.A. at Beloit College in Wisconsin, Moffett taught himself macrophotography to document his 1989 Harvard Ph.D. on marauder ants under Professor E.O. Wilson. His first published images were of these ants in National Geographic magazine.
Upon completing his doctorate Moffett spent two years as curator of ants at Harvard. Still based at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, his research presently concerns insect and spider social behavior and the structure and dynamics of forest ecosystems, particularly their canopies.
In 1993 Harvard University Press published Moffett’s book, The High Frontier: Exploring the Tropical Rainforest Canopy. Today his research and National Geographic photography are interspersed with writing and public lecturing about rain forests. Most recently he has published Adventures Among Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions, Face to Face with Frogs, and Before the Swarm. In addition, he has appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Colbert Report, National Geographic’s Weekend Edition, and several NPR programs.