[leps-talk] Commercial value of butterflies

[Anne Kilmer]

Neil Jones wrote:

> On Wednesday 29 May 2002 03:25 pm, Anne Kilmer wrote:
> 
>>What I'd like to see is the breeders and butterfly gardeners making much
>>of each other ... and, judging from the web pages, that is indeed
>>happening. The breeders are teaching the gardeners what to plant and how
>>to care for their little tenants.
>>The next stage, of course, is to set up habitat (preferably neighborhood
>>  plantings) and install the desired rare butterfly once the habitat is
>>perfected.
>>
> 
> Anne.  This is NOT how it works. Most butterfly habitats are extremely 
> complex in nature. You cannot just simply go around planting foodplant.
> It doesn't work like that if the conditions are not right for it it will just 
> die out.
> 
> The vast majority of butterfly introductions fail. That is what the research 
> tells us. We need to conserve natural habitats not garden for one or two 
> species that we regard as important.
> 
> --
> Neil Jones- Neil at nwjones.demon.co.uk http://www.butterflyguy.com/
>

It's deja vue all over again.
As you well know, Neil, we are heavily committed to save habitat where 
it remains, to restore it where it has been destroyed (most wild land in 
Florida is overgrown with exotics), to create habitat for wildlife where 
appropriate, without selecting "one or two species" as you suggest.
We restored the Atala successfully; my book, available free at the 
botanical gardens and nature centers, gives instructions on restoring 
neighborhoods as appropriate habitats for groups of butterflies, some 
common and some rare, and so far it has worked very well.
It is important, of course, for all interests to help each other and 
work together. If you lose that commonality, and start squabbling 
instead of cooperating, of course it won't work.
When I was active as a Master Gardener, the garden clubs, schools, 
nature centers, scouts and other interests all worked together. We 
gardened at the zoo, the botanical gardens, nursing homes, wherever 
there was  a bit of vacant land ... and if it already had native plants 
and a biological community, we recognized and cherished it.
Although our group is named after the Miami Blue butterfly, we are 
concerned for all wildlings; the Gopher Tortoise, the Scrub Jay, the 
wasps and spiders, frogs, tree frogs and toads that are being squeezed 
out by development and careless land-holders. Look at Nature Potpourri 
if you doubt me.
I've pulled out more Brazilian Pepper trees than you've had hot dinners, 
  and believe me, habitat preservation is my first choice.
The breeders I'm working with are concerned about all species of 
butterfly (and the rest of the wild world), and are helping butterfly 
gardeners plant to attract all of them. There are very few who think 
that if all is well for the Monarch, then the butterflies are doing fine.
As for introductions, only a ninny would attempt to place a butterfly on 
a host plant, without making sure that everything in the garden and 
neighborhood is suitable. Any species occurs among a gestalt of other 
organisms: ants, wasps, nectar plants, even the birds that keep down 
populations so that the host plants survive.
In the absence of the Scrub Jay, for instance, the Atala butterfly, 
Eumaeus atala, eats the coontie, Zamia pumila, into the ground and the 
assemblage perishes. We don't know how the coontie seed is spread. I 
suspect the fruit is eaten by Gopher Tortoises, but as it is quite 
toxic, nobody wants to waste tortoises to find out. If raccoons or 
opossums ate it, I suppose we'd know. But most probably, somebody knows 
all about it, and the information simply hasn't been handed out. There's 
a clog in the system and the knowledge gets hung up.
So a gardener who wants Atalas must serve as predator and plant more 
host plants.
We can't simply assemble the components that we like, or the ones that 
interest us, and hope to make a difficult butterfly happy. Of course we 
need to restore habitat, and to preserve it in those rare cases where a 
fragment remains.
Scientists and breeders are working  together with governmental agencies 
and local gardeners to restore the Karner Blue, and scientists and 
breeders can do the same for many rare and endangered bugs of all sorts, 
not just butterflies. Many of the breeders are scientists, you know.
The real problem is getting the useful facts from the scientists and 
presenting them to home gardeners, amateur breeders, the common man. 
Often the things I want to know are in fact readily available if you 
happen to have a university at hand, and the expertise to make use of 
it. I don't.
At such times I use the Scarecrow technique ... annoy the apple trees 
and they will pelt you with apples. There's probably a better way to do 
this, but I haven't figured it out yet.
I find that the more I learn, the more there is that I don't know enough 
about. Insatiable curiosity, that's what it is. And it's infectious, too.
I collect collectors, in fact, and scientists, and breeders, who treat 
me kindly and answer my questions, and help me translate their findings 
into plain English that the gardeners can then translate into action.
There are some rare butterflies that will not live in gardens; some that 
require swamps or mountain fastnesses, the tops of rain forest trees.
But many can be persuaded to live with us. You can take a nice little 
flame thrower and scorch down your back yard, one shrub at a time, to 
produce the effect needed for scrub habitat. You can keep a pond in your 
back yard and plant it with natives.
But whatever you do to attract wildlife, you must work with your 
community to provide homes for your wild children when they grow up. 
That's what we've been doing in Palm Beach County, all of us working 
together to save and restore habitat. Any time the developers and County 
Commissioners become interested and cooperative, by golly, we'll have it 
made.
Thirty years ago, I was in the forefront of this drive to restore 
habitat in Florida; I knew more than most people. Now there is a great 
army of people who know far more than I do, thank God. But you know, 
that's quite all right. I just hate to see our best workers denigrated 
and left out, because some folks don't understand what they're doing.
Ah well. Enough, for so early in the morning.

If you wish to become involved in the Miami Blue Butterfly restoration 
project, email Bob Parcelles <ParcBob at aol.com> to be added to our 
mailing list.
Jose Muniz <jmuniz at amazingbutterflies.com> is the coordinator of the 
South Florida effort. To report a Miami Blue Butterfly sighting, call 
954 344-4861.


Read about the project at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naturepotpourri/
Check out our links:
http://www.wildlifewebsite.com/miamiblue/

If you want a t-shirt, banner or poster, go to this page
http://www.risingdove.com/miamiblue/images.asp

Happy gardening, and may all your blues be butterflies.

Anne Kilmer
Mayo, Ireland




 
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