July 2010 Atalas are back!

The atalas appeared at some locations in June right on "schedule", but they haven't appeared yet at other places where they have been stable for years. Reports are positive for Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Deerfield Beach, Plantation home sites, Tree Tops County Park, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens and Crandon Park. They are negative for more sites than they are active this month, but the important thing is that they are back. This is a photo I took at Nova Southeastern University.

If you have a colony or wish to establish a colony, please feel free to contact me. Sooner or later, the hope is that the active colonies will be irrupting and will be 'volunteered' to participate in 'assisted re-location' to a new site....maybe yours! The

good news is that the host plants, coontie, are flourishing with bright green new growth.

Many friends met at Fern Forest Park on Saturday afternoon, June 26, 2010, to pay homage to the extraordinary life of Walter Johnston, who passed away in early June. He will be very missed by all of us: Master Gardeners, NABA members, American Orchid Society members, garden clubs, NatureScape people, the IFAS extension office, and National Wildlife Federation Habitat Stewards, as well as many others. Walter was an exemplar for environmental stewardship, butterfly gardening and just a wonderful, loving humane being. He is survived by his wife Mona, who has sent many of the photos that you have seen on this blog, including the "Butterfly Oracle 2010" posted in January. We feel that the Monarch Oracle was telling Walter that his transition was going toward a more spectacular future in another realm. He will be greatly missed, but we're sure that he's on to bigger and better projects.

The July Butterfly Count for the Broward County Butterfly Chapter (BCBC) of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) will be taking place in the North Circle on July 17th, 2010. We can always use extra help covering the areas. You can sign up at BCBC's website, or contact Barbara DeWitt (badewitt at comcast dot net) for Hugh Taylor Birch; Sandy Fernandes (sanav at comcast dot net) for Hillsboro Pinelands; Nancy Johns (blacktail07 at yahoo dot com) or myself (sandykoi2009 at gmail dot com) for Crystal Lake Preserve counts.

There is a $3 fee to participate, which supports national NABA; children are welcome~they often see things we adults miss! If you live by Tamarind Village, contact Mona Johnston (12banger at bellsouth dot net).

If you've never been to Hillsboro, here are some photos of what you've been missing. Although it is mostly pinelands, there are hammocks as well, and this little tree-lined lake in the north section is where you could see the Ruddy Daggerwing butterfly.

This gorgeous flower is called Feay's Palafox (Palafoxia feayi).

At Crystal Lake Preserve, a scrub ecosystem, you can see plant rarities such as Tallowwood, also known as Hog Plum (Ximenia americana), the delicate little yellow flowers of this Narrowleaf Silkgrass (Pityopsis graminfolia), and Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) with its beautiful pink inflorescence.

You just gotta love pink grass!

You can also participate as a 'garden watcher' if your garden is located within the count area! All you have to do is note the butterflies in your garden, the length of time you observed, have the GPS location of your home, and let one of us know what you saw. It's very easy. The North Circle count area can be found on BCBC's webpage. Garden watchers must also donate the $3 participant fee and the data is equally important because it allows scientists to locate the range of a species more precisely.

And sometimes, you may see a rare one, such as this Goatleaf Leafwing, taken by the late David Lysinger from the Miami Blue NABA Chapter.

On that note, please come to the next Broward County NABA meeting on August 12, 2010, at the Broward County IFAS Extension office located at 3245 College Avenue in Davie. The meeting will start at 7 PM, but come early for friendly conversation and a look at the plant raffle. It is always possible to find rare native butterfly plants and the price is right! I'll be presenting a PowerPoint titled "Endangered, Threatened, Vulnerable and Imperiled Butterflies: Citizen Science needs YOU!"

Learn how you can participate in some vitally important Citizen Science projects for Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) and the Imperiled Butterfly Working Group (IBWG). The Florida State-run organizations have the difficult job of tracking some extremely rare biota. FNAI tracks plants, animals, insects and even ecosystems. IBWG tracks imperiled butterflies. Both are tracking the atala, by the way, as well as other uncommon butterflies such as the Florida White. My friend Paola Hernandez took this photo at Castellow Hammock.

