Butterfly watching is a
hobby
A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing ...
concerned with the observation and study of
butterflies
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises t ...
. It also includes the "catch and release" of butterflies. There are clubs, handbooks, checklists, and festivals devoted to the activity.
The
Canada Day and
Fourth of July
Independence Day ( colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United State ...
annual butterfly count, a census of species by butterfly watchers throughout
North America, is an example of
citizen science
Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes re ...
.
Equipment used
* Low-power
binoculars
Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes ( binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be hel ...
(7x35, for example), especially close-focus binoculars are helpful
* A butterfly field guide. Not all butterflies are readily identifiable from color photographs. The
skippers, for example, are best identified from set specimens.
* A camera (optional)
Locations
A person can watch butterflies almost everywhere but some well-known butterfly-watching areas include
Costa Rica, the
Amazon Basin
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Boli ...
, and
sub-Saharan Africa.
Counting butterflies
Projects i
Sweden th
United KingdomFinland
th
NetherlandsNorth America
and other countries provide a framework for reporting butterfly sightings in an attempt to understand the factors that threaten or favor European butterflies.
See also
* Butterfly gardening
Butterfly gardening is a way to create, improve, and maintain habitat for lepidopterans including butterflies, skippers, and moths. Butterflies have four distinct life stages—egg, larva, chrysalis, and adult. In order to support and sustain ...
* Butterfly field guides by region
* Lepidopterist
Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian.
Origins
Post- Renaissance, t ...
References
* D’Amico G., Groppali R. & D’Amico N., 2011. Farfalle diurne pronube e fioriture nettarifere: segnalazioni per la Val Padana interna e indicazioni di profilo conservazionistico (Lepidoptera Hesperioidea, Papilionoidea). Bollettino della Società entomologica Italiana, 143 (3): 111–136.
* Dunkle, S. W. (2000). ''Dragonflies through binoculars: a field guide to dragonflies of North America''. New York: Oxford University.
* Glassberg, J. (1993). ''Butterflies through binoculars: a field guide to butterflies in the Boston, New York, Washington region''. New York: Oxford University Press. (pbk)
* Glassberg, J. (1999). ''Butterflies through binoculars: the East''. New York: Oxford University Press.
* Glassberg, J. (2001). ''Butterflies through binoculars: the West : a field guide to the butterflies of western North America''. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press.
* Glassberg, J., Minno, M. C., & Calhoun, J. V. (2000). ''Butterflies through binoculars: Florida''. New York: Oxford University Press.
* Groppali R., D'Amico G. & Riccardi C. (2008). "Osservare gli insetti: farfalle e libellule del Parco Adda Sud. Atlante-guida per la fruizione della fauna minore nell'area protetta". Conoscere il Parco (Volume 6), Parco Adda Sud, Lodi, 206 pp. (http://www.parcoaddasud.it/tuttopubblicazioni.htm )
External links
eButterflyNorth American Butterfly Association (NABA)Butterflying to AmazoniaThe Lepidopterists' SocietyCarolina Butterfly SocietyMassachusetts Butterfly Club (chapter of NABA)The Mulberry Wing
- Field notes of the New York City and North Jersey Butterfly Clubs.
Butterfly Conservation
- The main UK organisation.
NABA South Texas, America's Butterfly Capital (chapter of NABA)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butterfly Watching
Watching
Observation hobbies
Lepidopterology