How you can help track butterflies
Outdoor enthusiasts 18 and older who are interested in becoming volunteer butterfly monitors are invited to attend a free workshop sponsored by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.
The workshop will meet from 9 a.m. until noon Saturday, May 5, in the boardroom at district headquarters, 3S580 Naperville Road, Wheaton.
Ecology coordinator Tom Velat will help participants discover what it takes to be a volunteer butterfly monitor, how to collect data using Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network standards, and how to identify the area's top 25 species.
The workshop will serve as a training session for beginners and a refresher course for returning volunteers. Because openings are limited, attending the workshop does not guarantee a monitoring route. Monitors do not need to be DuPage residents.
To register for the program or get more information, call (630) 206-9630 or email nrvolunteer@dupageforest.org. Interested candidates must fill out and submit a volunteer application form. Volunteers also must complete an Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network application.
Butterfly monitors help district ecologists assess butterfly populations and update preserve species lists. They perform several summer censuses in major habitats in designated preserves. Surveys generally take one to two hours to complete and are performed under favorable weather conditions between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. No prior knowledge of butterflies is necessary.
Monitors must commit to at least one breeding season, but ideally will observe a site for several years.