anise swallowtail & purplish copper

[Matthew Smith]

Message text written by INTERNET:don.benson at attcanada.net
>As part of a habitat enhancement project in Richmond BC, we are planning
to introduce anise swallowtail and purplish copper butterflies to a 14
hectare
site.  We will plant larval foodplants for the anise swallowtail and then
take
caterpillars from Boundary Bay where these butterflies are common and put
them on the larval foodplants.  To introduce the purplish coppers we plan
to
capture females and release them in the new site.

We will plant cow parsnip (Heracleum lanatum) and seaside angelica
(Angelica
lucida)
for the anise swallowtail.  Laral foodplants for the purplish coppers are
already present
at the site.  The 14 hecatare site called Terra Nova is located on the west
side of Richmond,
next to the dyke.

We are not very knowledgeable about butterflies and would appreaciate any
suggestions
or comments that might help us.
<

With respect, I would suggest that you need to more knowledgeable about
butterflies (or these two particular species) before you attampt to
(re?)introduce them to your site. Before you begin moving insects,
questions to be answered include 'why are they not there already',
particularly as the foodplant of one of the species is currently growing on
site.  Did they used to be there, or have they never been recorded.  Why
doesn't the foodplant for the swallowtail occur naturally.  If you have the
correct foodplants, is there the chance that the species will colonize
naturally.  Is the site big enough to support a viable population of either
species.  Will there be a long-term requirement for active management of
the site (ie what cost implication).

I am not trying to belittle you project, insect re-introduction does appear
to be a useful conservation tool for at least some species or groups of
species.  At least one poster has already remarke that, here in the UK,
most of the many butterfly re-introductions have been unsuccessful.  We
appear to be having some success with our Large Blue (Maculinia arion)
re-introductions on some sites, but a lot of time, effort and money has
gone into these schemes.  Any such scheme requires a long term commitment
to monitoring to actually find out what happens to your particular
reintroduction, unfortunately most past efforts have not been properly
documented so any lessons learned (good or bad) have not made it out into
the wider world, or releases have not be carried out in a proper manner.

In the UK, a code of practice for insect reintroductions has been published
by the JCCBI (Joint Cttee for the Conservation of British Insects).    As
summary of the main reccommendations is a follows (references can be
provided if required):

1)Consult widely before deciding to attemp any re-establishment.   (as you
are doing here)
2)Every re-establishment should have a clear objective.  
3)The ecology of the species should be known
4) Permission should be obtained to use both the recieving site and the
source of material for re-establishment.
5)The recieving site should be appropriately managed
6)Specific parasites should be included in the re-establishment
7)The numbers of insects released should be large enough to secure
re-establishment
8)Details of the release should be meticulously recorded.
9)The success of re-establishment should be continually assesses and
adequately recorded.
10)All re-establishments should be reported (in the UK to the JCCBI and
Biological Records Centre).

Regards

Matt


  

 
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