Insect Conservation and You

by Gary A. Dunn, M.S., F.R.E.S., Director of Education

In recent years there has been a trend towards helping, to the extent possible, threatened and endangered insects. This is despite the fact that our understanding of the causes for the decline in certain insect populations is very limited. For some insects there is an obvious lack of precious foodplants or other specialized habitat. But for others, like the American burying beetle, Nicrophrous americanus (Olivier), it's still an unsolved mystery.  [Click here to see the list of US endangered insects]

For those of us who want to preserve insect populations, there are some positive steps that can be taken. Certainly all insect collectors should adhere to the collecting policies adopted by several entomological organizations like the Lepidopterists' Society and the Young Entomologists' Society. See the Y.E.S. Policy on the Collection of Insects, Spiders and Other Arthropods, or pages 367 to 370 in A Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies (Opler and Malikul 1992) for guidelines on collecting butterflies (and other insects). One of the most significant limitations faced by endangered insects is the reduction in quality habitats. Many states have adopted no mowing policies for roadsides and highway medians, and a few states have even established wildflower plantings. Encourage this practice in any way that you can. Public and private organizations (like the Nature Conservancy and state Departments of Natural Resources) have established ecological preserves and sanctuaries. Of course, the national parks in the United States and Canada have been sanctuaries for all types of plants and animals for many years.

Private landowners can also assist insects through habitat management and butterfly gardens. The butterfly garden is not a new concept, but it has grown in popularity over the past two decades and gained general acceptance. Many fine publications have been produced on this topic (see references below).

REFERENCES

Cotham, Mark W. The Case for Live Public Butterfly Habitats in the United States. Spec. Pub. No. 7, Young Entomologists' Society, Lansing. 33pp. (out of print)

Opler, Paul and Vichai Malikul. 1992. A Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies. Houghton Mifflin, Boston. 396pp.

Ortho Books. 1991. How to Attract Hummingbirds and Butterflies. Ortho Books. Berkeley, CA.

Potter-Spring, Wendy. 1990. Grow a Butterfly Garden. Gardenway Publishing. Pownal, VT

Ruffin, Jane. Where Are the Butterfly Gardens? The Lepidopterists' Society, Manhattan Beach, CA. 42pp.

Sedenko, Jerry. 1991. The Butterfly Garden. Creating Gardens to Attract Beautiful Butterf lies. Random House. New York.

Stokes, Donald, