North American Butterfly Count

[Deleted]

Today is our annual butterfly count here in the Metro area. Sponsored by the North American Butterfly Association(NABA)we conduct a one-day census of all butterflies observed at sites within our count area, a 15-mile-diameter circle that is the same each year. Participants in the count all over North America including Canada and Mexico.

www.naba.org/

[Deleted]

I hope they are not disappearing like the bees.

[Deleted]

I don't believe that's the case with butterflies.Our numbers here are not in any sharp decline. I have been doing this since the early '90's and I can pretty safely say that any decrease in the butterfly population has not been dramatically threatened. There are alot of variables involved,weather is a big one.A very wet spring or a severe drought prior to the count,a hard freeze the previous winter. Pesticide use of course,and the #1 cause for drop is MOWING.
Many of the lesser known butterflies we count are the grass skippers who lay their eggs in the wild grasses near the river. One of stretches I was assigned to cover had a bunch of skippers earlier in the week. When I went up there yesterday to count(we count eggs,caterpillars,pupa and adults)the levee had just been mowed and decimated huge swaths. One of our largest counts was the spring after Katrina when huge sections had not been mowed for some time. Therefore,more habitat.
We won't know official results for some time but many of us compare notes and get a general idea.







here are 3 of the more common grass skippers,they are teeny and REALLY fast,difficult to ID unless they light on something so you can see their wing spread still. Very challenging.

[bixaorellana]

Oh ~~ that's interesting. I don't know much about butterflies. In fact, I would have guessed that the creature in picture #3 was a moth, because of the fat body & the fuzziness.

Pics 1 & 2 are not showing.

[Deleted]

sorry about pics,they were showing almost all morning,then poof,flew away.Told you they were fast and difficult to ID.
Many people mistake the skippers for moths.There are hundreds of species of them,not just the grass ones. Some of them are quite beautiful,not as drab. There are 20 species indigenous to here.

[bixaorellana]

;D

Wow ~~ I don't think that's drab, quite the contrary.

Casimira, I can't quite feature how you all do the count? Do you station yourselves near and at the level of the particular species you're counting, or what?

[Deleted]

The same woman has been the coordinator since the 1970's. Our base is McMain School on Claiborne. She (Frances) compiles all the forms to be filled out with all the species indigenous to here.It's broken down into categories.Frances mails the forms out to all the counters and designates us to certain areas outside our own gardens and the immediate neighborhood. We have an average of 40 counters and have to write down specifically where we observed. I do my garden and a couple of clients gardens,some specific "hot spots" in my neighborhood and then that stretch of levee I spoke of. One of the major rules is ,if I for instance see a monarch at 10am and then a monarch at 11am in the same general range I can't count it as 2. You have to see 2 monarchs at the same time to count as 2. Eggs,caterpillars and chrysali obviously you count all you see.You have to know the larval plants on which to look obviously as well, and you write those in under comments.
Frances then compiles the reports and sends in the data to NABA and they take it from there to go on to publish the years report from all over.
So,basically we all have our own territory to cover. Some do way more than others but it all seems to balance out. If there's a neophyte Frances will assign them to watch with someone more experienced. I've had some doozies and delights.

[imec]

I've never heard of this although I've done the Christmas bird count several times.

[Deleted]

It's based on the same premise except I think the bird count has been going on for way longer.
This one was started by the Xerces Society around 1970 then NABA took over in 1975.
One of my first years doing it on my own I saw a butterfly that was on the list,I verified it with 2 of my guides and went ahead with confidence ,listed it. Frances was ecstatic because this particular butterfly hadn't been seen in a good number of years. One of the other counters heavily questioned/doubted my observation and then lo and behold if more weren't spotted a week or so later and I was redeemed. But Frances never doubted me for a second.

[imec]

I love these activities that are fun to do and serve a valuable purpose at the same time.