Come to the meeting to learn how to document the butterflies that are being tracked, where to look for them, and what to do when you find them. FNAI even has some perks, such as travel reimbursement, for serious watchers.

I will be leading a "Walk on the Wild Side" at John Williams Park, Sheridan Oak Forest, in Hollywood (6101 Sheridan Avenue, just west of St Rd 441), on July 5, 2010 from 9 AM to noon. This is one of the areas that FNAI would like more butterfly data about. I've documented 17 species of butterflies at the park, and one Io Moth, but more eyes means more sightings. If you'd like to help pull exotics in this "balmy" summer air, bring water, gloves and a trowel, too, for some work time. This is me explaining how important the Sabal Palmetto, our State Tree, was to our first inhabitants and early settlers.

Nova Southeastern University held an interesting in-depth seminar and public discussion about the Deepwater Horizon oil leak on June 16, 2010. You can find articles from most of the speakers and some videos of the lectures on the Nova website. The program helped participants understand the many aspects involved in the leak, the clean-up efforts, and our dependency on oil, for practically everything, not just your car!

You can also download a paper prepared by Robert Jarvis, Professor of Law at Shepard Broad Law Center, about the complex legalities surrounding the disaster. I found his information helpful in comprehending why President Obama (or anyone else) can't just 'crack the whip', so to speak, to get efforts moving along more quickly, as well as the complications surrounding the accountability of BP (or someone) for the massive impact on people and animals, economies and eco-systems.

You can also find the latest information on oiled birds being reported, including here on the eastern Florida coast, at Cornell's eBird site. Yet another example of how important Citizen Science is!

For another look at "Hands Across the Sands" last weekend, take a look at my friend Roberta Shaw's webpages, CritterTales! This wonderful site has pages of activities for kids (some of which I helped produce back 'in the day'), as well as Roberta's incredible photography of wildlife. Check out the "Walking the Ridge" pages, too, for stories about the Ridge Forest Preserve, located on the back side of Tree Tops Park in Davie. There is even a page with free wallpaper downloads of her beautiful photographs for your computer.

Although I don't usually promote my art on this blog, I would like to let you know that I am selling a unique silver pendant that I designed and silversmith friend Fran Davis produced. The Hebrew calligraphy around the perimeter of the pendant is the word "Shalom," which means 'peace' and 'wholeness.' The four Shaloms that circle the center represent the four corners of the earth. The Sanskrit word in the center is "Om," said to embody the Creation of the World. The "Om Shalom" pendant is a visual prayer for peace and wholeness encircling the world.

The pendants are $38 each, plus $2 shipping and handling. It is available in a domed or flat design (flat is shown here because it reproduces better in a photograph). The pendant is .925 g of Sterling Silver and 25mm (0.98 ") in diameter. Necklace cord is not included so that you can choose your own style. Call or email to order (954-449-5428 or sandykoi2009 at gmail dot com.)

Remember to keep Gaia-Earth in your prayers and meditations! Wishing you all a Sweet Summer Solstice & Shalom!

April News~Challenges and New Hope, always!

As some of you know, Life has been one challenge after another for the past year (for me and our favorite hairstreak!) I won't burden my friendly readers with the gory details, but after moving three time last year, my new house in Sarasota was robbed in February, shortly after relocating again. They took many items, including my computer. I had learned a serious lesson when this happened to a friend a few years ago, so I had moved the six years of atala data, thousands of photographs, finished papers, journal articles, etc., to an external hard drive. By the grace of G-d, the thieves left the external hard drive behind (although they took EVERY cable and all the other accoutrements of my computer).

