Next meeting to be announced.

Past Meetings:

November 3, 2011

Programs: 2011: The Year in Butterflies, speaker: Mike Reese

and Butterflies of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, speaker: Karl Legler

November 3 (Thursday), 7 p.m.

Warner Park Community Recreation Center, 1625 Northport Drive

The Year in Butterflies will be a half-hour presentation that is a retrospective and summary of the amazing sightings and some of the most remarkable photographs that wisconsinbutterflies.org received during 2011. Some species were unusually abundant while others were scarce (some populations "crashed"). What southern strays turned up along Lake Superior? How did endangered species do this year? What was being seen in butterfly gardens?  Was 2011 a very good butterfly year? Mike Reese will provide the overview. Mike receives reports on many thousands of butterflies and photos from all over the state at his award-winning website, wisconsinbutterflies.org, and scours the state to find and photograph Wisconsin butterflies.

Butterflies of the Lower Rio Grande Valley will be a half-hour presentation by Karl Legler on why this area has the most butterfly diversity in the United States, a survey of the butterflies that make up that diversity, resources that provide more details, butterfly hotspots, including the NABA National Butterfly Center, and the best time to go to Texas.  Handouts will be provided. Karl Legler is a long-time birder and butterflyer, author of Dragonflies of Wisconsin, and sometime visitor to Texas.

Everyone is welcome to attend this free program. The meeting will last from 7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. We will have displays, books, handouts and plenty of time afterwards to enjoy snacks and refreshments, and talk with our speakers and other butterfly enthusiasts.

Directions:  On Madison’s north side, from the intersection of Sherman Avenue and Northport Drive (= Hwy 113) go west on Northport Drive for about 1/4 mile, then turn south into Warner Park. Turn immediately right into the Community Center parking lot. When you enter the Community Recreation Center, we will be in the meeting room on the left.

May 5 (Thursday), 7 p.m. SWBA Annual Meeting

Warner Park Community Recreation Center, 1625 Northport Drive.

Program:  Monarchs, Migration and the Larva Monitoring Project

Speaker: Jessica Miller, Naturalist

The Monarch is one of the most recognized butterflies in the world.  Until 35 years ago, scientists knew little about their phenomenal life cycle and migration routes. Now through citizen science monitoring, researchers are gaining deeper understanding of the Monarch. Join Naturalist Jessica Miller as she discusses the fascinating world of Monarch butterflies and how you can become involved in groundbreaking Monarch research.

Jessica Miller is a Naturalist and Education Coordinator at Mosquito Hill Nature Center in New London (Outagamie County).  She has been avidly rearing and studying Monarchs for 12 years and most recently made a trip to Mexico to see, firsthand, Monarchs in their overwintering grounds.  In addition, Jessica facilitates several monarch research programs including the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, Monarch Health, and the Monarch Watch Tagging Program.

Everyone is welcome to attend this free program. The meeting will last from 7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. We will have door prizes, displays, books, handouts and plenty of time afterward to enjoy refreshments, and talk with our speaker and other butterfly enthusiasts.

Photo Show and Tell At the May meeting, share some of your favorite butterfly, moth, caterpillar or dragonfly photos and enjoy the photos of others. You are welcome to briefly comment about your photos. Please email up to 8 digital photos (as file attachments) to Mike Reese at mikereese@wisconsinbutterflies.org  Alternatively, you can bring digital photos to the meeting on a CD or USB flash drive.

Election of Officers If you are interested in serving as an officer of SWBA for the next year, or would like to nominate someone else, contact the Nominating Committee Chair Tod Highsmith at (608) 242-1168 or todhighsmith@me.com

Directions:  On Madison’s north side, from the intersection of Sherman Avenue and Northport Drive (= Hwy 113) go west on Northport Drive for about 1/4 mile, then turn south into Warner Park. Turn immediately right into the Community Center parking lot. When you enter the Community Recreation Center, we will be in the meeting room on the left.

Butterflies on Stamps by Dreux Watermolen of the Wisconsin DNR

at Warner Park Community Recreation Center in Madison.

Scientists have described approximately 20,000 species of butterflies worldwide, ranging from tiny skippers to large swallowtails. Their brightly colored wings and generally conspicuous, fluttering flight have often captured the imaginations of poets, authors, and other creative types. Artistic depictions of butterflies have appeared in many cultures, including Egyptian hieroglyphs dating back 3500 years. Today, butterfly-themed artworks abound (some even incorporate real butterflies).

Of particular note is the wide range of postage stamps and related philatelic items that feature these insects. Nations around the world have depicted butterflies on more than 8,800 different stamps! Join us to explore this wonderful diversity of butterflies, both as they occur in nature and as they are depicted on world postage stamps.

Everyone is welcome to attend this free program. The meeting will last from 7 to 8:30 p.m. We will have door prizes, displays, books, handouts and plenty of time afterward to enjoy refreshments, and talk with our speaker and other butterfly enthusiasts.

DIRECTIONS: On Madison’s north side, from the intersection of Sherman Avenue and Northport Drive (= Hwy 113) go west on Northport Drive for about 1/4 mile, then turn south into Warner Park. Turn immediately right into the Community Center parking lot. When you enter the Community Recreation Center, we will be in the meeting room on the left.

The Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network: A Model for Citizen Science
Speaker: Doug Taron, PhD, curator of biology at the Chicago Academy of Sciences

Doug will discuss the history of the monitoring network, how it operates, the rationale for forming the network and for choosing butterflies as a study group, as well as some results.