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Monarchs aren't the only butterflies that need protecting

Arboretum event shows each species presents its own challenges for conservation
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On Jan. 12, at 7:30 p.m., Nature Guelph will host A Tale of Two Worlds: Conserving Migratory and Resident Butterflies, a presentation by Ryan Norris at the Arboretum Centre in Guelph.

Monarch populations continue to decline. But because they are so well known, conservation efforts to save the iconic butterfly are much more widespread than other, not so known, species.

Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Nature Guelph will host A Tale of Two Worlds: Conserving Migratory and Resident Butterflies, a presentation by Ryan Norris at the Arboretum Centre in Guelph.

According to Norris, a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, successful conservation of threatened species requires detailed knowledge of their ecology and life-history.

Norris says there is, perhaps, no greater contrast in life-histories than between migratory and resident species.

“There are many people working on monarchs to try to figure out their decline. People seem to have a pretty good idea about monarchs, but they have much less of an idea about other butterfly species,” Norris said.

“I think maybe people don’t think about different ways to try to conserve different species based on their life history, and what their ecology is. There can be radically different approaches, depending on the species, how far they move, and what kind of habitats they use.”

Norris will discuss efforts to conserve monarch butterflies.

The Monarch’s multigenerational migration is legendary, a journey of more than 2,000 miles, annually between their U.S. and Canadian breeding areas and overwintering sites in central Mexico.

In contrast, the Mottled Duskywing butterfly is a resident habitat specialist of tallgrass prairie and oak savannah, and travels no more than a maximum of 200 metres in its lifetime.

“They are two totally different worlds, and two butterfly species that are threatened in some way,” Norris said.

Norris has been working on the ecology and conservation of birds and butterflies for more than two decades and has published over 190 peer-reviewed articles.

In addition to his work on migratory and resident butterflies, he leads two long-term demographic studies on birds.  

“I started working on monarchs in 2010. For a long time, I have been working on migratory birds, the migration itself, and the decline of migratory birds,” Norris said.

“But that’s what drew me in to working with monarchs. And I had no previous experience with butterflies before that.”

Norris says some of the problems are similar, especially the challenge of tracking individuals across different periods of the year. In many ways, he says monarchs are more challenging to track than birds because of their very small size.

“About three years ago, I was approached to work on a collaboration on the mottled duskywing. It’s a very different species because it’s a resident butterfly and doesn’t travel anywhere. It breeds and over winter stays in the same spot,” Norris said.

Norris works in collaboration with various organization including the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory to conserve the Mottled Duskywing in southern Ontario.

“Even though they rely on milkweed to breed, monarchs are a generalist butterfly in terms of what they eat. And they travel long distances. The Mottled Duskywing is very local. Our focus is on the reintroduction of this butterfly to new habitats in southern Ontario,” he said.

Whether it be cooperation across international borders or restoration of an imperilled habitat, each species presents its own challenges for conservation. Conservation actions for each species have very different implications for both society and biodiversity.

“The ironic thing is that you can do things for monarchs even though they spend part of the time in Mexico. You can plant milkweed and flowers in your backyard. This will help monarchs,” Norris said. 

But ironically, Norris says, not much can be done for the Mottled Duskywing, even though they are local, but live in a specialized habitat.

“People can learn about their life histories,” Norris said.  

“This leads to very different ways to help conserve two very different species.”

People are invited to attend the presentation in person, or via Zoom. Preregistration is required.

Attendees are asked to wear tight-fitting masks to the in-person event. The presentation is free, but donations are welcome.

Nature Guelph is an active community of nature lovers connecting people with nature and inspiring them to celebrate and protect it.

The organization hosts monthly Speaker Series presentations, offers interest-specific programs for wildflower and bird lovers, leads outdoor events that celebrate our natural spaces, and offers educational and inspiring youth programs.

For more information, visit here.