Fewer and fewer butterflies

[Guardian]

One of my favorite things to do is watch the butterflies in the garden, they're SO beautiful ...each and every one is a little different. They used to be everywhere this time of year, hundreds of them. Now there's less than a dozen or so at any given time.....all eating the plants contaminated by the toxic rain.

I wonder if there will be any at all next year?

 

[knowledge_of_self]

Those are some very nice pictuers Guardian, thanks for sharing.

One of my favorite things to do also is to watch butterflies in the garden. They make me feel very peaceful and I mostly love when I see them flying together as if they're in love and expressing their love towards each other. I personally haven't noticed a shortage over here in BC, Canada. But I am saddened by your post- though it is to be expected considering the state of the world, especially the Gulf.

I hope there will be some next year... :(

 

[Vulcan59]

Thanks for sharing the pictures, Guardian. There were previous reports of low butterfly population although that was in the UK. Don't see much of them over here either. :(

 

[Gimpy]

Beautiful pics Guardian...I love butterflies too. :D

Fwiw, this summer one of my Mothers friends showed me sections of his garden where he made sure milkweed grew. Certain species of butterflies use milkweed to lay their eggs on, and he makes sure he keeps enough of these plants in the garden to ensure safe habitat for them. He also had a high bird population and a feeder system that was just amazing....and plenty of butterflies too.

I've seen a number of different species of butterflies this year, and while its not as many as normal, they are still around.

 

[RedFox]

fwiw I saw a few more butterflies this year than last (here in the UK)....but that's not saying much.
The buddleia should be swarming with them....and was covered for a change, but there where very few. Not many varieties.
There where more bee's than last year.....which was slightly hopeful.
Insect life seems to have diminished over the last 5 years quite noticeably. But these are just my personal observations.

I think the gulf spill may be the last nail in the coffin for some species. :(

 

[Oxajil]

I love butterflies too. I saw a few of 'em this year, but that's mostly because I live in the city. When I was going on a field trip with a group of other students, there was a butterfly I saw (hadn't seen one for quite some time, having moved to the city!). And I immediately had the urge to follow it, and I did, like a child... Then I noticed kinda what I was doing so I just stood still and admired it.

They're so lovely. It's horrible about the oil thing, but I think that somehow they will survive that, some will.

 

[Lindenlea]

I have also noticed fewer butterflies around, so far this month I have only seen 3 and I'm in the garden every day.

By the way love the pictures.

 

[anart]

Yep, these days if I see a butterfly, I stop and watch it for as long as possible, since I simple NEVER see them anymore. Last one I saw was a few months ago - a Monarch by a local lake. It looked pretty banged up, but was still beautiful.

 

[ScottD]

Interesting. I have seen more butterflies in NC this year than I ever have in previous years. Perhaps the weather has played a part since the spring this year was really wet and conducive to more bugs in general. Stinkbugs in this area right now are overwhelming but I am still seeing butterflies almost on a daily basis.

 

[Guardian]

Interesting. I have seen more butterflies in NC this year than I ever have in previous years. Perhaps the weather has played a part since the spring this year was really wet and conducive to more bugs in general. Stinkbugs in this area right now are overwhelming but I am still seeing butterflies almost on a daily basis.

Really? Where are you...east, west or in the middle? Do you have any leaf damage?

 

[ScottD]

Really? Where are you...east, west or in the middle? Do you have any leaf damage?

I'm in the Piedmont area (Winston-Salem). Yeah, some things are getting chewed up. I've got a couple plants on the porch and they're getting gnawed on. The dryness over the past month has caused premature leaf turning/dropping. I'm already blowing leaves but I do have a fairly wooded lot.

 

[Zadius Sky]

Interesting. I have seen more butterflies in NC this year than I ever have in previous years.

I have to agree. I have seen a great deal of butterflies around here and on my hikes in the NC mountains.

 

[treesparrow]

Thanks for sharing the pictures, Guardian. There were previous reports of low butterfly population although that was in the UK. Don't see much of them over here either. :(

Hi Vulcan - couldn't get the link to open. Here it is again for those interested - http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=12140.msg86942

Spring this year in the UK seemed generally good for some butterflies particularly orange-tips and marsh fritillaries, the summer for other species perhaps less so (but overall perhaps better than the low numbers reported for last 2 summers)

 

[Vulcan59]

Thanks treesparrow,

Problem fixed. :)

 

[treesparrow]

Yep, these days if I see a butterfly, I stop and watch it for as long as possible, since I simple NEVER see them anymore. Last one I saw was a few months ago - a Monarch by a local lake. It looked pretty banged up, but was still beautiful.

Judging from this report (below) numbers of monarch butterflies in north America have been declining for some years. If they fly through the coastal gulf of Mexico region on their way to the wintering grounds in Mexico and get poisened in any of the contaminated places (which seems not unlikely), the decline will only get worse :(

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Illegal logging means bad news for Monarchs...


On 16 January 2010, World Wildlife Fund-Mexico posted the annual December census of the total colony area occupied by overwintering monarch butterflies in Mexico for the 2009-2010 season


Smallest Monarch butterfly colonies ever recorded
The total area occupied by butterflies this season is 1.92 ha (4.74 acres), the lowest on record. Systematic monitoring over the past 16 overwintering seasons recorded a maximum of 21.0 ha hectares in 1996-1997, and prior to this year, a minimum of 2.19 ha, with an overall average of 7.44 ha per year.

This year is particularly distressing, because of 16 areas known to have overwintering sites in the past, nine have no monarch colonies, three have less than tenth of a hectare each, and only three have colonies occupying more that 0.50 hectare.

Reasons for the current historically all time low are very likely a combination of reduced survival during last year's winter (2008-2009) and limited breeding success in the US and Canada over the spring and summer of 2009.

Illegal logging
The likely reduced winter survival during December 2008 to March 2009 is almost certainly a consequence of illegal logging over the past decade that has either destroyed overwintering forests or degraded them so that they can no longer provide adequate protection for the butterflies.

Logging encroachments range from petty tree theft to the clear cutting of hundreds of hectares. Encroachments have occurred on and adjacent to the La Mesa, Chincua, Pelon, Rosario, Contepec and other overwintering areas.

Microclimate being destroyed
It is likely that the microclimate protection of all the colonies is becoming increasingly precarious. We can only hope that a storms in the US do not impact this year's small colonies between now and the end of March. If they have another killer storm such as occurred in January 2002, it could degrade this migratory phenomenon to a possibly unrecoverable level.

_http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/article/9/166/monarch_butterfly_numbers_hit_all_time_low.html