NABA Butterfly Surveys of Extreme South Florida & the Keys

[Anne Kilmer]

Please join other butterfly lovers in this project, and, if you have 
good ideas for authenticating the bugs observed, by all means pitch in 
and help.
Alana, would you send these folks the necessary forms upon their 
request? These lists don't accept attachments.
Anne Kilmer
South Florida

NABA Butterfly Surveys wrote:

> Dear NABA member,
> 
>  
> 
> The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) recently received a 
> small grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Commission to survey the 
> butterfly fauna of extreme south Florida (20 miles in from the coast in 
> all of Dade County) and all of the Keys (Monroe County). The butterfly 
> fauna of these areas may constitute the most endangered suite of species 
> in the continental United States!
> 
>  
> 
> Most of these special butterflies are found in association with either 
> Tropical Hardwood Hammocks or Pine Rockland. All have suffered from the 
> catastrophic loss of habitat caused by converting most of South 
> Florida’s natural habitat into urban and suburban developments.  
> Unfortunately this process continues. 
> 
>  
> 
> In an effort to learn the status of the butterfly fauna in these areas, 
> NABA would like to survey every square mile, if possible! The funding 
> received for the surveys will pay for website development and data 
> organization and entry. Therefore, we will rely solely on volunteers to 
> conduct these surveys.
> 
>  
> 
> HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP!
> 
>  
> 
>     * Plan a butterfly excursion to any location in extreme south
>       Florida and the Keys (20 miles in from the coast in Dade County
>       and all of the Keys).
> 
>  
> 
>     * Document all butterflies that you see. Include caterpillar food
>       plants seen at the location, if you know them.  If possible, take
>       pictures of the butterflies.  Even snapshots may prove helpful in
>       identification.
> 
>  
> 
>     * Fill out the enclosed data form.  
> 
>  
> 
>           o Provide NABA with the location that you surveyed. You can do
>             this several ways.
> 
>                1. If you have a GPS unit, latitude and longitude
>                   coordinates would be the preferred method.
>                2. Since most of us don’t have GPS, you can use your
>                   Delorme Gazeteer: either copy the page and mark the
>                   location surveyed OR look for the lat/long on the
>                   margins of the page.
>                3. If you don’t have a Delorme map, write a detailed
>                   description about where you were.  In other words,
>                   Castello Hammock would be a good description of a
>                   place because it is a small county park, but
>                   Everglades National Park would not be a good description. 
> 
>  
> 
>           o Record the butterflies seen at the location.  You will
>             notice that the target species are bolded.  Also, you do not
>             have to be specific with exact numbers seen.  You can use
>             the letters at the bottom of the data form (page 2) to
>             represent a range of what was seen.  For example, if you see
>             so many that you can’t count them, you will record the
>             letter S on the line to denote Superabundant.  (Pages one
>             and two are in the same excel document in different
>             worksheets-click tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet to
>             maneuver between the two pages.)
> 
>  
> 
> Once you have filled out all the required sections on the form, you can 
> send it to:
> 
>  
> 
>                                                             Lana Edwards
> 
>                                                             3206 Palm Drive
> 
>                                                             Delray 
> Beach, FL  33857
> 
>  
> 
> OR you can fill out the forms electronically (preferred).  Then email 
> the forms to edwards at naba.org <mailto:edwards at naba.org>.
> 
>  
> 
> Over the next few weeks, please continue to check out the NABA website 
> for updates.  Soon we plan to have downloadable survey maps, 
> identification sheets for target butterflies and their caterpillar 
> plants, as well as an online form to submit your data electronically.
> 
>  
> 
> If you have any questions about the surveys, please feel free to contact us.
> 
>  
> 
> Alana Edwards, Survey Co-Coordinator, 561/706-6732
> 
> Lana Edwards, Survey Co-Coordinator, 561/736-2643
> 
> Jeffrey Glassberg, Principal Investigator and President of NABA
> 
>  
> 
> We hope that you will plan to conduct surveys in several locations.  
> Take the initiative and coordinate several groups to cover several 
> areas! Your participation in this project is essential and we appreciate 
> your interest in these invaluable surveys. 
> 
>  
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Alana Edwards
> 
> 
> 
> Happiness is like a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just
> beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly may alight 
> upon you..
> Nathaniel Hawthorne 



 
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