BUTTERFLIES
We conduct the annual "4th of July" Butterfly
Count (in Western Niagara County) for the North American Butterfly Association
(NABA). This data is compiled and published in The North American Butterfly
Association 4th of July Butterfly Counts--Annual Reports which is easily available to
the lay public and scientific community. It is our part in the only continent-wide
census of this group (order Lepidoptera) of insects which represents an important
indicator of the health status of our environment.
No
prior scientific or formal training or field experience is necessary to participate or
join our group activities. We do not have dues.
We
try to encourage learning about and enjoying insects of Western New York (and the world)
through field trips and informal talks and slide presentations. We use specimens,
members' photographs and video tapes to help us learn identification tips. From time
to time we have invited experts and amateurs to talk on butterfly rearing, butterfly
gardening, photography, video taping and where to find certain insects. We give
pointers on the use of binoculars and other optics for nature study. We sometimes
join other clubs for combined field trips. We have performed census counts for a
Canadian prairie restoration project. Some of our members have done volunteer work
in the Entomology Lab of the Buffalo Museum of Science. We publish and distribute a
checklist of Western New York Butterflies.
To
get on our mailing list, call David Cooper at
(716) 284-4118.