They also missed my camera, but because they took the cable, that has been another glitch in trying to normalize Life to some extent. I am just about over the recovery mode, and received much needed support in many forms from friends, both at home in Lauderdale, and here on the West Coast. Although I am trying to get the hang of living here, my heart is yearning to come home.....

In the meantime, though, I have done several programs at John Williams Park in Hollywood this year. In February, we had a few attendees for Audubon's "Great Backyard Bird Count" but it was not well attended for the non-native plant removal in the afternoon. Nonetheless, I gathered a few overloaded bags myself, especially the ubiquitous Caesar's Weed. In March, we had over twenty students from Hollywood Hills High School's Eco-Krew on hand again, and they collected many more bags of Caesar's Weed and Air Potato. They also managed to rip out and annihilate two medium sized Brazilian Pepper trees that I have been hankering to destroy for several years (but had no tools with which to do so).

Leave it to a handful of strong, young, determined students to figure out an alternative method: climbers broke the branches one by one, and another student, who lived nearby, ran home to 'borrow' his father's machete! The City will be treating whatever remains of the roots. These two trees were virtually the only mature Brazilian Peppers in the park, so removing them will go a long way in preventing further infestation of this invasive tree. After a day's hard work, we enjoyed a picnic lunch and "S'mores" on the grill!

I also had the delight of leading a tour through Sheridan Oak Forest for twenty-six Boy Scouts who were camping in John Williams for the weekend. They liked it so much that asked Jack Mathison, who is the Assistant Director of the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department for the City of Hollywood, and who happened to stop in for a visit, if they could do it again...
Fortunately, he said YES! So we have set up several more dates for the summer.

Miami Country Day School also asked me to lead a tour through Everglades National Park in February; this is the fourth or fifth trip we've taken together. Although the first day was quite cold and rainy, the kids had a good time and got to see lots of wildilfe and birds. One the second day, they actually witnessed an alligator in the process of processing an anhinga! Poor bird, happy gator. The children were both awed and a little frightened by the spectacle and they certainly acquired a true respect for the most important predator in the 'Glades. Alligators can move surprisingly fast when they are hungry, as many unfortunate animals (including people) have discovered.

I also got to take an excited group of Spring Campers from the City of Hollywood's program to Sheridan Oak Forest this month, too. We didn't see alligators, but we did see a lot of birds and butterflies. The "forest" is a very exciting place for children who have seldom seen such a sight!

On the lighter side, the little Florida house that I am renting in Sarasota has the ever-present-on-the-west-coast citrus trees in the back yard. It has a tangerine tree and a beautiful, sweet ruby-red grapefruit tree. I have been enjoying the grapefruits since moving in, but the tangerines were extremely bitter. West-coast denizens told me that the fruit would get sweeter after a cold front. We have had, as you know, numerous [unpleasant] cold fronts on this side (and I know the east coast has been reeling from the cold, too!)

After the last cold wave, I went out to the grapefruit tree to gather a few for juice, and was surprised to see many of them on the ground partially or completely eaten by wildlife (either by the neighborhood squirrels, or the opposums that I see in the evening). I chuckled to myself, thinking that those tangerines must really be bitter, if the wildlife is choosing a grapefruit over a tangerine!

Then I noticed scores of empty tangerine skins on the ground underneath the tangerine tree; curious, I decided to pluck a tangerine to test the local hypothesis that cold makes them sweeter.

Imagine my surprise to when I tried to find a tangerine ON the tree! Empty fruit shells were clustered on every branch, the insides munched in situ. I did manage to find six untouched tangerines, and they were sweet indeed! I ate them all. SO I am passing along this bit of naturalist-type information: citrus does get sweeter after a cold front. There are still plenty of grapefruits for me and the wildilfe, so I do not feel guilty for eating the last six tangerines.

On the heavier side, now: a very disturbing event has occurred at Nova Southeastern University. As you know from previous posts, the atala butterflies self-established in the "Mesozoic Garden" two years ago. There was plenty of coontie for the caterpillars, lots of nectar for the adults, and sufficient roosting sites to keep the colony happy. We planted more coontie and more nectar sources a year ago.

