Loudoun Butterfly Count

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy People and Wildlife Living in Harmony

Annual Loudoun Butterfly Count

Citizen Science Environmental Monitoring

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

- Richard Bach

Next Count:
August 7, 2010

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 and the health of our environment 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 (a monoculture) 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 in nature.

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.

This is a fun and educational activity as we learn about, identify and count as many butterflies as we can find and collect data to support protection and restoration of our environment.

Names of Participants:
Email:
Address:
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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!

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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 Butterfly 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. Teams are assigned to sectors for the count.

Going on a butterfly walk?

Use our butterfly checklist to keep track of what you see. It includes all our Loudoun butterflies and the months that they can be seen.

Click here for Useful Butterfly Books, Field Guides and Websites

View the Butterfly Count Data:

Things You Can Do For Butterflies: