JULY 29, 2011 BUTTERFLY WATCHING

"Creativity is a flower that praise brings to bloom. But discouragement often nips in the bud." - Alex Osborn

There are some hobbies that involve insects. Ant Farming as well as Bee Keeping can teach humans a thing or two about living in a community. Both of these insects (ants are bees without wings as far as I am concerned) survive and proliferate based on a highly efficient system.

What about Butterfly watching? You can observe the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. I would not recommend collecting butterflies and framing them at this time. I know this was a hobby for many children when they were young. I never wanted to do this hobby as I felt very bad killing a butterfly and framing them. I know there are certain stores that sell framed butterflies. Since there are many butterflies being endangered due to pesticides and environmental changes, I would rather observe and record data as a method of studying butterflies.

Find a flower that is frequently visited by butterflies. There are several types of Butterfly Bushes. There are many in Fire Island, but the number of butterflies visiting has diminished greatly. I can recall that I saw many more in the 1980 and 1990's than I see today.

The first photograph (taken by 7song) is a Skipper. I do not know if it is the endangered Dotted Skipper. There are many endangered species of butterflies in North America. If it is truly a Dotted skipper (Hesperia attalus) then it is considered endangered in many states, as far south as Alabama and as north as New Jersey. The host plants for this butterfly include the Switchgrass and Fall Witchgrass. Interesting to me is the fact that the butterfly is becoming endangered... or is it the plant?

Butterflies, like bees collect nectar. Although butterflies do not make honey, they do pollinate plants like bees, bats, and moths do. I found it fascinating that there is one species of butterfly that is considered a federal endangered species. This is Saint Francis Satyr (Neonympha mitchelli francisci). Although there is no photograph of this butterfly I would suggest looking it up. It is endangered as the plant hosts are destroyed by beavers.

I would like to find out more about butterflies. I am in awe of my former mentor, 7song, who not only is in love with plants, but also insects. I could easily see why he is interested in insects. It was the next natural progression for him from plants and herbs. For me it is the Honey bee.

Suggested reading: Bringing Nature Home

Photographs 1- 3: 7song

Photograph 4: Paul Fratellone

Until tomorrow...