RESPONSE

[Tatoosh]

It is amazing to me that Anne Kilmer is now the voice of wisdom.  You
say my head is inflated.  That is a friendly thing to say!

first of all there are hundreds and thousands of people interested in
butterflies.  And for those not aware, they have been releasing
butterflies for centuries.  I must persume then that now that I have
promoted a release as a national event it must be a crime.

Sedond, you must get your facts straight - Portland has Monarchs!

And one word of wisdom, the Monarchs are permitted to be released.

Hans

Bug hunter wrote:
> 
>   Dear Anne,
> 
>       I'm not familiar with this butterfly release program... why are they
> being released here on the west coast?  As far as I know, the Monarch
> doesn't occur here naturally (at least, as far north as B.C.) and its normal
> food plant is not a native plant in this region.
> 
>   -Tom-
> > >
> 
>    -Tom Clarke-
>    Dept. of Biology
>    University of Victoria
> 
>   "Movies don't create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative!" -Scream
> 
> 

Because Hans has got it into his inflated head that he is the only 
person in the world who cares about butterflies, that his program 
(designed to "help" only the monarch), will help all butterflies by 
raising public interest, and that the way to "help" butterflies is to 
invest heavily in rear and release programs. 
In  the hope of dissuading him, we mentioned the NABA butterfly count, 
the many groups that are studying monarch dispersal, and the diseases 
being spread by captive-reared bugs.
In vain. (And vain is the word.) 
Apparently he has got hold of a lot of money, which he is using to 
promote his bone-headed scheme. 
And he has promoted his project continent-wide, although he is 
apparently now only taking credit for his Portland enterprise. He cannot 
understand that introducing a butterfly to an area so far out of range 
will in no way help it, or the other butterflies that will now have to 
compete with it for nectar sources. 
        That part is trivial. The important thing is the genetic 
scrambling of butterflies, the rear and release of butterflies in an 
area where the host plants are not ready to receive it (this may have 
happened this spring in a dozen sites, as recorded on the Leps list, 
although we have no way of knowing whether the butterflies arrived on 
their own or with help from their friends ...
In short, he is dabbling in major changes in the Monarch population, in 
happy disregard of what thousands of people are doing to study this bug. 
        Bob Flanders is the USDA guy who can stop him. 
        If you'd like to jump in on the list, it might help.
Anne Kilmer
1424 Lake Bass Dr.
Lake Worth FL 33461