Skip to content

Butterflies

An integral part of rare’s Ecological Monitoring program

A Red-spotted Purple butterfly lands on the knee of Program Scientist, Jenna Quinn during monitoring.  Photo courtesy of J. Quinn

Two butterfly monitoring transects were established in 2006 on rare property; one around the cliffs & alvars area and the other along the southern fields including the edge of Ancient Woods. In 2009, a third butterfly monitoring transect was that travels around the perimeter of the Thompson Tract, while a fourth butterfly transect was established in 2010 around the Blair Flats tallgrass prairie restoration site. All four of these transects are walked weekly between the beginning of May and the end of August. All butterflies seen within ten metres of each transect as it is being traversed are recorded. As well, each transect is divided into sections. Observations are collected at the center of each section for 10 minutes. An Annual Butterfly Count is also held at rare in July every year.

Click on any of the following to learn more about other rare ecological monitoring programs:

Benthic Invertebrates                             Birds

Forest Health                                          Forest Soils

Lichens                                                   Salamanders

For more information on ecological monitoring at rare, please contact our Research Department at (519) 650-9336 x 111