BUTTERFLY INFORMATICS: THE USE OF NORTH AMERICAN MONITORING DATABASES FOR ANSWERING LARGE-SCALE ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY QUESTIONS IN BUTTERFLY BIOLOGY Leslie Ries ([e-mail])1 Karen Oberhauser2, Doug Taron3, Jeffrey Glassberg4, Jerome Wiedmann5

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BUTTERFLY INFORMATICS THE USE OF NORTH AMERICAN
MONITORING DATABASES FOR ANSWERING LARGE-SCALE
ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY QUESTIONS IN
BUTTERFLY BIOLOGYLeslie Ries (lries_at_umd.edu)1Kar
en Oberhauser2, Doug Taron3, Jeffrey Glassberg4,
Jerome Wiedmann5 1University of Maryland, Dept.
of Biology, College Park, MD, 2Monarch Larva
Monitoring Project, University of Minnesota,
Dept. of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation
Biology, St. Paul, MN, 3Illinois Butterfly
Monitoring Network, Chicago, IL, 4North American
Butterfly Association, Morristown, NJ, 5Ohio
Lepidopterists Long-term Butterfly Monitoring
Program
OVERVIEW Butterfly monitoring is one of the
most popular activities for citizen-scientists
and there are several monitoring programs in
North America, yet there has been little use of
these data to track population trends, responses
to climate change or to answer large-scale
ecological, evolutionary, or conservation
questions. There are many monitoring efforts
throughout North America, but the largest
projects are listed below.
The North American Butterfly Association
(NABA) Groups of volunteers count all butterflies
seen in one day within a 25km radius circle.
Over 6000 surveys have been conducted at 1000
sites since 1975 www.naba.org
(note Mexican counts are not shown)
The Monarch Larva Monitoring Project Groups of
volunteers survey milkweed plants and count all
monarch eggs and larvae found there. The program
began in 1997. www.mlmp.org
The Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network
Volunteers walk transects multiple times
throughout the year (since 87).
www.bfly.org
The Ohio Butterfly Monitoring Network Volunteers
walk transects multiple times throughout the year
(since 95). www.ohiolepidopterists.org
/bflymonitoring/
Consistency between data sources We have carried
out several comparisons to look at consistency of
trends between survey programs. When examining
similarities between IL, OH and NABA data,
relative abundances are very similar between
surveys (top panels) and year to year trends
are similar for the largest, most common and
easiest to identify butterflies (such as the
monarch, as shown below).
Comparisons of relative abundances for 49 common
species
Similarity in year-to-year abundances in monarchs
Note we have also compared monarch abundances
throughout the eastern U.S. There is a strong
relationship between the three surveys when
comparing adult emergence schedules as well as
year-to-year abundances and similar (but weaker)
congruence even with egg data.
ANALYSIS We have completed, have underway, or
plan several analyses to answer ecological,
evolutionary and conservation oriented questions.
Here is a sampling of some results
Testing predictions of climate models

The Biogeography of a mimicry complex Pipevine
swallowtails (Battus philenor) have many species
that mimic it, including the subspecies Limenitis
arthemis astyanax, whose sister sub-species, L.
a. arthemis, is not a mimic. Contrary to
long-held theory, our geographic analysis shows
that the mimicry complex is maintained even where
pipevines are extremely rare.
An ecophysiological model developed for the
Sachem butterfly (Atalopedes campestris)
predicted strict range limits. Atlas data (from
www.butterfliesand moths.org) matched predictions
in the western US, but not east of the Rockies
(see top panel). However, when compared with
NABAs abundance data (bottom panel), the model
predictions are shown to match closely throughout
most of the eastern US. This shows the danger in
niche modeling using presence/absence data.
Approximately 100km N of where pipevines drop to
zero, proportions of mimics relative to
non-mimics begins to fall.
model
non-mimic
mimic
This map shows where proportions of pipevines
(relative to L.a.astyanax) range from highest
(darker circles) to zero (empty circles). All
data are from NABA.
Ries and Mullen. 2008. Evolution.
Critical life-stages in the monarch butterfly

There doesnt seem to be any relationship between
overwinter colony size and adult abundances the
following summer
The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) offers
one of the most fascinating life histories of any
described species. Adults overwinter in an
extremely restricted range in Mexican forests,
then fly to the southern U.S. and lay eggs in the
spring. Over several generations, the monarchs
journey North until finally arriving in Canada.
The last generation of the year then flies
thousands of miles back to Mexico, forming large
temporary roosts along the way. Every stage of
the monarchs life cycle is monitored by a series
of large volunteer-based network systems. This
includes egg, larva, adults (both egg-laying,
migrating and roosting) and overwinter colonies.
We are just beginning to use the data to monitor
the entire life cycle. Our early results (shown
at right) suggest that summer populations are
able to recover even from devastating winter
losses.
but the abundance of reproductive adults seem to
predict the number arriving the following winter.