Kudos to JShuey and his Fritillaries
Kudos to JShuey and his Fritillaries
Hot in the mailbox, Lep Society News article by JShuey on the successes in restoration of Regal Fritillary populations in Indiana.
Well written in plain English, and in a humorous twist reveals their conundrums (I'm sure he doesn't think it's so funny.) A realistic look at science: how it sometimes works out, and sometimes not the way we intend. Good luck in the next 25 years!
I may try to make a special side-trip up that way, it would be pretty cool to see Speyeria idalia on the wing.
Well written in plain English, and in a humorous twist reveals their conundrums (I'm sure he doesn't think it's so funny.) A realistic look at science: how it sometimes works out, and sometimes not the way we intend. Good luck in the next 25 years!
I may try to make a special side-trip up that way, it would be pretty cool to see Speyeria idalia on the wing.
Re: Kudos to JShuey and his Fritillaries
Well - THANKS for the kind words. The restoration has been a part of my life for over 25 years - mostly vicariously. I supervise the project form afar. But I do get up there enough that I know what's up.
Regal frits are hard to miss in the area if you are ever on-site. And if you do drift this way - let me know as I'm always looking for an excuse to get out of the office. And if you wander back to to the other parts of the restoration - you will find some equally amazing bugs. Two-spotted and dion skippers love the sedge wetlands, Boloria selene is quite common in parts, aphrodite frits are in the savannas - and so on.
John
Regal frits are hard to miss in the area if you are ever on-site. And if you do drift this way - let me know as I'm always looking for an excuse to get out of the office. And if you wander back to to the other parts of the restoration - you will find some equally amazing bugs. Two-spotted and dion skippers love the sedge wetlands, Boloria selene is quite common in parts, aphrodite frits are in the savannas - and so on.
John
Re: Kudos to JShuey and his Fritillaries
I read it a couple times, picked up new details each time.
And questions. Your "wrong" violets that may be the host plant is not dissimilar to a question I've had: in my area, the adult Papilio glaucus feed primarily on two invasives (one at a time) and ignore native flowering plants. I wonder: do the non-native plants have more nutrients? Less? I contrast it the the horrible invasion of gobies in Great Lakes; the fish people discovered that the brown trout were eating the gobies like popcorn- however, the gobies lacked some critical nutrient (iron? I don't recall) and were concerned what would happen to the health of the trout.
And questions. Your "wrong" violets that may be the host plant is not dissimilar to a question I've had: in my area, the adult Papilio glaucus feed primarily on two invasives (one at a time) and ignore native flowering plants. I wonder: do the non-native plants have more nutrients? Less? I contrast it the the horrible invasion of gobies in Great Lakes; the fish people discovered that the brown trout were eating the gobies like popcorn- however, the gobies lacked some critical nutrient (iron? I don't recall) and were concerned what would happen to the health of the trout.
Re: Kudos to JShuey and his Fritillaries
This reminds me of the day-flying moth Syntomeida epilaus. Flies from the deep South into South America, and as far as I know, the only known food plant is oleander. But oleander is a Mediterranean native, introduced to the US in the 1700's, I seem to recall reading. What was the original food plant for the moth? Why did it change?Chuck wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 11:22 pm I read it a couple times, picked up new details each time.
Your "wrong" violets that may be the host plant is not dissimilar to a question I've had: in my area, the adult Papilio glaucus feed primarily on two invasives (one at a time) and ignore native flowering plants. I wonder: do the non-native plants have more nutrients? Less?
Cheers,
jh
Re: Kudos to JShuey and his Fritillaries
John, that was an awesome article! I tore through it when I saw it in the LepSoc news. Thanks!
For those that missed it, John also has a great YouTube with some lovely Regal video describing one of the Regal sites. It's mesmerizing.
Eric
For those that missed it, John also has a great YouTube with some lovely Regal video describing one of the Regal sites. It's mesmerizing.
Eric
Re: Kudos to JShuey and his Fritillaries
So good to see Regal Fritillary thriving in Indiana. I visited Danny Burke in South Bend in 2016. Sadly we lost Danny to a brain tumour in 2020.
Danny took me to see where Regal Fritillary flew in his childhood. No Frits but a big flock of Wild Turkey with a single Cayote eyeing them up for lunch. Exciting for me as a Brit to see that.
Later the same week I visited some restored prairie in Michigan. Amazing to see. Glad its paying off.Congrats to John & everyone involved
Danny would be so pleased.
Danny took me to see where Regal Fritillary flew in his childhood. No Frits but a big flock of Wild Turkey with a single Cayote eyeing them up for lunch. Exciting for me as a Brit to see that.
Later the same week I visited some restored prairie in Michigan. Amazing to see. Glad its paying off.Congrats to John & everyone involved
Danny would be so pleased.
Create an account or sign in to join the discussion
You need to be a member in order to post a reply
Create an account
Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute