Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy
People and Wildlife Living in Harmony

Butterfly Count
 
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“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly.”

- Richard Bach

 

Next Count:
August 2, 2008

 


 
About the Count:
The Loudoun County Annual Butterfly Count was started in 1997 under the stewardship of Bob Lyon, our local butterfly and moth expert. Data from our count is provided to the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) which stewards this nation-wide butterfly count each summer.

Butterflies are good indicators of habitat health because they need such a diversity of plants to develop and survive. Areas that are weedy and wild one year will show an abundance of species while a newly planted lawn or an area sprayed with pesticides will be a wasteland. Through conducting our counts we not only get to explore the fantastic world of butterflies up close, but also learn about this amazing web of life.

How it Works:
Beginner butterfliers are paired with experts (all ages and experience levels are welcome). Teams meet at a specified location at 9am and begin counting. Around noon, the teams take a break for lunch. This also allows people who need to leave to do so while others may join to continue counting through the afternoon. In the weeks following the count, we post our data here and send it to the NABA to be analyzed at regional and national levels.

Sign Up for our 12th Annual Butterfly Count, August 2, 2008:

Name:
Email:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Telephone:
Note: All of the above fields are required. We do not share email or address information with any organizations. This is for LWC purposes only so we can contact you if needed.

How long would you like to count?

Experience level:
Other Comments:
Note: A $3 fee is collected for adult count participants (over 18). This fee is passed through to NABA and helps offset their cost of preparing the database of sightings and the publication of their nation-wide annual butterfly report.The $3 participation fee for this count will be waived for members of Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy as a member benefit. If you're not already a member, this would be a great time to Join!
Please identify this picture:
cuckoo

What to Bring:

Need to Bring
Nice to Have

- Water
- Lunch
- Sunscreen

- Camera
- Binoculars
- Field Guide: "Butterflies Through Binoculars" by Jeffrey Glassberg
- LWC's "Butterflies of Loudoun" Checklist

 

The Count Circle:


Our count circle has a 7.5 mile radius that uses 77 ° 39’W 39 ° 12'N as the center point. Click on the image above for greater detail.

Going on a butterfly walk?

Use our checklist to keep track of what you see.

Click here for Useful Butterfly Books and Websites


View the Data:

Things You Can Do For Butterflies: