Nov-Dec 2002 Issue:
In This Edition:
|
Coming Events |
|
Holiday Party, and Our NABA Chapter Webpage |
|
Outreach and Education |
|
Pesticides, and Book Review |
|
Butterfly Report and Butterfly House Fall Festival |
|
... and more |
NABA's MISSION STATEMENT: *********************************************************** COMING EVENTS: Nov. 14, Thursday. Conservation Forum 2002. Living World, St. Louis Zoo. Sponsored by the International Center for Tropical Ecology, UMSL. NABA-St. Louis will have a display table. Dec. 14, Saturday. NABA Holiday Party at The Green Center - www.thegreencenter.org. See article below. January - we will be going to the Butterfly House sometime that month. Details at a later date. February - we will be going to the Zoo's Insectarium sometime that month. Details at a later date.
*********************************************************** HOLIDAY PARTY: You are invited to our annual Holiday Party from 2:00pm to 4:00pm on Saturday, December 14th at The Green Center, 8025 Blackberry Avenue. Located in the heart of University City, The Green Center is headquartered in a 1930's-era two story brick Tudor home within the eight-acre grounds of Kaufman Park. Bring your favorite appetizer or dessert to share if you wish. A piano is available for merriment. You are welcome to browse the natural resources library. Outdoors you may explore the learning gardens --prairiescape, woodland shade, Ozark endemic, daylily hybridizing beds, and newly designed herb garden. Also walking tours will be offered of the nearby "triangle of special places" --half-acre tall grass prairie, half-acre ephemeral wetland, and 26 acre Ruth Park Woods. To find out more about The Green Center, a natural laboratory and cultural gathering place, visit online at www.thegreencenter.org or phone 314-725-8314. Directions: From I-170, exit at Delmar Boulevard and travel east three stoplights. Turn left at North & South Road and travel north about three blocks. At the first stoplight (cemetery on right), turn left onto Blackberry Avenue. Travel west about three blocks. On the right (north) you can park at Kaufman Park tennis courts. The Green Center house is further west on the same side of street, set back, with a big brown sign under a tall spruce tree next to a white rock driveway. There is ample parking along the residential streets. OUR NABA CHAPTER WEBPAGE by Dave Larson Have you visited the NABA St Louis Chapter Webpage recently? Please take a look, and let me know what you think. I became "webmaster" approximately two years ago, taking over for Tom "Terrific" Krauska, and I always welcome comments or contributions such as photographs. Our page now contains photos of 63 local butterflies and skippers, and many non-local species as well. A butterfly list with links to all the local species' photo images can be found at: http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/listtax.htm Have you misplaced your newsletter? Our monthly newsletters, the "Flutterby News," dating back to January of 2001 are also found online. Each issue comes from our newsletter editor Scott Marshall initially, and is sent to all chapter members either via Email or hardcopy. I then format the newsletters and post them to our webpage each month. Are you wondering about upcoming events, or when the next butterfly walk is? The webpage features a monthly calendar, under the link "Calendar of Events," listing all upcoming butterfly walks, programs and other events. Membership information, plants and gardening tips, and a "welcome" statement from our president, Yvonne Homeyer, are available for members and web browsers. Current chapter officers and board members are listed. There are also copies of a couple of nice Post-Dispatch articles on our webpage. Lists of our local St. Louis area butterflies and skippers are available. One is an alphabetical list, another is a taxonomic list, and perhaps the most valuable tool for field outings and censuses is the Butterfly Checklist created by Jeannie and Jim Moe, with input from Jim Ziebol. This handy Butterfly Checklist is available