Butterfly abundance

Robert Thorn Thorn at cc.denison.edu
Tue Aug 4 10:03:46 EDT 1998


I second that.  For the past few weeks, I've run butterfly censuses in
central Ohio, where we've had large numbers of nearly every butterfly
except monarchs.  During a brief trip to southern Ohio (Scioto County,
along the Ohio River), I was surprised by the high number of
Swallowtails of several species.  There were extraordinary numbers of
Tiger and Spicebush Swallowtails, in the hundreds for each day.  Along
some highways of the Shawnee State Forest, I estimated 60-80
swallowtails /mile, along with 10-20 roadkills.  Numbers are somewhat
lower in central Ohio, but still strong.  But monarchs have been
extremely scarce in both places.  Perhaps some of our southern
correspondents are having better luck with this species, since the odd
weather may have stalled their migration.

Rob Thorn,  thorn at denison.edu


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