[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/EW-07-17-12-Butterfly-Census.mp3|titles=EW 07-17-12 Butterfly Census]
Butterflies are beautiful creatures. They are also useful barometers for the state of an ecosystem. Their presence or absence provides insight into pollution, the health of native plants, and the impacts of climate change.
Surveys of butterfly populations help us learn where different species breed and whether their numbers are growing or shrinking. This information helps entomologists, municipal planners, and even tourism officials.
A number of states perform butterfly surveys. The Maine Butterfly Survey is one example. Professional and amateur naturalists report their butterfly sightings to the state’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
“We have an ambitious project in that we are trying to do the mapping at a township level.”
Dr. Herb Wilson, a professor of Biology at Colby College, is one of the project’s coordinators…
“We have greatly increased our knowledge of the distribution of the butterflies of Maine. We have also added four new species to our state list so that’s been pretty exciting. The most exciting one was one that we just confirmed, a short-tailed Swallowtail – the first record for Maine and the first record for the United States.”
Wilson explains why surveying butterflies is important…
“We’re looking to use the butterflies as indicators of environmental health. So knowing where they’re found and how their populations are changing over time is very important not only for butterflies, but for all organisms that are living in a particular state.”
Similar efforts are underway or have been completed in Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and many other states. It’s another great example of citizen contributing to our scientific knowledge base.
Web Extra
Full interview with Dr. Herb Wilson, a professor of Biology at Colby College…
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Wilson_edited_full.mp3|titles=Wilson_edited_full]Web Link
Maine Butterfly Survey
http://mbs.umf.maine.edu/
Photo, taken on October 31, 2007, courtesy of Lee via Flickr.