wild release doesn't work?

[Anne Kilmer]

John V. Calhoun wrote:
snip
The recent northward advance of atala up the east coast of Florida is
undoubtedly the combined result of natural dispersal and "assisted"

> dispersal.  As Anne and I have pointed out, this can throw a monkey
> wrench into studies of the species' distribution.  From this time
> forward, new northern and western distribution records will be viewed as
> most likely "assisted." Too bad. It would have been fascinating to see
> how the species would naturally have expanded it's range following
> the initial human assist.  It may have done just fine, reaching the
> neighbor's imported cydads all by itself. It just may have taken a
> little longer to do so...
>
> Best,
> John

  Well, now. The host plant is all-but extinct in the wild, and is therefore available
only iin managed landscapes. The knee-jerk reaction to bugs eating your shrubbery is to
shoot first, and ask questions later.
Therefore, the only way for the atala to spread and thrive is the willing, eager welcome
of this butterfly by local gardeners.
We got this, largely, because the county extension agents, in the counties involved, are
eager environmentalists, and have been promoting butterfly gardens in all the schools and
so forth.
Since the host plants are all deliberately planted, you can't expect a normal gradual
spread. It's going to happen in bursts, on infested plants accidentally or deliberately
introduced. A certain amount of tact needs to be used in discussing this, as there are
regulations involving the movement of buggy plants, and one prefers not to draw attention
....
    Anyway, similar things are happening to populations of other butterflies, such as the
malachite, the julia, and that greedhog the gold rim: Battus polydamas.
    I suppose it's harmless and perhaps even a positive development, but I try to stress,
among my butterflying friends, the notion of biodiversity. Plant the stuff and let God
send the butterflies.
    Choose, if possible, the natives that would have been on your land before you came
there. But this is not a religion. Heretic bashing is no way to promote a healthy
environment. I'm outnumbered by the people who move bugs around, and I'm not sure they
aren't right. But it worries me.
Anne Kilmer viceroy at gate.net
South Florida