NABA is a not-for-profit organization formed to educate the public about the joys of non-consumptive, recreational butterflying including listing, gardening, observation, photography,

rearing, and conservation. Membership in NABA is open to all who share our purpose.

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oVOLUME 19, ISSUE 1 SPRING 2014

4 Butterfly Musings

5 Jr. Rangers to the Rescue!Counting Butterflies in Broward County.by Barbara DeWitt, Sandy Koi, Jenni Leve,Janice Malkoff, and Zen WhiteCloud

8 The Butterfly Eye:How Butterflies Choose Flowersby Lenora Larson

12 Eastern Redcedar for Juniper Hairstreaksby Mary Anne Borge

15 Book Reviewby Jane Hurwitz

Front cover photo: Juniper Hairstreak with Mountainmint. Credit: Mary Anne Borge

Back cover poem: "Indra Swallowtail" by Pat McCulloch.

Back cover photo: Indra Swallowtail in Northern California by Dennis Holmes

Butterfly Gardener www.nababutterfly.corn 3 Spring 2014

Jr. aCounting

gers to the escue!utterf ies in Broward County

By Barbara DeWitt, Sandy Koi, Jenni Leve, Janice Malkoff, and Zen WhiteCloud

Members of the Broward County Butterfly Chapter (BCBC) of the North American ButterflyAssociation (NABA) and the Park Rangers at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park (HTBSP) in FortLauderdale, Florida, participated in the Annual Broward County North Spring butterfly count in May2013. When a rain shower temporarily stopped the count, the participants took shelter in one of thepark's buildings. Inside they met a group of 14 aspiring young biologists between the ages of 8 and14 known as the Jr. Rangers. The Jr. Rangers shared their snacks with the damp count participants,who in turn told the Jr. Rangers about the count.

The ParticipantsThe Jr. Ranger program is entering its fourth year and most of the children have been in the programsince it was created by Zen Whitecloud and her daughter Teakahla. Recognizing that butterflies arean important part of the ecosystem, the children were given a "working knowledge" of butterflies andtheir caterpillar food plants by HTBSP Senior Ranger Mark Foley and Park Manager Jim Gibson,and have subsequently identified a total of 15 species at the park.

Inspired and excited by the chance meeting with the NABA count participants, the Jr. Rangers wereable to start counting butterflies with organizing help from Park Ranger Jenni Leve and leadershipfrom Zen Whitecloud. They were able to monitor butterfly populations for several more months, fromJune until the chapter's Fall count in October! South Florida has the advantage of being able tocount butterflies year-round and SCSC holds counts in spring, summer, and fall.

Butterfly Gardener www.naba.org 5 Spring 2014

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The ProjectPart of the Jr. Ranger's monitoring project included keeping count of the Atala butterfly populationfor Sandy Koi, a former BCBC member. Sandy, who recently completed a Master's degree at theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville, researches the ecology and conservation of the Atala, clarifyingits lifespan, the development of immatures in different environmental conditions, and caterpillar foodplant choice and consumption. Sandy has monitored the Atala colonies in southeast Florida for 10years and she continues to do so in specific locations via the help of volunteer Citizen Scientists fromMiami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. These volunteers are taught how to perform long-term data collection, which helps scientists follow the peak-and-crash population dynamics. The datagathered will benefit conservation planning for the State-imperiled Atala, and potentially for other pinerockland butterfly species as well.

Led by parent volunteer Zen Whitecloud, the Jr. Rangers counted Atala eggs, larvae, and pupaefor five months. The data that the children collected became part of Sandy's research, as they,too, became Citizen Scientists for the counts. Jim Gibson also took an active role in reviewingthe projects and progress of the Jr. Rangers. In October, at the conclusion of the five-monthmonitoring project, and after the Fall NABA count, Jim Gibson also gladly officiated at a celebrationcongratulating the diligent and dedicated young Jr. Rangers/Citizen Scientists for their efforts in thisvaluable research project.

The PartyBCBC President Janice Malkoff designeda certificate of appreciation to honor the Jr.Rangers' hard work and dedication. Sandy Koiinscribed each certificate with the child's namein beautiful calligraphy. Janice also baked acake, which was happily devoured by all. ZenWhitecloud presented Janice, Barbara DeWitt,and Jenni Leve with butterfly pins, which wereimmediately declared to be "Little Metalmarks."The children were also given a beautiful Atalapatch, designed by Zen and funded by theScholey family, parents of Jr. Ranger Vanessa.

Photo above right: ZenWhiteCloud presentsBarbara DeWitt with a "LittleMetalmark" butterfly pinwhile Ranger Jenrii Leveand Park Manager JimGibson observe.

Photo right: Luke Lorenzreceives his "Certificate ofAppreciation" and Atalapatch from Park ManagerJim Gibson while other Jr.Rangers await their call.

Butterfly Gardener www.naba.org

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6 Spring 2014

Few people know that HTBSP was the siteof the original rediscovery of the Atala backin 1959! This colony has actually been fairlysecure for many years now, since it wasre-introduced again in the 1980's. It haspersisted virtually without human interventionsince, although there have been yearswhen it has not been present. However,as a barrier island complete with coontie(the Atala food plant), shade trees, oceanbreezes, fresh water, and plenty of wildnectar sources, HTBSP has proven to bea fairly stable habitat for not only the Atala,but for many other species as well. StatiraSulphur, Zebra Heliconian, White Peacock,and Ruddy Daggerwing are a few of theother species that have been documented atthe site by the Jr. Rangers.

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The data collected by the Jr. Rangersexhibit the classic "peak-crash" cycle typicalof many insect species. Watching thepopulation fluctuation in a persistent colonylike this is a great lesson in the complexity of ecological systems that researchers haven't entirelyfigured out even yet.

In the case of Atalas, abundant food and nectar may be available for both immatures and adultseven when the population appears to crash, so other factors that may be at play have yet to bediscovered. A similar cycle is evident in all of the colonies being monitored by NABA volunteersin southeast Florida, but some operate on different timetables, so that one colony may crashwhile another peaks. Adult Atalas may abandon a site in search of mates, for example, if malesand females do not eclose simultaneously. Likewise, adults may self-establish a colony in acompletely new location if the density of adults is high or if their nectar or caterpillar food plantresources are reduced in the current site. Complicating the monitoring of some colony sites isthe fact that people also re-Iocate Atalas for many reasons, including scientific decisions to movethem for the health of a colony.

Because the Atala isconsidered an imperiledspecies by the State ofFlorida, and is beingmonitored by Florida NaturalAreas Inventory as well asby data submitted by SandyKoi's research, the Jr. Rangers

were also given a beautiful Atala patch, designed byZen WhiteCloud. Photo: Janice Malkoff.

Butterfly Gardener www.naba.org

"Little Metalmark"pin. Photo: BarbaraDeWitt.

7 Spring 2014