State Butterfly

[Tomb...@aol.com]

Hi Folks:

 

     At our  meeting , last October I stated my choice for the state butterfly was the MOURNING CLOAK.

It can be found from the top of Mt. Greylock, across our great state to the Islands off Cape Cod.   Usually our first butterfly to be flying in the Spring and one of the last to be flying in the Fall.   It usually can be found, just walking on a dirt road or flying across your back yard.   I think it is fairly easy to ID.  

 

     My second choice would be the Eastern Comma.  

 

     I have to say that having the four garden plots at the Northampton Community Gardens, I have seen a number of people there seeing Great Spangled Fritillaries in my plots and thinking that they were Monarchs. 

 

     Just because the state of Montana has already chosen the Mourning Cloak as their state butterfly, that does not mean we could not choose it also.

 

Tom Gagnon, Vice-president West, Florence, Massachusetts     

[Tom Murray]

This is a great idea, and it falls nicely on the club's 25th anniversary.

So far the candidates are:

Great Spangled Fritillary

Mourning Cloak

Eastern Comma

American Copper

Early Hairstreak

Red-spotted Admiral

Monarch

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Silver-spotted Skipper

Harvester

That's 10 species, probably more than enough to choose from and the first 2 seem to be the front runners.

Tom Murray

Groton, Ma.

[bil...@aol.com]

I am going to keep repeating my hopes about this:  I don't think it's up to the Mass Butterfly Club, or masslep, to actually pick the state butterfly.  My wish would be for us, or some group(s), to come up with a short list of candidates that would then be voted on by the people of Massachusetts, ideally the school kids.  I don't know how to make that happen, however--but it would be great if other folks do.

Thanks!
Bill Benner
bil...@aol.com

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[lucym...@comcast.net]

Several people have suggested getting school kids involved in voting for the state butterfly. I am not a teacher, but since we have a list of candidates, I think that now would be a good time to introduce this idea to schools, so blocks of time could be set aside in February, to learn about butterflies, in time for butterfly season. Personally, my vote goes to the Mourning Cloak, based on seeing them for the first time at Signal Hill in Canton last year, swooping all around me. I was delighted! April is not that far away.

Lucy Merrill-Hills

Roslindale, Ma

---

From: "billb55 via MassLep" <mas...@googlegroups.com>
To: mas...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sunday, January 31, 2016 9:13:57 PM
Subject: Re: [MassLep] re: State Butterfly

[Sheila Parks]

I thinkfeel having a state butterfly is a great idea, for all the reasons mentioned, and I hope the group moves on this

Thanks

Sheila

Sheila Parks,Ed.D.
Founder, On Behalf of Planet Earth
617 744 6020

[Cloutier]

If we want schools (scouts, home-schoolers) to participate it would be good to have an info packet with linked to our MBC website. 

If a few butterfly species fact sheets were included (Mourning Cloak, Great Spangled...), the students could create fact sheets for their won nomination and there could be school/district wide shows/conventions (at libraries for a more open show that could include folks not in school).

Winners from the districts/towns could be posted on our website and then our website could host a final a vote (in November?)... 

The State-wide winner could then be sent to legislators with a summary of the process and some teachers... 

If science department heads/superintendents/principals were contacted via their MA professional groups they might distribute information and packages downloaded from our website. 

Who knows? It might work.

[Cloutier]

Folks, as I suggested at the beginning of the month, if we want schools (scouts, home-schoolers) to participate it would be good to have an info packet linked to our MBC website.

If a few butterfly species fact sheets were included (Mourning Cloak, Great Spangled...), the students could create fact sheets for their nomination and there could be school/district wide shows/conventions (at libraries for a more open show that could include folks not in school).

The voting could be done online.

Winners from the districts/towns could be posted on our website and then our website could host a final a vote (in November?)...

The State-wide winner could then be sent to legislators with a summary of the process and some selected classes could with their teachers... whatever...

If science department heads/superintendents/principals were contacted via their MA professional groups they might distribute information and packages downloaded from our website.

Who knows? It might work.

Sue Cloutier, New Salem

[madeline...@verizon.net]

I had e-mailed previously that a Girl Scout troop was working on a project to name a state butterfly.   I was not at all involved in the project.  I sent an e-mail asking the status of the project on 1/31, then sent another e-mail yesterday and got the response that the request had been given to their State Representative who is filing the bill.  I am contacting the State Rep by phone and e-mail to see what is the status of his filing,  also asking about the process to see if this filing is a final step. 

 

Madeline Champagne

[Karl Barry]

Hi All,
I thought I'd let you know what can be done on the MBC website and what cannot.
I can easily add a new page for the State Butterfly stuff.  I can have fact sheets if someone creates them and sends them to me.  I can post whatever information we want on that page including the final results.
What I can't do is host a vote.  The MBC website is hosted by NABA on their server and the security settings do not allow table updates so I can't tally counts.  Maybe we could use Survey Monkey or Facebook which I could link to but someone would have to set that up.
Karl Barry
MBC Webmaster

[bil...@aol.com]

Thanks Madeline.  This is very helpful--there's not much point in us spinning our wheels if the process is already too far along in another direction.  Thanks!
Bill Benner
West Whately, MA
bil...@aol.com

[fsm...@aol.com]

Folks,

I have been following all the correspondence with interest. If a girl scout troop is making the recommendation, I am predicting their selection will be Monarch. I am likewise predicting that the second graders in the state would choose Monarch. In fact, if this is to be popularity contest by the [for the most part] uninitiated, I think that choice is inevitable. Nothing wrong with that really, except that it makes the whole process a whole lot less interesting. 

