Third Annual Edison Ford Butterfly Count
June 25, 2019
With a forecast calling for thunderstorms, 37 intrepid butterfly counters headed out on June 10, 2019 to four locations in Lee County to volunteer for Edison Ford’s third North American Butterfly Association’s July 4th Butterfly Count. The July 4th Count can be conducted anytime in June or July and the results of the count are analyzed by NABA to detect trends in butterfly populations throughout the continent.
Luckily, the weather cooperated and the five teams at Edison Ford, Lakes Park, Rotary Park and Powell Creek Preserve spotted over 380 butterflies between 10 am and noon. Many volunteers were very new to butterfly identification but with good camera work and a few trusted identification books, the teams were able to identify most of their findings. Monarch and gulf fritillary were spotted by each team but the most frequently recorded butterfly was the white peacock. An amazing 78 were seen by one of the two teams at Lakes Park. Viceroys were seen only at Powell Creek Preserve and Rotary Park was the only location to have black swallowtail, Phaon crescent, pipevine swallowtail and common buckeye spotted that morning. For the complete list, see below.
If you’d like to participate in next year’s count, be sure to watch our website and Facebook page for details when they are announced in spring 2020. To find other butterfly counts in Florida and beyond, visit NABA’s website. To practice your Southwest Florida butterfly identification skills, consider joining our Facebook group here.
