Where have all the butterflies gone?

[StoneMtn]

This morning an awesome looking butterfly landed on my balcony. As I looked at him (her?) I thought that I just don’t see butterflies anymore.

I seem to remember being a kid and seeing butterflies all the time in the summer. (I’m 34 years old, so I’m talking like 28 years ago.) I can’t remember when I stopped seeing them. I wonder if it’s because I’m out west now, but I think I stopped seeing butterflies like two decades ago; long before I moved out here.

Has anyone else ever noticed this? Alternatively, is it just that we don’t have as many butterflies out west, and they’re still plentiful in Ontario?

(Do I just have too much free time on my hands to sit and think about insects?)

[Jakis]

I havent seen any this summer either but also remember seeing them when I was younger, about 10. Im now 22. Weird now that I think about, I wonder where they all went?

Cheers,

Jake

[Hal Johnson]

Isnt it obvious? Butterfly Conservatories are training the lot of them to wipe out the Mosquito population. Having no previous experience in fighting humanities smallest pest, it is a long and arduous process in which the female "B-Flies", as they are now reffered to by intelligence, have been meticulously trained to, using their sexuality, lure the Mossies, as Australians call them, in to the darkest depths of rural tomato gardens, and some corn fields, where they promptly decapetate each one with a swift hack to the back of the neck with an extremely sharp blade of watter lilly. Unfortunately, the Mossies have been repoted to have developed an anti-bodi to the B-Fly attack, and leaks from their intelligence suggest they have even more up their sleeve, something along the lines of a trojan horse-esqu strategy. Butterfly Conservatories of North America have refused comment.

[bouche]

Saw my first butterfly today in the backyard.It was such a beautiful color.

[StoneMtn]

You also saw your first one today? Maybe they just have a really short season; starting today coast-to-coast?

[Tooly]

theres a fair amount of them right here in stinktown, hamilton, but nothing compared to the amounts of them i saw out west in the koots, they were everywhere

maybe the lacking #s still have something to do with that big monarch butterfly loss a few years ago, where millions of them got burnt in a forest fire and died...

[Im going home Donny]

gees they're EVERYWHERE in Carp. Pretty cool.

Though today on my way to Constance awesome Bay...pretty sure I killed a Monarch Butterfly...bummerskies...Bear seemed sure I hadn't...but I think she was just trying to make me not feel badly....dang cars.

[ReDD]

A butterflies life span is very short. It grows inside the egg for about 4 days. It then munches leaves and grows as a caterpillar (larvae) for about 2 more weeks. The caterpillar's life inside the chrysalis (pupa) lasts about 10 days and its wonderful life as an adult butterfly lasts from 2 - 6 weeks.

I also think that in the city caterpillers are easier prey for the birds which makes less Butterflies in the end. When I lived with my mother in the boonies I remember seeing many more butterflies.

[timouse]

butterfly populations have been steadily dropping is SoOn for a few reasons...

habitat loss. more & more of the areas we flatten and cover in suburban housing used to be meadow and woodlot that provided butterflies (and countless other creatures) a home.

depletion of food sources. milkweed, a major food source for monarch butterflies, is on the "Noxious Weed" list in ontario, and rural property owners are required to spray for it.

pesticide use. all of the crap we spray to get a perfect weed free lawn isn't just killing crab grass.

sorry to be such a downer, but you asked

[StoneMtn]

Don't be sorry Tim. That's exactly why I asked.

Between your answer, Tooly's answer, and Redd's answer (although I don't live in the city anymore, but I did), it makes me see I'm not just imagining this. It just sucks to be right about environmental destruction (although it's always a safe bet to assume that's the case).

Pheasant plucker's answer also really got me to thinkin'. Uh, thanks ...

[Esau]

Seen loads of butterflies over the last month while in the bush...guess they just dont wanna be within the city limits either.

[timouse]

Seen loads of butterflies over the last month while in the bush...guess they just dont wanna be within the city limits either.

ding! ding! ding! we have the correct answer...good one greg

[SevenSeasJim]

I've seen more Monarch's this year than in a long time. 10-20 per day for the last couple weeks.

And grasshoppers....I don't think i've ever seen as many as this summer

[Blaze-0]

i see them everday. the [color:green]GREEN[color:black] one is pretty rare.

[timouse]

...hmmmm....all of the sightings of insects have been from outside the urban shadow...

we ripped up half of our front lawn a couple years ago and have been slowly planting bird/insect friendly plants (or simply allowing the naturally occurring ones to grow). we get some reasonably rare birds, not many butterflies so far, but as the milkweed spreads that oughta change.

[Sunshine]

and don't forget when you were 10 years old (if you were anything like me), you spent 85% of your time playing in the outdoors.