both in a short version (one page) and longer version (two pages), in PDF and Excel format, so that you can save and print at home. Navigation links are not only located on the main or index page, but are repeated at the bottom of each page for easy movement between pages. Contact information is also found on each page, including how to contact our president, Yvonne, membership information from Ann Earley, or webpage information from myself. I am honored to be your St. Louis Chapter Webmaster. Sincerely, *********************************************************** OUTREACH AND EDUCATION: NABA-St. Louis offered two classes for adults this fall. Dennis Bozzay taught "Butterfly Gardening" at Fox High School in Jefferson County, through the sponsorship of Jefferson College. Jim Ziebol, Dianne Benjamin and Yvonne Homeyer taught "Local Butterflies: Habits and Habitats" at Meramec Community College, part of the Master Naturalist Certificate program. We are planning more classes for the spring. In addition, Betty Manlin is continuing our Docent program. Betty has been visiting elementary schools, sharing her love of butterflies with children and educating people about NABA. PESTICIDES, and BOOK REVIEW: NABA-ST. LOUIS SPEAKS OUT ON PESTICIDE SPRAYING On October 22, the St. Louis County Council held a public hearing to get County residents' input on the controversy surrounding pesticide spraying for mosquitoes, which increased dramatically this past summer. About 20 people spoke, including Yvonne Homeyer on behalf of our chapter and NABA member Margaret Gilleo. Yvonne pointed out that the Center for Disease Control calls ground-spraying (also known as "adulticiding") the least efficient mosquito control technique. NABA and other organizations such as National Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy advocate education, prevention, and bacterial larvicides ("integrated pest management") as the preferred mosquito management tools. Many communities faced with West Nile Virus have chosen to conduct no pesticide spraying. Consider these facts: 1. Less than 1% of the mosquitoes in a targeted area actually die from the ground-spraying, meaning that this mosquito control technique has a 99% failure rate. 2. There is no way to limit the impact of pesticide spraying to mosquitoes only. Instead, pesticide spraying impacts all insects, including pollinators like butterflies and mosquito predators like dragonflies, even though they were not the intended targets. 3. Mosquito populations actually increase after pesticide spraying, because natural predators such as birds and dragonflies have also been killed by the pesticides. The fewer mosquito predators there are, the more mosquitoes there will be. 4. Mosquitoes develop resistance to pesticides. For more information, see "Public Panic Over West Nile Virus," by Michael Gochfeld in American Butterflies, Summer 2000 (also on www.naba.org), National Audubon Society press releases [see 9/18/02 (www.audubon.org), ] and American Bird Conservancy position paper (www.abcbirds.org). For impacts of pesticides on public health, check out www.beyondpesticides.org (YH). BUTTERFLIES OF NORTH AMERICA: Book Review Jeffrey Glassberg's latest book, Butterflies of North America, is not only a great book to own but, at $10.47 (on Amazon.com), a great bargain besides. It is a wonderful introduction to butterflying, because it provides all the basic information without being overwhelming. Over 200 spectacular color photos of butterflies (some full page size) await you. Six butterfly families are represented by selected species covering all of the United States. As Glassberg explains, "The approach I have taken in this book is to allow you to identify an unknown butterfly to group rather than to species. . . . If you decide that you would like to identify butterflies to specific species, even in difficult groups, then you can use my Butterflies through Binoculars series to do so." The in-depth text portion of the book covers Butterfly Biology, Butterfly Gardening, Butterfly Conservation, Binoculars, Finding