On Wednesday, May 6 at 6:30 p.m. Friends of Sears Island will host a Zoom presentation given by Ron Butler about the butterflies of Maine and the Canadian Maritimes.
This presentation will cover the taxonomy, evolution, morphology and ecological significance of butterflies. It will include images of some representative species of the region’s six butterfly families, explore butterfly conservation issues (particularly climate change) and briefly consider the “insect apocalypse”. The presentation will conclude with some recommended butterfly identification guides, apps, and websites.
Butler is an animal ecologist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Maine at Farmington, where he taught courses in zoology, entomology, ecology and conservation biology. While he spent the first part of his career conducting research with seabirds in Maine, Newfoundland and Antarctica, for the past several decades his work has focused on ecologically important groups of insects in Maine. Butler helped plan and coordinate several state-wide citizen science initiatives, including the Maine Damselfly and Dragonfly Survey, the Maine Butterfly Survey, the Maine Bumble Bee Atlas and (presently) the Maine Flower Fly Survey. He co-authored “Butterflies of Maine and the Canadian Maritime Provinces” (2023) and “Dragonflies and Damselflies of Maine and the Canadian Maritime Provinces” (in press).
Please visit https://tinyurl.com/butterflies-of-maine to sign up. Registered participants will receive a link to the Zoom prior to the event.
If you’d like to learn more about the work of Friends of Sears Island, visit friendsofsearsisland.org.
