smoke and butterflies?

[Semjase]

>Subject: Re: smoke and butterflies?
>From: gochfeld at EOHSI.RUTGERS.EDU  (Michael Gochfeld)
>Date: Tue, 21 September 1999 05:10 PM EDT
>Message-id: <37E7F20C.79872B29 at eohsi.rutgers.edu>
>
>We just returned from the Mato Grosso in Brazil where there was a
>prolonged and serious dry season.  Fires were raging everywhere.
>Ranchers try to maintain pasture quality by burning, to get rid of the
>inedible grasses left being by their cattle, and allow the edible
>species to grow. It's a self-defeating strategy in the long run and
>destroys lots of other habits inadvertently. 
>
>We were unable to land in Cuiaba (capital of Mato Grosso) because of the
>dense smoke haze which closed the airport for up to 12 hours every day).
>
>On the ground we found the smoke irritating at times and always
>perceptible.  On the other hand we didn't get overheated despite air
>temperatures lingering in the high 90's (ca 35-38C).  There was a lot of
>butterfly activity with some familiar species (Gulf Fritillary=Agraulis
>vanillae, Cloudless Sulfur=Phoebis sennae and a Queen=Danaus sp) among
>others.  It's hard to know what it would have been like without the
>drought and without the smoke, but there was a moderate amount of
>butterfly cactivity which seemed unaffected by the amount of smoke. 
>
>Mike Gochfeld
>
>Kenelm Philip wrote:
>> 
>>         On several occasions in Interior Alaska I have seen smoke plumes
>> from forest fires that were dense enough to block the sun. The
>butterflies....
>
The problem is what does it really do to the butterflies.  We really don't know
what they experience or are we able to follow up on sequelae after exposure!

S.