The Mystery of Colorado’s Butterfly Population

Sadly, I don’t know exactly what has happened to native populations through the years and it’s not a simple question to answer. Unlike the monarch butterfly, which for 20+ years has held the attention of a dozen or more researchers and nationwide volunteer groups, native populations of butterflies in Colorado have gone almost unattended.

In order to take a proactive approach to native butterflies, Butterfly Pavilion developed Colorado Butterfly Monitoring Network as a way for volunteers to learn about native butterflies while at the same time providing valuable data to scientists and landowners. Each spring, new volunteers are trained on butterfly identifications and monitoring protocols. Once training is complete, volunteers become ‘citizen scientists’ and pick their monitoring location, typically a favorite local walking/hiking trail.

Volunteering for CBMN involves walking a designated route, at a specific location, a least six times over the course a field season (Mary 15th – September 15th). We use “Pollard Walk” protocols where we focus monitoring on pre-existing trails that covers multiple habitat types. During their first year volunteers are trained to identify butterflies to their respective families, focusing on 25 species, and with additional yearly trainings are encouraged to expand their identification abilities.

Citizen science has been shown to be a powerful tool in raising awareness and collecting important data scientists can use to learn and evaluate the world in which we live. Through data collected by CBMN citizen scientists, who monitor the same locations from year to year, we will be able to observe the fluctuations of butterfly abundance and diversity. Over the long term, the information from these surveys will assist land managers in more effective conservation of Colorado’s butterflies and their habitats. Currently we work with: Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks, City & County of Broomfield Parks & Open Space, Jefferson County Open Space, Colorado State Parks, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, City of Westminster Open Space, Denver Botanical Gardens at Chatfield, Plans Conservation Center and USF&W.

Colorado Butterfly Monitoring Network, also called CBMN, is part of the larger North American Butterfly Monitoring Network, which consists of 12 other states/regions around the country. The summer of 2013 was the pilot year for CBMN and started with 8 citizen scientists monitoring 9 sites. As of summer of 2017 CBMN had grown to include 163 citizen scientists monitoring 11 sites. Most sites are located within the Front Range, but our collaboration with Colorado Parks & Wildlife has extended our reach to Steamboat Springs and Ridgeway, CO. Our goal is to continue to grow the program so that one day we are monitoring butterflies across the entire state of Colorado!

Currently we have two trainings scheduled for 2018 at Butterfly Pavilion: Sunday April 29th and Wednesday May 16th. If you’re interested in attending a training, or would like more information on CBMN, please contact Butterfly Pavilion’s Lepdiopterist, Sarah Garret.

You’re more a scientist than you realize, and Butterfly Pavilion can help!

The overall impression one takes away from this is that science is something done by a highly trained person with specialized equipment in a sterile environment. And while this might be representative of some scientists and some areas of study, it’s hardly all-encompassing.

The truth is, most scientists look just like you or me!

For example, a butterfly scientist, or Lepidopterist, doesn’t usually spend time wearing protective goggles standing over a bubbling cylinder. Rather, their research may involve gather data on the existence and health of butterfly populations in their habitats. Further straying from the prevalent narrative found on my Google search, this work is far from a solitary project. If a Lepidopterist tried to take on the survey of butterfly populations single-handedly, it would only be possible to capture a very small snapshot of data from a handful of locations. Needless to say, an individual Lepidopterist would face many barriers including, but not limited to, geographical distance, time, and resources to accomplish such a feat alone.

The thought that may pop in your head is, “Well, you’re out of luck unless you get more financial resources to hire some more scientists.” But what if you had a pool of engaged citizens that cared enough about butterfly conservation that they were willing to volunteer their time to help you complete your data collection. Adults, families, neighborhood and community groups, Scout troops, and classrooms – folks from all walks of life observing and recording the appearance of butterflies in their areas and reporting back to you. Suddenly you have vastly more data than you could have collected on your own, a much better picture of butterfly population health, AND you’ve given these volunteers an opportunity to have direct, hands-on impact on the future of butterfly conservation. Too good to be true?

In fact, it’s not! This is citizen science, and it’s a powerful data collection tool that, in the case of Butterfly Pavilion’s Colorado Butterfly Monitoring Network (CBMN) and Urban Prairies Project (UPP), is providing essential insight on invertebrate species and habitats that land managers can use when making conservation decisions. But the benefits of citizen science don’t stop there. It also serves as a powerful learning tool for teachers and classrooms.