I always see lots of butterflies once out of city limits.

[Sunshine]

pesticide use. all of the crap we spray to get a perfect weed free lawn isn't just killing crab grass.

....many lawn care companies are turning Organic now. One product that is really taking off for fertilization/ weed inhibator is BEET JUICE (all natural organic)

Also most lawn care companies these days are falling IPM Rules (integrated pest management) - only treating when there's a problem, spot treatments etc.

(another FYI chlorine in swimming pools is 10 x more toxic then the pesticides used on

lawns)

[Im going home Donny]

...shit I'm going to h...

[Im going home Donny]

www.sciencedaily.com

scroll down to extintion-then global warmings...sad.

Also an article about butterfly populations by the population biologist Paul Ehrlich who with his wife(I think)wrote the Population Bomb, then of coarse later The Population Explosion(great books).

Actually lots of info about our decreasing Butterfly pops to be found through google. Check out what G.P has to say about Gm shit fuggin with the flies...gees just in case you forgot how EVIL MOnsato is...

[Super Freak]

Lots of Flutter-byes on our land. We can always see them somewhere. I don't know my butterflies but we have white, yellow, blue(vey cool), greeny yellow...I should look them up. I'm sure the white ones are cabbage moths. We have Monarchs too.

[Im going home Donny]

I 'personally' find the western hemipheres quest for 'The perfect lawngrass' to be one of the all time most embarressing moments in humananity...well that along with the SUV....okay hmm guess I could add alot more to that list...but the perfect lawn grass is certainly on my list of embarressing human moments.

[bouche]

You also saw your first one today? Maybe they just have a really short season; starting today coast-to-coast?

hahah! I left myself logged in at Myrna's when I left for Kitcheroo. That was my mum posting!

[Sunshine]

I 'personally' find the western hemipheres quest for 'The perfect lawngrass' to be one of the all time most embarressing moments in humananity...well that along with the SUV....okay hmm guess I could add alot more to that list...but the perfect lawn grass is certainly on my list of embarressing human moments.

It's important to keep strong healthy turf.

Simply by applying basic cultural practices will help keep Healthy turf.

(watering 3 times a week for approx 25 mins, keeping the lawn mower at 2.5 / 3 inches, aerating and overseeding)

Do you realize why it's important to keep a healthy lawn?

* Front lawns of just eight average houses have the cooling effect of about 70 tons of air conditioning, while the average homesize central air unit has only a 3 to 4 ton capicity

* Turfgrasses trap much of an estimated 12 million tons of dust and dirt released annually into the atmosphere

* playing fields covered with dense turf have proven safer, as demonstated by a simple egg drop test. When a dozen raw eggs were dropped from a height of 11 feet onto a two-inch thick piece of dense turf, none broke; two thirds of them broke on this turf from the height; and from just 18 inches up, all broke on an all weather track!

*Healthy, dense lawns absorb rainfall six times more effectively than a wheat field and four times better then a hay field. Sodded lawns can absorb 10 to 12 times more water then seeded lawns, even after two years of growth, thus preventing run-off and erosion

* Recovery rates among hosptialized patients are often quicker when their rooms view a landscaped area than patients with non-landscaped views.

* with up to 90% of the weight of a grass plant in its roots, it makes a very efficient erosion prevention device, also remving soil particles from silty water.

*Turfgrasses help purify water entering underground aquifers by it's root mass and soil microbes acting as a filter to capture and breakdown many types of pollutants

* Grass areas quickly affect people's moods by creating feelings of serenity, privacy, thoughtfulness or happiness and it's yearly cycles of growth and colour change lift human spirits and link urban inhabitants with their countryside heritage.

* A turf area just 50ft by 50 ft absorbs carbon dioxide, ozone, hydrogen fluride and perosyacetyle nitrate and releases enough oxygen to meet the needs of a family of four. The grass and trees along the U.S interstate highway system release enough oxygen to support 22 million people.

Just some reason's why it's important to keep a healthy turf. And as I mentioned before, most companies are finding great organic products that are helping to minimize weeds and promote healthy growth.

[can-o-phish]

hahah! I left myself logged in at Myrna's when I left for Kitcheroo. That was my mum posting!

Ahhhh, so that's what that was all about...Look what I can do?? I used to have fun when Punk would leave himself logged in. Anyone remember the "Guess Punk's middle name and win his bass?" contest?

[Sarahbelle]

I heard that gentically modified corn pollen sticks to monach butterfly wings and kills them.. Plus, they are already endangered and delicate..

I don't know about other butterflies really.. but it really is sad that we hardly see them anymore. I concur with the fact that butterflies hang out more in the country than in the city.