By Emma Bouthillette
Staff Writer


Chasing after butterflies fluttering through fields became more than a childhood pastime as the York County Audubon Society met May 20 to learn about the Maine Butterfly Survey at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm. 
With spring in full force and summer around the corner, butterfly sightings have become more frequent throughout Maine.
 “We don’t just do birds. There is a wide variety of wildlife that pertains to what we do,” Audubon President Bridget Coullon said. 
For this reason, the society invited Herb Wilson, one of the founding members of the five-year Maine Butterfly Survey, as its guest speaker. With an estimated 117 species of butterflies found in Maine, the purpose of the survey is to document the insects’ diversity. Now in its second year, the survey has found three species new to the southern Maine area.
“These species included the dusted skipper, Indian skipper and the frigga fritillary. We will begin seeing more species enter Maine due to global warming,” Wilson said. “Our basic goal is to get as clear a picture as possible of the distribution of butterflies across the state of Maine. We are mapping distribution on the township level so there are many townships to sample. In the last two years, we will concentrate on less thoroughly collected areas of Maine.”
During the presentation, Wilson shared photos of Maine’s butterflies in all stages of life. Butterflies are a member of the order Lepidoptera, which roughly comes from Latin words meaning scales and wings.
“Butterflies are the only insect that have scales,” Wilson said.
Butterfly scales contain pigment, which in combination with light refraction gives butterflies their colors. Another feature that is used to distinguish a butterfly from a moth is the shape of its antenna.
“It is a rule in butterflies that their antennae are club shaped. There is a slight swelling at the tip while a moth’s antennae are straight,” said Wilson.
Wilson, a South China resident and Colby College biology professor, said he has been interested in butterflies since he was a child. Realizing he didn’t know a lot about the insect, he began researching, and as he did, he found others were interested in documenting butterflies as well.
Along with Phillip deMaynadier from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, entomologist Reggie Webster and Ron Butler, a University of Maine Farmington ecology professor, Wilson launched the survey in 2007.
“We didn’t really have a good checklist of butterflies in Maine. We went to museums. We looked at private collections. We combed the literature. From that we created a baseline atlas and said this is what we think we know,” deMaynadier said.
In order to expedite the process of identifying butterflies throughout the state, the group decided to recruit volunteers. Currently, the survey is comprised of 82 volunteers collecting specimens for identification.
“I didn’t know so much about butterflies. My interest is in the continuity between family and orders. It is just fascinating,” said Lyman Page of Kennebunkport, referring to the scientific classification for living things.
Members of the York County Audubon Society had many follow up questions. One member asked the geographic range that a butterfly covers. Another asked about a butterfly’s life span.
“Most butterflies live within a range of 300 yards, but some migrate across country. In the adult stage, butterflies live anywhere from two weeks to one month,” Wilson said.
Audubon members were interested in how to get involved with the Maine Butterfly Survey. A training session is scheduled for Saturday, June 21 at Colby College.
Volunteers are asked to assist in collecting vouchers, either preserved specimens or photos of live butterflies.
“Volunteers are the front end effort,” deMaynadier said.
For more information on the Maine Butterfly Survey, visit mbs.umf.maine.edu. For more information on the York County Audubon Society, visit www.yorkcountyaudubon.org.