Introducing the NH Indices to the Kaufman and Swift Field Guides

[George DeWolf]

Hi Everyone,

I had this epiphany a few weeks ago while perusing my Swift Guide to Butterflies of North America. I noticed that the inside back cover and its facing page are blank. I then pulled out my Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America—blank there as well. Hmm…that struck me as wasted space—and an opportunity.

It occurred to me that this would be a great place to attach a New Hampshire–specific index for each guide. For those of you who do most of your butterflying in the Granite State (and I know I’m not alone), this would provide a quicker way to find the species you’re looking for, help you focus on the butterflies you can realistically encounter in New Hampshire, and offer additional context—such as which species are rare, which have limited distributions (for example, mostly confined to the seacoast), and which have been added or have undergone splits, or name changes since the guides were published.

I’m thinking especially of the novice butterfly enthusiast. When you’re just getting started, it can be hard to know which of the several hundred species in these field guides you should be focusing on while exploring the meadows, fields, bogs, and forests of New Hampshire.

This exercise also gave me the opportunity to correct a few errors in the field guides, one in the Swift Guide and one in the Kaufman Guide. The index entries for the Monarch in the Swift Guide and the Broad-winged Skipper in the Kaufman Guide takes you to the wrong page for these species. 

So attached is what I’ve come up with. 

Some things to keep in mind:

• How to attach the index to your field guide: The intention is to attach these indices to the two blank pages just inside the field guide’s back cover. To begin, cut the index along the dashed line—taking care here will make the folding more accurate. Fold the cut piece in half; again, a bit of precision will help it fit neatly into your field guide. Because updates will be issued periodically, I recommend using a Scotch® repositionable (restickable) glue stick. First, apply the glue to the left inside back-cover page, align and attach the left side of the folded index, then apply glue to the inside back cover and fold the index over to attach it there. Of course, if you’d prefer to dispense with this step (perhaps a bit tedious for some), you can simply fold the index in half and insert it loosely in your field guide, knowing that you can always replace it later—should it be lost or overly tattered.
  
• Data source: All the data that supports the occurrence of these species was obtained completely by looking at research-grade observations in iNaturalist. So when you see the terms recorded and unrecorded they refer only to iNaturalist observations and do not reflect historical state records. 
  
• A note on the opportunistic nature of iNaturalist observations: The observations in iNaturalist are opportunistic, meaning they are made whenever and wherever the observer chooses to make them, rather than through any planned, systematic survey. Although they’re opportunistic, New Hampshire now has 40,000+ butterfly records, with skilled observers increasingly covering remote regions—providing an ever clearer picture of what flies where and when. I believe we now have sufficient data to better guide which species occur in the state, and to identify those with distinct regional affinities or notable regional absences. 
• A note on species with blue italicized comments: You’ll notice additional information beneath many of the species listings. This is where I note whether a species is rare, describe any distribution specifics, or flag recent changes in classification. You’ll also see a number of species without italicized text; these are species that are common and don’t have any particular regional affinity.
  
• Rare and Very rare: Admittedly, there is some subjectivity in how I’m using these terms, but for now you can interpret Rare to mean a species recorded 20 times or fewer on iNaturalist, and Very rare to mean a species recorded only once or twice. Also note that very rare species include the town and year of observation (e.g. Very rare; Concord ‘23). Over time, as observations accumulate, the numbers associated with these classifications will naturally increase.
  
• Species included and yet to be observed in New Hampshire: In the spirit of being comprehensive—and in the hope of encouraging the life listers among you—I’ve also included a few species that have not yet been recorded in New Hampshire on iNaturalist, but for which observation is plausible, particularly given that they have been documented in adjacent states. These species are the Silvery Checkerspot, Bog Elfin, Hoary Elfin, and West Virginia White.
  
• The intent of these indices is to be comprehensive, with one exception: Essentially, if a butterfly has been credibly observed in New Hampshire, I’ve included it here—even those recorded only once. That said, there is always the possibility that a butterfly could be artificially transported far from its typical range and subsequently observed here, or be so exceptionally rare that it will likely never be seen again in our lifetimes. If a butterfly has been observed only once in New Hampshire but has also been recorded elsewhere in the region—say, elsewhere in New England or nearby in Canada—I include it here. If not, as in the case of the Marine Blue observed in Hill in 2022, I do not.
  
• Updates: These indices contain information that will change over time. As the climate continues to shift, some species are expected to expand into the southern part of the state, while others may retreat northward and eventually disappear from New Hampshire altogether. You may have noticed that many of the range maps in the field guides no longer accurately represent the ranges of the species we see here in New Hampshire. Taxonomy, as you know, is also constantly evolving—species may be split into newly recognized species (as recently occurred with the Midsummer Tiger Swallowtail), and common names can change (as with the Sachem becoming the Huron Skipper). In addition, the regional distributions of many species are likely to shift. With this in mind, I will do my best to keep pace with these changes and provide updates as they occur.
  

For those of you who find these indices helpful, I’d appreciate being alerted to anything you find in error or confusing, and I also welcome suggestions. For readers from other New England states who might like to take on a similar project for their own state, I’d be happy to walk you through how I created these indices.

Thanks in advance for any support you can offer on this project. I hope you find it useful.

Best,

George

[George DeWolf]

Hello again Everyone,

I’ve had another of my Detective Columbo “oh, just one more thing” moments (if you’re under 60, feel free to ignore the ’70s TV reference). As often happens when I’m scrambling to get something ready for release, I realized—almost as soon as I sent out the original group post a few days ago—that I’d overlooked something I consider important.

It’s worth drawing at least some direct attention in these indices to the central role iNaturalist plays in this entire effort. In fact, these indices would be impossible to create without this phenomenal resource and without the collective efforts of people like you who take the time to post observations. You may already know that iNaturalist helps scientists track species distributions, phenology (the study of when natural events occur each year, such as when particular butterflies are on the wing), and the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. These indices are a concrete example of how citizen scientists like ourselves can use this data to help us see—and better understand—more of these gorgeous insects.

I also felt it was important, given that these indices will be periodically updated, to place the “Some things to keep in mind” information from my prior email into a companion document titled Using the NH-specific Indices to Field Guides. I’ve attached it here and will resend it with each update.

All the best, and once again, thank you for all your efforts in making iNaturalist such a robust and valuable resource.

George