The other half of the garden is maintained by the Pharmacy School and is referred to as the "Medicinal Garden." It used to have plenty of nectar and roosting sites for the atala and other butterflies. However, someone at the school authorized the complete removal of the flowers, and roosting shrubs, replacing the 'jungle' with a series of mostly invasive, non-native plants offering little nectar or unusable nectar, and no roosting sites.

The plant at the left is Sansevieria hyacinthoides, one of several species. Organizations pay THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS and volunteers spend THOUSANDS OF HOURS removing this Category II invasive from Florida Natural Areas and Parks (I know, I am one of them!) It is listed as a plant to avoid by the Institute for Food and Agricultural Services (IFAS, associated with the Extension Office of the University of Florida). In addition, Broward County has listed this plant as a B1, with a strong advisement to avoid planting it. Treatment priority calls for "Immediate REMOVAL."

I would venture that someone did not do intensive research before choosing the plants; one plant, now only a few inches high, will grow to be "3 feet wide and 6 feet tall", and is used as a marijuana substitute, with hallucenogenic attributes. I do have to question by whose authority that one was chosen!

FLEPPC is a state-wide organization which monitors the invasive status of non-native plants. It doesn't promote ONLY native plants; many non-native plants are 'well-behaved' and stay where they are planted. However, it does provide a very extensive list of invasive plants that they advise strongly against using because they are considered highly disruptive to natural eco-systems. NSU has planted quite a few of them, in addition to planting a few with undesirable side-effects!

I understand that this is meant to be medicinal garden, but there are literally hundreds of native Florida plants with medicinal attributes from which to choose. Not only are there medicinal uses, the native plants proffer important nectar sources for the atala, which are considered an "Imperiled Species" by the Imperiled Butterfly Working Group .

It is my opinion, and that of many others who now wish the jungle was back, that the new replacement garden is simply unattractive and sterile, as well as toxic, non-native, and invasive.



Another issue is that NSU landscape maintenance crews are the same group of general laborers hired by practically every place in Florida that has lawns, bushes and trees. These laborers are hard-workers, but often have no training for actually doing anything but hard labor (I have never seen work done by these guys that exhibits a properly trimmed tree, seen a bush that wasn't mutilated by dull blades!) The complaint here is primarily regarding the palm trees on campus.

Palm nectar is one of the most significant nectar sources for the atala (as well as many other insects and pollinators). The yard crew on campus continually chops down the inflorescences depriving the butterflies of much needed nectar. If the palm inflorescences were not cut until fruit began to form, it would be a major step in the right direction.

I encourage individuals and organizations to be aware of the multitude of factors that disrupt, or enhance, atala habitats and act accordingly in the best interest of the colony.

In that respect, I offer this list of hand-management for atala colonies:

1. Plant and maintain a minimum of twenty coontie (50-100 is better). Coontie care can be found on Tom Broome's Cycad Site. He has excellent articles about fertilizing, trimming. hand-pollination. root-division, and species types.

2. Use pine duff (shed pine needles) as mulch instead of wood shavings (Broome). One reason is because the pine mulch allows water to penetrate to the tap roots of the coontie. Pine duff
helps prevents fungus and mold development because it does harbor excessive moisture for long periods of time, and mimics the natural pineland of the coontie's original eco-system. The use of such dry, clean substrate in domestic or semi-wild populations also helps prevent fungus diseases which the larvae may contract when they crawl in the substrate.

3. Allow nectar sources to flourish without undue trimming by overly-enthusiastic lawn maiintenance crews (when trimmers 'square off' a shrub, they often destroy the flowers, and tear the stems, which opens the plant to diseases. Nature did not place any square-cut shrubs on the planet for a reason!)

4. Plant native Florida nectar sources as much as possible. The atala has a short proboscis and small flowers are preferred. My article, "Nectar sources for the Atala" is available for free from the Florida Entomologist.

