"dire straits faced by most of our butterfly fauna"

Paul Cherubini monarch at saber.net
Thu May 3 17:38:10 EDT 2007


patfoley wrote:

> Did you just shift your position from 1) There is no problem, so why are
> these scientists getting hysterical? to 2) The problem is so bad that
> these scientists can't do anything about it anyway, so why whine about it?

Pat, I havn't been expressing positions. I have only been asking 
questions - such as whether or not it is reasonable for Shapiro to
assert that most of the 90 or so species of butterflies in the lower 
Sacramento Valley are in "dire straights." So I will repeat and reword 
my last question.

If Art Shapiro and other investigators were awarded millions of dollars 
of public grant money to determine why "even weedy butterfly species 
are not looking good" in the Central Valley, of California, then what?

Two practical hypothetical scenarios:

1). Shapiro determines increases in the range and abundance of several
non-native parasites, parasitoids and predators are responsible for
the declines in both the specialized and weedy butterfly species in the
Central Valley.  Possible examples: Argentine ant, European 
paper wasp, german yellow jacket, a new tachinid fly (Compsilura 
concinnata), multicolored Asian lady bird beetle (Harmonia axyridis), 
the seven-spotted lady beetle (Coccinella septempunctata).  Then is 
it even remotely conceivable that Shapiro or anyone else could come 
up with effective and affordable parasite / predator abundance
mitigation measures?

To appreciate the impact of non-native predators recall that in 2004 
Colorado State Professor Whitney Cranshaw reported the European
Paper Wasp: "has extirpated essentially every caterpillar in Ft. Collins,
Colorado by mid-July in the past 2 years and I am sure is having a 
major ecological impact."

2. Shapiro determines urbanization has been replacing farmland 
on a large scale as shown in this photo taken just south of Shapiro's
west Sacramento study site:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/sac.jpg  Then is it even 
remotely conceivable that Shapiro or anyone else could come up 
with effective and affordable urbanization mitigation measures?

Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.

 
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