In fact, the Monarch needs all the help that can be mustered. In addition, our legislators are much more likely to listen to a broader segment of the voting public. [The kids can't vote, but their parents can.]

Cheers,

Frank

-----Original Message-----
From: billb55 via MassLep <mas...@googlegroups.com>

[donald adams]

All:

 

Once again, I agree with Frank: any ‘statewide voting’ on this issue will yield the Monarch for our State butterfly and that this is simply something we’d have to accept. In my view this would be, if less interesting, at least not the worst of choices.  It’s also now apparent that there’s already action in-the-works on this so I also agree with Bill/Madeline that the club should focus on simply making our best recommendation, and to this end, I agree with Sue that a Club info packet would be a good way to facilitate this.

 

If hands-on-factors such as raise-and-release are weighed-in on this to help for educational purposes, I’m concerned however that a number of ‘popular’ suggestions so far get bad scores and I include here a [admittedly very short] list of a few examples based on my raising experience of 60 years. Score 1-10 with 10 best.

 

Monarch              10

Black swt             9             (Points on this already have been made)

Mourning cloak 3             (Egg/cat finds too unpredictable most seasons)

Red Sptd Purp     3             (Egg/cat finds too unpredictable most seasons)

Spicebush swt     6             (Hostplants an issue but cats usually easy to find if on hand)

G S Frit                 0             (Eggs/cats almost impossible to locate)

 

 

Don Adams

[Bruce deGraaf]

All

Statewide voting would only yield Monarch only if Monarch is on the ballot. I think the MBC should chose the candidates for which that people/students will vote. There should be a list of traits to qualify a butterfly for consideration. Some could be required traits and others traits could be incorporated into a scoring system. I recommend that two traits be required 1) no other state has already selected the butterfly, 2) the butterfly overwinters in the state as an egg, larva, pupa, or adult. These criteria would eliminate Monarch, Mourning Cloak and Black Swallowtail from consideration.

Other criteria for consideration and scoring but not for disqualification would be 3) statewide distribution, 4) ease of identification, 4) accessibility (is it easy or hard to find due to habitat), 5) ability to be raised in captivity (many schools already do this for certain butterflies, e.g. in Shrewsbury they have raised both Monarchs and American Lady from caterpillars), 6) appeal/attractiveness plus any others club member think are important.

I think that at most 4 butterflies should be on the ballot. Offering 2 would allow the majority to chose. Any other method would likely result in the majority losing their choice. A vote that involves each voter choosing their candidates in order of preference might be better than casting a single vote.

The MBC would select the finalists and provide fact sheets for each candidate butterfly, including common name, scientific name, flight dates, overwintering method, interesting  facts, photos/artwork, etc.

Of course before proceeding, we really need to find out if the Girl Scouts have already selected a butterfly and if the legislature is set to vote on it.

Bruce deGraaf
Shrewsbury, MA

[donald adams]

All;

 

OK, I see some good ideas surfacing here. Bruce makes an excellent point that the raise-release attribute is already being served by the Monarch, Pl, and [I would have added to this list] Sats, so perhaps it doesn’t need to be applied, with great rigor at least, to the State butterfly choice.  However, unless I’ve missed something, Bruce’s idea needs more detail on exactly how the Club would ‘take command’ of the balloting process if others are already involved with different ideas about what can be left off??

 

Don Adams

[Sean Mullen]

Red-spotted Admiral!!!

[madeline...@verizon.net]

 Hi All,

 

I heard back from the Norfolk Rep that the Girl Scout Troop bill has been filed and is with house counsel, so hasn't be put in the system yet. so that is why it didn't show up.  I get short answers back from my e-mails so I don't have a feel for the process and don't know if being with house counsel means that it is a done deal.  Nancy, since you've been in closer contact with Rep Donahue perhaps you could ask him if the Girl Scout Troop bill, being in house counsel means that it is going to go forward and become official.

 

Madeline Champagne

 

 

On 02/11/16, Bill + Nancy Callahan<wpc...@gmail.com> wrote:

 

Greetings,

I spoke with Worcester State Rep Dan Donahue this morning and he said there is no bill currently filed. I was working with his former aid last fall when I started to explore this process. He is very interested in working with us to file a bill. We dragged our heels a bit so it is getting late for this session

My hope would be for a summer campaign with the field narrowed to three or four candidates. A facebook page, ballot boxes with poster at the Audubon Sanc.,Trustees and possibly Project Native for visitors to vote. Ask NEPR for some coverage then announce the winner at the Butterfly Festival and file the bill early next January.  

If the Girl Scouts get there first, good for them. 

Nancy

[Bill + Nancy Callahan]

Madeline,

I will contact him on Tuesday. 

Thank you,

Nancy