Butterflies, Identifying Butterflies, and other topics. For butterfly lovers, this book is hard to resist. (YH) BUTTERFLY REPORT and BUTTERFLY HOUSE FALL FESTIVAL: FALL BUTTERFLIES NABA PRESENTATION TO MONEP OCTOBER 2002 BUTTERFLY REPORT by Yvonne Homeyer The flower gardens at Meramec Community College continued to attract unusual butterflies. (See Oct. newsletter for Ron Goetz's 9/23 sighting of an Ocola Skipper). On 9/24, Ron reported a White-M Hairstreak there, a resident species not often seen, while Jim Ziebol and Mark Peters found Red-banded & Gray Hairstreaks, a fresh female Horace's Duskywing and Peck's Skipper. Then, on 9/25, Ron found a Clouded Skipper in the Meramec CC garden. A Mourning Cloak was observed in Franklin County on 9/25 (Cheryl Delashmit). On 9/27, a Bronze Copper was found at Horseshoe Lake (TB). Ron Goetz found another rare migrant, a Brazilian Skipper (*photo), at the Missouri Botanical Gardens on 9/28. September has been an incredible month for casual strays to the St. Louis area! On 9/28, Jeannie Moe saw 18 Common Checkered Skippers, 16 Sleepy Orange, 3 Checkered Whites and 1 Variegated Fritillary at the Watershed in Edwardsville, IL. Dennis Bozzay reported the first sighting of a fall form of the Buckeye (ventral side) at the Butterfly Garden in Busch on 9/29, plus he found another Monarch caterpillar on Swamp Milkweed. The Asters were in full bloom by late September and we had many butterfly visitors, including Monarchs, Viceroys, Sulphurs, Eastern Tailed-Blues, and Buckeyes. Also on 9/29 at Busch, Yvonne Homeyer found a Buckeye chrysalis (* video; JZ, DB) and Jim Ziebol spotted an apparent Ozark/Woodland Swallowtail. On 9/29, Anne McCormack spotted a Little Glassywing in her yard. A fresh Zebra Swallowtail, a yard butterfly for Belle Warden, was seen on 9/10. On 9/4, she had a Variegated Fritillary and on 9/23, she saw a Red-spotted Purple laying eggs on a Prairie Willow. Insect predators (wasps, spiders and ants) have attacked some of the Black Swallowtail caterpillars in her yard and spiders found the Spicebush Swallowtail eggs and made their own nest in the same place. October Sightings: Although butterfly activity was winding down, there were still quite a few species flying, such as Mourning Cloak, Orange Sulphur, Cloudless Sulphur, Dainty Sulphur, Bronze Copper, Buckeye, the anglewings (Goatweed, Gray Comma, E. Comma, Question Mark), Monarch, Viceroy, and skippers. Torrey Berger started the month off with a field trip to Little Creve Coeur Lake on 10/1, where he saw 2 Black Swallowtails, Sulphurs (6 Clouded, 20 Orange, 2 Little Yellow, 45 Dainty), 5 E. Tailed-Blues, 25 Pearl Crescents, 2 Question Marks, 25 Viceroys, 6 Fiery Skippers, and 2 Common Checkered-Skippers. On 10/4, along the Levee Road in Monroe County, IL, Jim Ziebol counted 10 Checkered Whites, 100+ Orange Sulphurs, 3 Clouded Sulphurs, 5 Cloudless Sulphurs, 20+ Little Yellows, 2 Dainty Sulphurs, 30 Buckeyes, 2 Painted Ladies, 1 Gray Hairstreak, 2 Common Checkered Skippers, and 1 Fiery. On 10/5, Jim Ziebol, Yvonne Homeyer, Kraig Paradise, Tom O'Gorman, Ann Earley, Bob Siemer, Donna Brunet and Jim Gast participated in our chapter's last butterfly walk of the season at Busch Wildlife (Donna and Jim are NABA members who live in Columbia, MO). Highlights included 1 stunning Goatweed (found by Kraig),7 Gray Commas, and 1 Variegated Fritillary. Later in the day, Donna and Jim observed a Mourning Cloak at Shaw Nature Reserve. Also on 10/5, Ron Goetz found many Clouded Skippers at Fults Hill Prairie in Monroe County, IL on a Mo. Native Plant Society walk. Although Clouded Skipper is rare for our area, there have been repeated sightings at various locations in Monroe County. Ron had 22 species and 119 individuals for the day. Besides Clouded Skipper, he saw 10 Southern Dogface, 1 Dainty Sulphur, 5 Gray Hairstreaks, 1 Great Spangled Fritillary, 1 Painted Lady, 1 Goatweed, and several skippers: 2 Silver-spotted, 4 Common Checkered, 1 Swarthy, 6 Fiery and 4 Sachems. Donna Brunet and Jim Gast returned to Busch on 10/6 and found a Bronze Copper at our Butterfly