Standardized Butterfly Names

[Wanda Dameron]

Tish Silberbauer & Dave Britton wrote:

> > How do you get change to come about if the main people who should
> > institute that change are not cooperative?
> 
> Swamp them with active, interested people............
> >
> > Is this NABA list generally recognized by the US butterflying
> > community?
> >
> The old-timers still haven't come around totally.  Think they probably
> have mixed emotions--their private little club of long-time collectors
> are being overshadowed by butterfly watchers but do recognize the
> advantage of quantities involved, awareness raising, habitat saving
> possibilities.
> 
>         Fun to hear other people are tackling the common name problem.
> The NABA organization founder, Jeff Glassberg, has been very shrewd in
> getting everything going.
> 
>         Believe his main goal is conservation of habitat to save the
> butterflies, but you have to make butterflies popular and well known.
> Toward that end, while establishing a national butterfly organization,
> he got several highly respected lepodopterists together periodically
> over a year to come up with a list, doing it by region, first setting
> some ground rules, then published and did publicity to get a booklet of
> common names widely disseminated.
> 
>         NABA cooperated with the Xerces Society on annual "Butterfly Counts"  and has now taken them over due to more people involved, money, etc.   The counts were originally done with scientific names, then several years with both being used and think this year will be only common  names.  With more people becoming involved in counts and local NABA chapters, and common names being used by more people, the old-timers are fighting a losing battle...........  Some even tend to come across as snobs, hanging onto the scientific names that most aren't familiar.
Some even use outdated scientific names which  really makes them look
"out of it."

>         Of course, it takes lots of time, patience, hard work and money doesn't  hurt either.   Rather imagine Jeff footed the bills  originally getting out our great quarterly magazine (now w/color photos), for which he is still editor,  and a periodic butterfly gardening newsletter.   He has been working behind the scenes to get authors of  forthcoming butterfly gooks to use the standard names, has done one book for the northeast himself and working on two others covering the eastern and western U.S. while encouraging others.
> 
>         Think we're already around 3,000 strong, but with more & more
> publicity on counts, insect fairs, national biannual meetings (with
> local lep trips) etc. believe it should really grow and become popular,
> competing with birding.....   Many of us are also birders, using the
> same skills, and fits same personal needs...........
> 
> 	Really feel with well-laid groundwork, common names are inevitable for most!

>                                 Cheers,         Wanda Dameron
>                                                 So. Calif.
>                                                 LANABA, Lorquin,
>                                                 Flutterby Press