Traditional science curricula, like the common stereotype of scientists, are often limited to a single approach to the subject. Lessons commonly emphasize what is already known or agreed upon by scientific consensus, focusing on factual information and rote repetition of experimental processes (if experimentation is mentioned at all). The outcome of this strategy discourages curiosity and builds the view that there’s not much left to discover. However, recent estimates suggest that nearly 90% of all species that exist on earth are yet to be described. As the California Academy of Science puts it, “Citizen science gives participants insight and exposure to the idea that there remain mysteries to solve, that the internet does not hold all the answers, and that science is a dynamic and ever-changing process of pursuing curiosity.” This is a powerful message to instill in young learners, and a crucial one given that they will eventually be tasked with finding solutions to incredibly urgent and complex issues like climate change.

Along with encouraging inquiry, classroom participation in citizen science has been shown to improve performance, ownership of, and investment in scientific work. According to UC Davis, “Extensive research shows that a strong sense of ownership of the work is associated with more active engagement, increased sense of agency and self-efficacy, positive attitude toward science, and improved science learning outcomes.” And not only does this positively impact student motivation and confidence in the classroom, but also encourages them to feel empowered in other parts of their lives as well.

In sum, whether you’re a researcher interested in getting your community engaged in science, an individual wanting to make an impact on habitat and species conservation, or a teacher hoping to inspire your students the stay curious, consider citizen science! Butterfly Pavilion can help you get started:

Sources:

https://www.nature.com/news/2011/110823/full/news.2011.498.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4798802/

https://www.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/assets/docs/pdf/cascitizensciencetoolkit_forweb.pdf

Americans have resisted what the rest of the world has known for millenia

Protein is a vital part of the human diet, and one that Americans tend to consume in the form of meat, in larger and larger quantities every year. Producing livestock to meet the ever-growing demand for meat requires incredible amounts of water, feed, and land, and these resources are not unlimited.

Despite the common nature of this practice in many other countries, Americans have historically expressed a strong aversion to the idea. But that is beginning to change.

As advocates for habitat and species conservation and environmental stewardship here at Butterfly Pavilion, we’re acutely aware of the need to explore more sustainable alternatives. Shifting from cows, pigs, and chickens to insects would significantly reduce our resource use. For example, it takes 10,000 times more water to raise one pound of beef than one pound of crickets! Further, the rearing of livestock is responsible for about 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than all forms of transportation combined.

But decreasing negative environmental impacts isn’t the only enticement entomophagy has to offer. Scientists have found that insects are a healthier alternative for humans to other forms of meat. Pound for pound, mealworms contain as much protein as beef in addition to having less fat and less calories. There are also more vitamins and essential amino acids found in most edible insects than other meat-based proteins. Further, crickets actually contain about five times the calcium and ten times the iron found in beef.

And we’re not the only ones interested in insect-eating’s potential, even locally. A 2018 article by Rachel Walker in 5280 Magazine features “Crickets as Protein” as a major health trend in Colorado. This is good news for local businesses like the Rocky Mountain Micro Ranch, an edible cricket farm located in Denver, not too far from a restaurant called Linger where you can enjoy cricket and cassava stuffed empanadas. Yum!

So why do most Americans cringe at the thought of eating a bug?

Western culture promotes the idea of insects as dirty and creepy pests, rather than something to consider eating for dinner. Have you ever seen a movie or TV show where cockroaches or a tarantula are used to scare people? Most likely, you’ve seen many. This is vastly different from many tropical areas around the world where insects are often represented positively in legends, myths, and dancing, and also used for decoration, entertainment, and medicine. Fried scorpions in China, spiders in Cambodia, and grasshoppers in Thailand are considered a delicacy, rather than something appropriate for a horror film. Where other cultures respect and even admire our arthropod friends, popular culture has conditioned many Americans to recoil and avoid them.

How do we change the way millions of Americans feel about eating insects?

In short, education. When people learn about the dynamic (and often essential) roles insects play in our world, they can begin to re-think their own assumptions about their value. Rather than the “gross” cockroach under our shoe, these animals can be appreciated as essential decomposers cleaning up the forest floor. No longer do we assume the bee’s purpose is to sting us. Instead, we recognize them as crucial pollinators providing honey and one out of every three bites of food we consume. Similarly, a mealworm on your plate sounds less like a reason to never go that restaurant again, and more like a sign of a business making a commitment to sustainability.

The mission here at Butterfly Pavilion is to foster an appreciation for all invertebrates, including insects. We do this partly by facilitating interactive educational experiences in our exhibits. Our ‘Bug Bites’ Spineless Spotlight program that you can see on Sundays and Fridays at 1:30 pm teaches guests about insect-eating, including the insects they unwittingly eat every day, followed by an opportunity to try some different insect treats! Through our efforts, and those of other individuals and organizations looking to encourage more sustainable food sources, we hope to make a big impact in conserving our world for future generations.