Garden! This is only the third time a Bronze Copper has been seen at Busch since 1995. Torrey Berger reported 3 Bronze Coppers at Indian Lake, a wetlands near Horseshoe Lake in Madison County, IL. (Indian Lake used to be called the Collinsville Road Golf Course). On another trip to Little Creve Coeur Lake on 10/8, Torrey Berger found 50 Dainty Sulphurs and 8 Checkered Whites. Jim Ziebol and Belle Warden observed about 20 species on 10/10 at Horseshoe Lake. The highlights were 25 Southern Dogface, 7 Bronze Coppers, 1 Goatweed, and 13 Monarchs. On 10/12, Jeannie Moe visited Marais Temps Clair (MTC) in St. Charles County and found an American Copper, a Leonard's Skipper, and 133 Common Checkered-Skippers. (American Copper has not been seen in the St. Louis area since Jim & Yvonne saw 2 at Riverlands about 7 years ago). On 10/12 at Busch Wildlife, Jim & Yvonne found 1 Mourning Cloak, 2 Variegated Fritillaries, and 1 Gray Hairstreak. Jeannie saw Silvery Checkerspots, 3 Viceroys, and a Zebra Swallowtail caterpillar at St. Stanislaus CA on a WGNSS Botany Walk. On 10/17, Horseshoe Lake had 20 Orange Sulphurs, 5 Clouded Sulphurs, 9 Common Buckeyes, 3 Pearl Crescents and 1 Common Checkered-Skipper (TB). Jim Ziebol and Belle Warden visited Horseshoe Lake on 10/18 where they saw species not seen on 10/17: 1 Southern Dogface, 2 Viceroys, and 1 Monarch. Yvonne and Jim saw 9 species at Little Creve Coeur Lake on 10/20: 20 Orange, 1 Clouded and 1 Dainty Sulphurs, 2 Cabbage Whites, 5 Buckeyes, 13 Pearl Crescents, 2 Viceroys, 2 Common Checkered-Skippers, and 4 Fiery Skippers. Three Checkered Whites were seen at Riverlands by Torrey Berger on 10/20 and on 10/21, Torrey found 1 Question Mark and 3 Viceroys at Horseshoe Lake. At his Crestwood home on 10/21, Tom Krauska saw 1 Painted Lady, 1 Red Admiral, Orange Sulphurs, and Fiery Skippers. Also on 10/21, Carol Asbury saw 3 Red Admirals, 2 Painted Ladies, and a Buckeye at her home in Belleville. Carol had Black Swallowtail caterpillars and 3 chrysalises as well as 3 Monarch chrysalises. On 10/22, she reported a female Monarch, 1 Red Admiral, and 1 Lady species. CONTRIBUTORS: Carol Asbury, Dave Berry, Torrey Berger, Dennis Bozzay, Donna Brunet, Jim Gast, Ron Goetz, Yvonne Homeyer, Tom Krauska, Scott & Annie Marshall, Anne McCormack, Jeannie Moe, Tom O'Gorman, Kraig Paradise, Mark Peters, Belle Warden, Jim Ziebol. An asterisk * denotes photographic or video documentation of an unusual or hard-to-find species. Please submit reports at least 3 days before the end of the month to Yvonne: homeyer@earthlink.net or Jim. BUTTERFLY HOUSE FALL FESTIVAL Ann Earley, Bob Siemer, Bob Noe, Claudia Noe, Tom Terrific, Jim Ziebol and Yvonne Homeyer staffed the NABA display table on Sept. 28 and 29 for the Butterfly House Fall Festival. Thanks to all of them for helping out. We talked to lots of people, including members Donna Dupske (Education Coordinator for the Butterfly House), Tom Bratkowski, and Carol Asbury who stopped by, and gave away lots of chapter brochures. Karen Haller and Jim & Audrey Foley were at the Festival as Butterfly House volunteers. The Fall Festival was very well-attended and there were lots of interesting displays and items for sale. *********************************************************** NEW MEMBERS The following people have become members of the St. Louis Chapter of NABA since October 1: Dot Anderson and Jane Schaefer. Welcome! VISIT OUR WEB SITE at www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/stlouis.htm. Dave Larson is our Webmaster. YOUR OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS: If you have questions or suggestions, e-mail Yvonne Homeyer NEWSLETTER ITEMS WELCOME MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION If you or someone you know would like to become a member of the St. Louis Chapter of NABA, please fill out this application: Name _____________________________________________ *********************************************************** *********************************************************** |
[View Post-Dispatch Articles: Sep 2000; July 2001]
