Miami Blue team leader

[Anne Kilmer]

Bob Parcelles wrote:
"Ed Reinertsen has been appointed Team Leader in the MBBRP for Host Plant
Studies. He will be coordinating people in the testing of different hosts
plants and their viability as well as ecology. Anyone having any ideas and
suggestions or offers to help, please contact him at: bfly4u at swbell.net. CC
me at: ParcBob at aol.com, and Mark Walker at: mwalker at gensym.com. Mark will
distribute to his Science Coordinators and the Botany and Ecology Team.

" Ed also will, through the Task Force Director, Anne Kilmer, solicit 
help and
direct activities of this nature with the Task force (Miami Blue Crew). No
captive breeding studies are planned at this time and will not be warranted
until the USFWS question and answer period is completed."

snip

I'm delighted. Great to have Ed take a major role. I admire his work 
with the IBBA tagging program, and am sure he will work well with our 
Science people.
Please include me on your cc list ... it's good to know that work 
continues on the behalf of this pretty little butterfly.

Let me remind you that the only host plants being considered are our 
native Balloon Vine, Cardiospermum corindum, Nickerbean vine and the 
Pithecellobium species, also native.
While professional breeders are certainly free to plant C. halicacabum 
in an enclosed environment, we do not recommend it to the home gardener.

As Bob says, no one has the go-ahead on captive breeding as yet. Until 
we have a Safe Harbor ruling, even home gardeners might be sorry they 
have attracted this nice little butterfly.

If the science team find that Galactia and similar species are also 
being used by the Miami Blue, Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri, we will 
be so informed. These are good native species to plant, anyway, and can 
be kept attractive by an attentive gardener.
If you're interested in the Miami Blue Butterfly Restoration Project, 
please subscribe to Nature Potpourri, where we will be discussing ways 
and means etc.
Anne Kilmer



 
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