April 2001 Issue:
Coming Events - Mark your calendar:
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Apr 28th - Butterfly Walk at Tyson "Trails Day" - 12:00 noon |
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Apr 29th - Chapter Meeting, Elections at Busch- 9:00 am |
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Jul 15th - Butterfly Walk at the Green Center. - 1:00 pm. |
Other "Flutterby" News:
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GARDENING TIP |
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NOTE FROM YVONNE |
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ELECTIONS |
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MILLIONS OF MONARCHS DEAD |
TYSON RESEARCH CENTER "TRAILS DAY": April 28th, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. *********************************************************** April 29th Chapter meeting and elections: 9 am at Busch Conservation Area. 10 am Butterfly Walk *********************************************************** THE GREEN CENTER BUTTERFLY WALK: July 15th, 2001. Time: 1:00 pm *********************************************************** I just found a great source for plants which attract butterflies. Give Ann Wakeman a call at "Rock Post Wildflowers." 573-642-6927 She helped NABA with plants for the Busch garden. These are plants you won't find at Home Depot or most nurseries, so give her a call. I ordered Slender Mountain Mint, Oxeye *********************************************************** Dear Members, The last several months have been quite active for our chapter. In January, we had an outing to the Butterfly House and in February, we visited the Zoo's Insectarium. Both events were well attended. Dianne Benjamin did a great job making the arrangements for us. Then, on March 16, we had a good turnout for the Butterfly Gardening program. We still have lots of handouts, which I will bring to our next few meetings and walks for those of us who were unable to attend. Annual Meeting: Our annual Membership Meeting and election of officers and directors will be held on Sunday, April 29 at 9:00 a.m. at Busch Conservation Area. (See report of the Nominating Committee). We will meet at the Butterfly Garden by the Headquarters building but will probably move to a picnic table area behind the headquarters building for the meeting. Afterwards, we will have our first Butterfly Walk of the season. We will look for late-arriving members at the Butterfly Garden around 9:45 before setting off on our walk. Early spring butterflies that we might see that day are: Falcate Orangetip, Henry's Elfin, Mourning Cloak, Comma, Question Mark, Clouded Sulphur, Zebra, Tiger and Pipevine Swallowtails, and some of the Duskywings. First Board: Thanks to the leadership of the following individuals, our chapter has gotten off to an enthusiastic and fast-paced start: Dianne Benjamin (Vice President), Tom "Terrific" Krauska (Secretary, Treasurer and first Web Master), and Board Members Jim Ziebol, Scott Marshall, Jeannie Moe, and Tom Bratkowski. Our warmest thanks to all of you. Butterfly House Bookstore: Dianne Benjamin has arranged for the Butterfly House to stock Butterflies through Binoculars: the East, the field guide written and photographed by NABA President Jeffrey Glassberg. If anyone has other butterfly book or video titles to suggest, let Dianne know. (Jeff's newest book, Butterflies through Binoculars: the West, should be out in April.) Conservation Focus: On April 6 (Fri. evening) and 7 (Sat.), the Missouri Department of Conservation is hosting its second annual Conservation Focus in Jefferson City at the Runge Nature Center. The purpose of the forum is to bring conservation and nature organizations across the state together for a dialogue with the Department of Conservation. Jim Ziebol will attend on behalf of our chapter. There is room for at least one more member, and perhaps even two, to attend. You can arrive on Saturday if you do not want to attend the Friday evening portion. There is no fee but you must register and would be responsible for expenses. Contact Yvonne Homeyer for more information. Butterfly Classes: NABA members Dr. Tom Bratkowski and Yvonne Homeyer are teaching a 2-evening class on butterflies at Meramec Community College on March 26 and April 2. A field trip for class participants will be held on April 22. To register, call 314-984-7777. NABA (rather than the instructors) will receive the teaching stipend. New Members: Our chapter would like to welcome the following new members who have joined in the last few months: Karen Haller, Zuleyma Tang-Martinez, Anne McCormack, Jean Racowsky, Cheryl Delashmit, Ron Goetz, Donna Reinholdt, Dr. Robert Kleiger, Jim & Audrey Foley, Anne Craver, and Bonnie Gayton. Marion Richardson and Kathy Phelps were added to our chapter when they renewed their dues. Kathy lives in Harrisburg, Illinois, and has conducted NABA's 4th of July Count in her area for 9 years. Butterfly Garden: Our chapter is co-sponsoring the Jim Ziebol Butterfly Garden started last spring by the Webster Groves Nature Study Society at Busch Conservation Area. If any of you gardeners out there want to help, please contact Jeannie Moe at 636-946-9802. Jeannie, Betty Tanner and Dennis Bozzay have dedicated many hours of service to this project. I look forward to seeing you at our Annual Meeting of Members on April 29. Yvonne Homeyer, President *********************************************************** The nominating committee ( Chairperson Dianne Benjamin, Tom Bratkowski,& Sue Gustafson) proposes the following slate of candidates for the coming election: OFFICERS: BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Want to help out a worthy nature group? We are still looking for folks to serve on your NABA Board! We will accept nominations from the floor (actually the grass) at our annual meeting at 9am Sunday April 29 at Busch Wildlife Conservation Area. Meet at the butterfly garden. After elections we will go on a butterfly walk at 10am. What a way to exercise both of your "constitutions"! Thanks :) Dianne *********************************************************** MILLIONS OF MONARCHS DEAD: An environmental disaster of tremendous consequence has occurred in Mexico: an estimated 22 million Monarchs have died at two of their wintering sanctuaries. The cause is attributed by some to intentional pesticide poisoning and by others to cold weather and snow. According to a report in the New York Times on March 8, loggers are believed to have sprayed pesticide on the butterflies in retaliation for a recent government crackdown on illegal logging in the sanctuaries and recent government expansion of the number of sanctuaries. A few days later, World Wildlife Fund issued a statement that it would be premature to blame the deaths on intentional poisoning and that weather could have accounted for the deaths. Then, a Mexican government agency reported that its laboratory tests revealed no evidence of pesticides. So far, no reports conducted by independent laboratories or by World Wildlife Fund have come to my attention. When they do, I will certainly keep you posted. Reports from local residents living near the sanctuaries tell a story of illegal logging conducted at night to avoid detection. Timber companies and Monarchs are competing for the same territory. It's not too hard to figure out which side has the better chance for victory. Monarchs migrate from Canada and the United States to mountains in west central Mexico and spend the winter in Oyamel fir forests at elevations of 10,000 feet. Tom Bratkowski estimates the total wintering population of Monarchs in Mexico at 100 million. If that number is accurate, that would mean that 22% of the Monarchs wintering in Mexico could be dead. The Monarchs were in a precarious position even before this incident. A study released last fall indicated that just 25 years after the discovery of their wintering grounds, 44% of the wintering habitat in Mexico had been damaged or destroyed by logging activities. According to the World Wildlife Fund, if deforestation continues to occur, the forests will be so fragmented in 20 years that they will no longer be a suitable habitat for Monarchs and in 50 years the forests will be gone. A migratory pattern that has occurred for tens of thousands of years could soon disappear. *********************************************************** |
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