Annual National Butterfly Count in Albemarle County Charlottesville Crozet Virginia

Monarch on Milkweed

One of my favorite things to do is participate in the annual butterfly count. Around the same time each year, several teams scour Albemarle county in search of butterflies. Tallies are sent into the North American Butterfly Association that keeps track of sightings nationwide. Counts occur at different times nationally depending upon when sightings are most likely.

Sulphur Butterfly in a flower field

This year it's been reported that numbers are down and we did find this to be true. Some believe it is because of the multiple torrential Spring rains that we experienced. Others feel it might be from the late cold snap, the same one that wiped out my Peach and Plum blossoms leaving me fruitless this year.

Big eyed Robber Fly grabbed a Bee

Insects are a wonderful indicator species that can give us a heads up if something is off-kilter. Approximately 30 different butterfly species can be found in our area. It would be nearly impossible for all 30 to be accounted for during the annual count. We also track the number of individual butterflies in each species. The big numbers usually come in for Tiger Swallowtails but not this year. Other more rare species were even harder to find. Sadly no Zebra Swallowtails in my yard this year.

National numbers have been collected for 30 years. I'm glad someone is watching and I certainly have found it fascinating and educational. I've learned so much about nature from the counts. I always encounter some strange plant, tree, or insect leaving me inspired to continue searching for new critters while preserving native plantings in my own backyard. 

Tiger Swallowtail in Echinacea

~ Rebecca