5. Do not remove the blooms from palm trees until the flowers have been pollinated and fruit is beginning to form.

6. Plant native roosting tree, such as cypress, oaks, cedars and pines, such as you would find in a natural environment. Butterflies need shade and safe roosting sites as well as food sources.

7. Avoid pesticide use of any kind entirely. There are thousands of gallons, literally tons of pesticides already invading our soil, water, and even our homes. Remember that some fertilizers can be just as destructive to the environment.

At least one Fort Lauderdale site has announced atala activity this month. I am awaiting more good news from all of you!

On April 30-May 1, 2010, Biscayne National Park, on Biscayne Bay, and National Geographic will be hosting a BioBlitz---documenting every life form found at the park, from tube worms to birds, from river otters to sharks. I will be priviledged to partcipate with other Lepdioptera-loving scientists as we document butterflies, moths, and other insects. This is a magnificient opportunity for you to chip in your energy and skills to help (and learn) as a citizen science volunteer! Visit http://nps.gov/bisc/supportyourpark/bioblitz.htm to learn more about this exciting day!

I am looking forward to seeing you all soon! Next blog: WILDFLOWERS are EVERYWHERE!

2010 Butterfly Oracle

Much thanks to Mona and Walter Johnston, who have received GOOD NEWS for 2010 via the Butterfly Oracle!

They have informed me that the newly emerged Monarch male alighted on Walter and declared 2010 to be a good year for everyone, butterflies included.

I know our butterflies certainly could use some warmer weather (not to mention all the humans here in Florida...especially up here in Sarasota.) At least we still have double digits, friends!

The atala has suffered a severe crash this year, although the good news is that at least a few colonies survived well until late November. We will all be holding our breath until next spring and summer for these colonies. As I mentioned in the previous blog, this may well be part of a larger cycle that we don't recognize yet.

One of the colonies that I visited in November had several adults and numerous pupae and caterpillars and had been doing fine all summer (but NOT irrupting, either!)

Meanwhile, Dr Joshua Feingold purchased a lovely citrus tree this summer that arrived complete with a Giant Swallowtail larvae...despite cooler than normal temperatures, the butterfly emerged within ten days and Josh captured this beautiful close-up from a perspective most of us don't get to see often!

He also caught this view as the butterfly emerged:

Here on the frigid west coast of Central Florida (yeah, that's where Sarasota is located....), our oak hammocks have an outbreak of one of the nastiest little moth caterpillars you'll meet. It is the infamous "Southern Flannel Moth" (Lagoa crispata), sometimes called a "Puss Moth," because it is soft and fuzzy looking....but its sting is worse than a hornet!

I finally contacted the Audubon Society here on the west and attended the Regional Conservation Coalition meeting in Venice as well as the local meeting. It was great to be with birders (and some butterfly) people again. The west coast is a great place to visit for birds, butterflies and general wildlife and I am hoping to take some field trips this coming year.

NABA meets during the day, unfortunately, so I have not yet met with them, although I have spoken to members. Being in a "almost-retirement commmuity" like this has some true downers, and this is one of them! The "tourist season," which we know so well in Lauderdale and Miami, has quite different demographics over here! Tourists here are older, and stay for six or seven months. On the east coast, our tourists are generally younger, staying for a week to ten days in hotels...and instead of frequenting the golf course, they seem to frequent the watering holes. (and no, I did not bother to look up the actual demographics! This is based on my humble observations, only.)

On a short personal note to my friends on the East Coast, I have moved from Bradenton to Sarasota, so I am closer to work and to a little more activity (that meant three moves in 2009....which was not fun.)

I will be in Lauderdale for the GREAT BACK YARD BIRD COUNT on February 13, 2010, John Williams Park, 6101 Sheridan Street, Hollywood, FL, from 9 AM to noon for birding. Anyone who wishes to help remove exotic invasive plants from 1-3 PM is welcome to join in. (Wear long sleeves and pants, bring gloves, gardening tools and water. HOPEFULLY you'll need sunscreen, too!) I look forward to seeing you!

