Introductions

[Anne Kilmer]

Mark Walker wrote:
> 
> Michael Gochfeld wrote:
> 
> >       But, it finally depends more on ones individual philosophy
> > regarding "management" vs "letting nature take its course".  Since we
> > don't let nature take its course when we eliminate habitat and
> > organisms, I'm not in favor of waiting for nature, when we have the
> > opportunity to restore habitats or populations.
> >
>         This should be written somewhere in stone.
> 
>         Mark Walker.

Yes, but ... should we all hop in with our little trowels and initiate
habitat restoration projects? or should we perhaps, joining what bug
clubs are available to us, find out what the rest of the fellows are
doing and join in a well-researched, well-organized, united effort? 
Yes, I've seen how this works in medicine, education ... it's scary,
isn't it? 
But freelance terraforming is much scarier. 
I was asked the other day by a local butterfly enthusiast and nursery
owner whether I thought it would be all right to bring in and try to
establish malachites at her nursery. She has plenty of green shrimp
plant and ruellia, and there's a supplier a few miles away who would be
happy to provide her with the bugs. 
And they're so lovely, and what harm could it do, and so forth. 
It's hard to say "don't" when the asker is so generous, so reasonable,
so carefully educated and well-intentioned. 
Malachites also need a good supply of rotting fruit, feces and other
delicacies. Sap, I suppose. Her nursery would have been short on those
dainties, and therefore not a perfect place. Her neighborhood also would
probably not have supplied homes for the offspring of her butterflies;
the plants she grows are usually weeded out. 
The way to get malachites, I told her, is to plant the world between you
and the malachites with the plants they seek. 
She knows that, really; she promised to give butterfly plants to every
school in Palm Beach County that signed up for our butterfly garden
program, 13 years ago ... and, when some 90 schools signed up, she went
through with it. 
Habitat restoration is mind-bogglingly complex. Many thousands of us are
bumbling about inventing it in Palm Beach County alone, hoping that what
we do is the right thing, bulldozing one habitat to create another one
... putting purple martin houses in the middle of the butterfly garden
(I am not making this up) 
I think that if you move around bugs without expertise, and without a
compelling reason, you are behaving irresponsibly. 
I think creating a society that thinks bugs are beautiful and important
is key. I think, as Mark does, that we have to help nature along ... but
I think that if we plant the right plants, protect native habitat and
educate the public in an appreciation of the diverse ways of nature, the
butterflies will return. Mostly. 
Special cases ... the atala, the Schaus swallowtail, critters like that
... require special remedies. Don't go messing with the Schaus though,
trying to help it, or you'll have the Feds on your case. 
And that's another kettle of fish. How can we creat habitat and
encourage the spreading of these excellent  endangered bugs if the
gummint can take our land ... if they spot the bugs upon it? 
Beam me up, Scotty ... 
Anne Kilmer
South Florida