So maybe one day, sooner than you think, we’ll be grocery shopping and crickets may be on the grocery list! After all, lobster was once considered a poor man’s food in America, and look at it now…

Sources:

Bodenheimer, F. S. “History of Entomophagy.” Insects as Human Food. Springer, Dordrecht, 1951. 39-69.

DeFoliart, Gene R. “Insects as human food: Gene DeFoliart discusses some nutritional and economic aspects.” Crop protection 11.5 (1992): 395-399.

Hoddle, Mark. Entomophagy (Eating Insects). Center for Invasive Species Research. University of California, Riverside. http://cisr.ucr.edu/entomophagy.html. 2016.

Van Huis, Arnold, et al. Edible insects: future prospects for food and feed security. No. 171. Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations, 2013.

Walker, Rachel. “Eight Health Trends Growing in Colorado in 2018.” 5280 Health. January 2018.

At the trailhead, I saw what I thought was an explosion of paper litter in the distance and hurried over to clean it up. What a happy surprise to find that I was actually looking at a patch of crown-leaf primrose (Oenothera coronipifolia).

These frilly, ephemeral wildflowers stood out against the browns and pale greens of early spring like lace against sandpaper.

What I learned – nature is full of surprises. Think of the last time you were out in nature – what surprised you?

Urban and suburban open spaces facilitate transformative experiences for visitors, while providing healthy habitat for native plants and wildlife. Healthy open spaces can address many of the challenges of population growth by providing accessible opportunities for people to exercise, to pursue lifelong learning and to appreciate natural beauty. This engagement with the natural world has proven profoundly beneficial to human health. With this in mind, in 2013 the American Public Health Association officially recommended that land use decisions should prioritize the preservation and restoration of natural areas and green spaces for people of all ages, income levels and abilities. In addition, urban and suburban open spaces contribute millions of dollars in ecological services, including flood management, pollution abatement and access to crop pollination. Their importance should not be underestimated!

But not all open spaces are created equal. Suburban open spaces often struggle with a high degree of disturbance, pollution and invasive species. In comparison to wild lands, suburban natural areas also support a far lower number of plant and animal species. By restoring local open spaces to a greater degree of biodiversity, land managers and volunteers can include “planned complexity” in urban and suburban landscapes, which leads to better function and sustainability over time.

With over half of the human population now living in cities and towns, a habitat network of open spaces, parks and private gardens can add significant resources, especially for beneficial wildlife such as pollinators. These “habitat pockets” can grow over time to become linked corridors for wildlife. One successful example of this model is Seattle’s Pollinator Pathway, which revolutionized the idea of human and natural landscapes by educating the public to reconsider the priorities for public and private landscaping.

The growing communities of Westminster and Broomfield, Colorado currently have over 8000 acres of open space parks and trails. Since residents in Broomfield and Westminster report that they value the wildlife and native plants found on open spaces, effective habitat restoration plays a vital role in maintaining these sites for the community to enjoy. In order to increase impactful restoration activities on open space parks and to cultivate a stewardship ethic among local residents, Butterfly Pavilion, the City of Westminster and the City and County of Broomfield created the Urban Prairies Project in 2016.

With open space department staff stretched thin over so much acreage, the partners aimed to tap into local enthusiasm for open spaces. Beginning in March 2016, the partners launched a Restoration Master Volunteer program. These committed and passionate individuals complete 25 hours of intensive training which includes subjects from weed identification and management to how to share scientific information with the public. So far, 31 Restoration Master Volunteers are contributing their skills to everything from revegetation projects to pollinator monitoring. These volunteers have so far astounded us with their skills and expertise, as well as their enthusiasm for learning and even the hard physical labor of restoration.

The Urban Prairies Project partners have also worked closely with other groups, such as local schools, to involve more local residents in restoration work. A relationship with Legacy High School has resulted in four youth service learning projects, including planting native shrubs and collecting invertebrate diversity data. Kristina Schaad, the biology teacher at Legacy High School and the advisor for the Environmental Club, notes that, “Participating in restoration work has been invaluable for my students. It has provided them with the opportunity to learn while getting their hands dirty, giving back to their community, and working with others–all of which are extremely important for today’s adolescents. I know that working with Urban Prairies Project has positively impacted my students and increased their appreciation of natural spaces. We are excited to continue our work with this organization in the future!”

2018 is already shaping up to be an exciting and productive year. Our next set of Restoration Master Volunteer trainings will begin on March 11th. This year, Urban Prairies Project volunteers will be working in areas as diverse as Standley Lake, Skyestone and Metzger Farm open spaces this year, improving habitat and collecting data on everything from beavers to bees to birds. Volunteers are also helping to raise awareness among people of all ages about the importance of natural areas by creating educational materials and attending public fairs. The inspiring message that we can all make a difference for our communities and our planet has never been more timely.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can get involved, please contact me by clicking here.