STAY WARM! Blessings to all! Become part of the world-wide quest for sustainability, diversity and peace: link to the World Shift Network and The Club of Budapest, founded by Dr. Ervin Laszlo.

Atalas on NSU campus, October 2009

This gorgeous "freshly minted" atala was photographed by Dr. Joshua Feingold on the campus of Nova Southeastern University, where they self-established themselves a few years ago. It is exciting when we 'plant' a colony, but even more exciting when they arrive on their own to claim a perfect habitat! And the Mezozoic Cycad garden at NSU suits them just fine (if we could convince the PTB not to trim off the palm flowers until they have been pollinated!)

I want to let everyone know that Dr. Feingold will be presenting a free lecture on NSU campus on October 15, 2009, from 10 AM to 11:25 AM, called "Atala Butterflies on the NSU Campus".

The Lifelong Learning Institute, Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, at Nova Southeastern University is located at University Park Plaza, 3424 South University Drive, Davie, Florida 33328-2022. It is just south of Nova Southeastern University’s Health Professions Division. Enter at the Pier One entrance on University Drive and continue straight though the parking lot. Park in the area in front of the academic buildings.

The telephone: (954) 262-8471. Email: ilr@nsu.nova.edu Website: www.undergrad.nova.edu/lli

Don't miss this opportunity to see incredible photos of the atala, learn about their history on campus, and maybe catch a glimpse of those iridescent wings as they flutter by!

Atala days are coming to a slow period again, even though it seems that they just got started. I have been very lucky to have Marilyn Griffiths at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden send me atala population data almost every week for the past two years and I am in the process of compiling that information right now. The graphs are very interesting, and regardless of the slow start this year, the atala crash-irruption cycle is holding steady.

And I hope that I'll be seeing you in Hollywood at John Williams Park, Sheridan Oak Forest, on November 28th from 9 AM to noon for a bird & butterfly "Walk on the Wild Side" nature walk! I'll be back again on December 27, same time, same place. This walk is in the middle of the "Christmas Bird Count," which Audubon has been doing for over 100 years....you can track the bird counts across the nation, and plug into a fantastic historical archive while helping scientists monitor bird populations.

We have two more walks scheduled in 2010, so keep your calendars out for more adventure-to-come.

February 13, 2010, we'll be birding in earnest for the Great Backyard Bird Count with Broward Audubon and friends, and posting our results on Cornell University's BirdSource afterwards. YOU can help out with this simple Citizen Science project from your own back yard, too! Just log on to eBird and check it out.

On March 6, 2010, we should be seeing some robins and other early migrants as they make their way northward for breeding season. The butterflies will be enjoying the new spring growth and blooming wildflowers resplendent in Sheridan Oak Forest, too.

Remember to check the North American Butterfly Association website for local happenings in Broward as well! There are great speakers every month, plants for your garden, and lots of community.

http://www.childrenandnature.org/blog/ is a wonderful blog abut introducing kids to nature and a great resource for teachers and parents.

See you soon! Happy Full Moon and Simchat Torah :-)

January 2009

I am excited to be starting in Manatee County by the end of January. This is a photo of one of the Preserves where I’ll be working, called Robinson Preserve. It even has a salt marsh, which is a quickly disappearing habitat in many locations in Florida. I'm looking forward to finding the Pygmy Blue butterfly, an imperiled species that uses salt marsh Glasswort as a host plant. I’ll be leading hiking, biking, canoeing, and kayaking tours, clearing out exotics, and planning and maintaining trails through the preserves. Hopefully, some of my east coast friends will be coming over to the left coast to enjoy this incredibly green environment!

