Butterfly counters help build database

Veronicasmithphd at aol.com Veronicasmithphd at aol.com
Sat May 25 13:04:32 EDT 2002


leps-l at lists.yale.edu
Hi,

I just had to share this with all of you. It is so
exciting! Even our own Miami Blue Butterfly is
mentioned. Miss Edwards was very careful NOT to reveal
the location of the blue. Bless her for that. She is
very compassionate.

Explains why David Fine could not find a vacancy less
than $130/night and had to come home 3 days early.
Everybody is going to the Keys to count butterflys.

Anyone knowing of anyone living in the keys who will
put him on a cot or rug for 2 days each weekend would
surely be welcome to step forward!. He is discovering
new things every trip down there. Sorry no can
tell...TOP SECRET. 

Imagine when the heavy guns arrive in June!
Anyway get out and count some butterflies for
"science".

Veronica Smith 

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<A HREF="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-pbutterfly25may25.story?\">http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-pbutterfly25may25.story?\</A></FONT><FONT  COLOR="#0000a0" BACK="#ffffff" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 PTSIZE=10 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BR> coll=sfla%2Dnews%2Dfront<BR> <BR> <BR> Butterfly counters help build database<BR> By Kellie Patrick<BR> Staff writer<BR> <BR> May 25, 2002<BR> <BR> In back yards, parks and gardens, volunteer census<BR> takers Monday will seek the colorful and fluttery.<BR> <BR> Here and across the country, enthusiasts armed with<BR> binoculars, and newbies relying only on their eyes and<BR> perhaps a field guide, will count as many butterflies<BR> as possible, then record their findings in a new<BR> database established by the North American Butterfly<BR> Association.<BR> <BR> Florida has about 160 butterfly species, and Teri<BR> Jabour, president of the North American Butterfly<BR> Association's Palm Beach County chapter, will happily<BR> tally any that flit through Blowing Rocks Preserve,<BR> where she plans to go on count day.<BR> <BR> Armed with specially designed binoculars, a camera,<BR> the Florida version of the Butterflies Through<BR> Binoculars field guide, and a notebook, Jabour will be<BR> especially watchful for the purple-blue sheen of the<BR> Mangrove Skipper, the brilliant orange Ruddy Dagger<BR> Wing and the pale, yellow-green Statira Sulphur.<BR> <BR> Like many modern butterfly lovers, Jabour never mounts<BR> the quarry she counts.<BR> <BR> "I never wanted to hurt a butterfly, they're so<BR>
beautiful," she said.

Some butterflies are protected, so doing anything
other than watching them is prohibited.

Alana Edwards, co-founder of the Palm Beach County
group, is one of many enthusiasts advocating
endangered status and the protection it affords for
the Miami Blue butterfly.

This butterfly's range used to span from the southern
end of mainland Florida through the Keys, but now is
limited to such a small area that those who want to
save it are reluctant to reveal its location. One
worry: Those who enjoy owning rare butterflies will
try to capture them.

The counting of all butterflies, rare or not, is more
than just a peaceful pastime, said Jeffrey Glassberg,
president of the North American Butterfly Association,
which came up with the Memorial Day count to introduce
people to its new butterfly sightings database.

The database allows anyone to record butterfly
encounters whenever they wish. Over the next several
years, the logs of thousands of butterfly watchers
will establish an unprecedented accounting of when and
where different types of butterflies are seen,
Glassberg said. Correlating that information with
rainfall and other information will help scientists
determine why a certain butterfly's population peaks
or dwindles, he said.

Butterfly enthusiasts can use the information to learn
where to go to see a particular butterfly or what type
of butterflies are commonly seen in areas they travel
to, he said.

"The most important thing is this will be a powerful
conservation tool," he said. "We will be able to make
more intelligent conversation decisions when we know
where the butterflies are and how [their numbers] are
changing over time."

Interpreting butterfly data is a tricky thing even for
experts, said Ron Boender, founder of Butterfly World
in Coconut Creek.

Butterfly experts know that temperature and rain, for
example, have dramatic effects on butterfly
population.

In Florida and other such climes, many butterflies
don't emerge from their chrysalides until the rainy
season starts, he said. A count done before the late
start of a rainy season may find few butterflies, but
days later, the population might explode.

"The secret is knowing how to analyze the data once
you get it," he said. Even for those in the know,
butterfly populations can be mysterious, he said.

"We want to be scientific, but nature has a way of
telling us we really don't know very much," Boender
said.

Hal Weidemann, who has volunteered at the Loxahatchee
National Wildlife Refuge west of Boynton Beach for
almost 20 years, has witnessed these mysterious
fluctuations.

"Last year at the refuge, during a count, we saw over
2,000 butterflies," he said. "The year before wasn't
anyplace close to that. It has something to do with
the weather, flowers and plants. It can change the
whole thing."

Careful analysis of butterfly populations over time
can help show whether a species is in trouble or
recovery, Boender said.

In Florida, butterflies, no different from other
creatures, are threatened by loss of habitat, said
Edwards. Lately, they've been given a little boost
with the mini-habitats created for them by butterfly
gardeners, who create butterfly havens by shunning
pesticides and landscaping with the native Florida
plants caterpillars chomp and butterflies need for
nectar.

The North American Butterfly Association has sponsored
a July 4 butterfly count since 1993. The type of
counting that begins with the Memorial Day event is
different. It's much less formal. For example, during
more structured counts, teams try to find every
butterfly in the 15-mile circle to which they are
assigned.

Those who count for the database can count anywhere,
as long as they record the location. They may laze
about and count whatever happens to flit by their
chaise, or, like Edwards, may actively hunt just one
type of butterfly.

Goal-oriented observers may want to regularly log on
to the database, as they can use it to track which
butterflies they've seen.

The Memorial Day count will be extra special for
Jabour if she can notch a Tropical Bug Eye sighting
next to her name.

"I think I've seen one, but I've never got a close
enough look to make a positive ID," she said.

Kellie Patrick can be reached at
<A HREF="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naturepotpourri/post?protectID=200154113165127132025067203219243090215222057234043099234143049205015143149">kpatrick at sun-sentinel.com</A> or 561-243-6629. 
Copyright © 2002, South Florida Sun-Sentinel 
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