All hail Danaus plexippus!

by Pam Owen, Summer 2006

The monarch butterfly migrates 3,000 miles from Mexico to Canada every year, making it unique in the insect world. Logging, agricultural encroachment, and tourism in Mexico have threatened the migration of this species, leading the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources to designate the annual migration of the monarch a "threatened phenomenon," the first time it ever made such a determination. Photo by Andy Sprenger, A Roche, USA.

The monarchs are back! No, we haven't reverted to a colony and gone on the lookout for royalty. It's the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) who has returned to Virginia after a long winter in central Mexico.

Many of these bright orange-and-black butterflies will continue on to Canada. How does something that lives only a few weeks get from Mexico to Canada? Jet engines? Super powers? Sort of the latter—super reproductive powers.

Every year, as fall approaches in the north, monarchs create a unique "Methusaleh generation" that lives for seven or eight months. This generation flies from the United States and Canada to the center of Mexico and then begins the northward journey again. Once they reach the United States, according to the World Wildlife Fund, "a kind of relay race begins: their short-lived offspring, with only four or five weeks to live, continue making the trek northward over several generations." That's just one of the remarkable things about this species.

Tiger swallowtail on native coneflower. Photo by Richard Lykes.

While the monarchs and tiger swallowtails are
two of the superstar families of the butterfly world—big and flashy with an interesting back story—Rappahannock hosts many species of butterflies. Some are smaller, some are more subtly colored, and some never travel far from their birthplaces. The U.S. Geological Survey lists sixty-six species of butterflies as native to Rappahannock (at least part of the year). The high number of butterfly species native to Rappahannock is not surprising, considering that the Appalachian region has some of the
most biodiverse ecosystems in the world.

The names of some of our native butterfly families imply distinguished lineage—monarchs, emperors, and admirals. Some names suggest a more humble background—whites, sulphurs, harvesters, coppers, hairstreaks, blues, snouts, brush-foots, and skippers. And one wonders just how the fritillaries and satyrs get their names. Names aside, all butterflies are important to our native ecosystems.

Which butterfly species are threatened in Rappahannock? The answer to that question is a bit confusing, since no comprehensive, countywide count has ever been done. Searching by county in DCR's Natural Heritage database brings up no butterflies that are threatened in Rappahannock. On the other hand, the U.S. Geological Survey lists 66 species of butterflies that should be native to the county, and in cross-referencing this list to DCR's list for the whole state, three species match: Frosted elfin (Callophrys irus). Globally vulnerable; possibly imperiled in Virginia. Atlantis fritillary (Speyeria atlantis). Globally common; imperiled in Virginia. Regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia). Globally vulnerable;critically imperiled in Virginia. Photos by Mike Reese, Wisconsin Butterflies.

Although USGS and DCR maintain lists of which species should be in Rappahannock, no one has ever done a comprehensive count. The National American Butterfly Association has an annual butterfly count to take the census of butterflies throughout North America (United States, Canada, and part of Mexico). Shenandoah National Park participates in that count but uses a portion of the Park that is in Page County for it.

For the annual National American Butterfly Association butterfly count, a group of volunteer participants selects a count area with a 15-mile diameter and conducts a one-day census of all butterflies sighted within that circle. The counts are usually held in the few weeks before or after July 4th in the United States, July 1st in Canada, and September 16th in Mexico. NABA then publishes the results. For more information on the NABA count, go to www.naba.org/counts.html.

Last year Clarke County, Virginia, began an annual count as part of its Natural Resources Mapping Project. The project is the first countywide comprehensive survey of flora and fauna in Virginia. Getting such a baseline on what species are in a locality is critical to determining which need protection. It also helps in understanding whole ecosystems—what eats what, what lives where, what effect climate (and climate change) has on native specie, and much, much more.

RLEP's Biodiversity Task Force thinks a butterfly count in Rappahannock would be extremely useful in managing wildlife conservation—and a whole lot of fun. Since pretty much everyone with a bit of training, patience, and good eyesight can help, it should be a great family activity.

The Task Force is looking closely at the Clarke County count as well as NABA's national count, and Task Force members are planning to take training in counting butterflies at Blandy Experimental Farm in Clarke County this spring. We hope to pass this training along to volunteers who would like to count butterflies here. It only takes an hour a day for a few days over a week or two to get the count. This year will be a practice year to work out the kinks in the counting process, but we still expect the count to yield useful data.

To kick off the count, the Task Force is planning on having a combination butterfly walk, quick identification seminar, and practice count on July 15. This event will be open to everyone who wants to learn more about butterflies, whether or not they want to be involved in the formal count. For more information, including the location of this event, check the RLEP Calendar.

Maybe one day soon, we can map all species of flora and fauna in the county, as Clarke County is doing. In the meantime, every bit of data we collect will help in figuring out just what natural treasures we have in Rappahannock and how to protect them.