A Monarch Butterfly story: The pots in which I chose to plant milkweed for the Monarchs and Queens were great aesthetically, but I discovered that they were dangerous for the butterflies! When the caterpillars climbed down to pupate, they chose the lower lip because they couldn’t go anywhere else….it seemed like a great thing (I could keep track of the pupae and count them as they emerged)….but when the butterflies emerged, they tried to climb up so their wings could dry, and then they slipped on the smooth curved lip and fell wings-down to the ground! I lost a few because they emerged when I was not here to rescue them and of course I felt terrible about that happening.

So to stop that from occurring again, as soon as I saw the cats wandering around the pots, I placed them inside my butterfly cage, where they crawled to the top and pupated safely. It seemed that the latest 'clutch' of Monarch caterpillars would be pupating while I was on the west coast, but perhaps because of the cold they all emerged safely after I came back home. This is a photo of 11 of the 28 pupae in the cage, and another of a newly emerged Monarch amid the yet-to-emerge brethern. I had a little Monarch production line going this month!

Art Constantino is plant-sitting my milkweed for a while; he’s also propagating via the defoliated stems and returning some to me once I get settled into my new place in Bradenton. Some of the new plants generated will be donated to NABA meetings or plant sales.

For those of you who don’t know, milkweed can be easily rooted in water and re-planted! This is what the defoliated stems look like after about a week in water…a whole new plant is created. I suspect that because the caterpillars cause complete destruction of the leaves, milkweed regenerates quickly!
The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) announces the release of its new butterfly gardening guide for south Florida. The south Florida garden guide promotes the use of regionally native plants when creating butterfly gardens. Information found in the south Florida garden guide encourages gardening practices that will increase the local population of butterflies while informing gardeners about the use of plants that promote healthy habitats. With the help of NABA members in south Florida, native butterfly garden plants are rated for their usefulness as nectar sources, caterpillar food sources, and overall garden worthiness. Future users of the south Florida garden guide can add to the knowledge base by submitting an online rating form for plants with which they have had experience. Check it out and give your feedback about the plants! It will help other gardeners choose plants for their gardens. Several of us in the Broward Chapter worked on this project, including myself and Art Constantino.

This is a photo of my great Broward County NABA butterfly friends at my "last" presentation on January 8. We had a super turn-out and everyone enjoyed the delicious cake after the meeting. Thanks to Art Constantino for remembering to bring a camera!

Friends Kimberly and Tim and I traveled to Big Cypress for a day last month, too. This is inside the Panther Refuge; we didn’t see the cat, but we did see his paw prints!

We also saw this little sign for a "Gopher Tortoise Crossing" at another site that may have been used for a field education game...the little grasshopper using the sign as a perch caught my eye.

Atalas are recovering slowly at some sites in Fort Lauderdale, but Miami-Dade is reporting very few eggs or larvae. But, at least one site in Miami-Dade has witnessed quite a few adults nectaring on Jack-in-the-Bush, sometimes called Frostweed (Chromolaena odorata). Caterpillars and eggs were not found, but this is evidence that the colonies will be recovering soon. Thanks to Rusty Pfost for the updates and photo.

The January 10, 2009 Exotic Plant Removal/Identification Workshop at John Williams Park/Sheridan Oak Forest was the last one that I will be leading, but volunteers Lisa Cook and her daughter Jessica will be leading monthly workshops until summer. This is a great opportunity to get community service hours and make a difference in this beautiful oak hammock. We saw this gorgeous Silver Argiope spider (Argiope argentata). She is another new species for the park! We had a very productive day with seven volunteers, including two friends (thanks, Marianna and Sheryl!) from the North American Butterfly Association. Keep a watch on the City of Hollywood’s website for news about future workshops. Once you come to a workshop, your email address will keep you informed about upcoming projects in the parks. And anyone who attends the exotic plant removal and identification workshops will receive a free Native/Non-Native identification booklet that I designed especially for John Williams Park.

"Today I have grown taller from walking with the the trees." --Karle Baker Wilson.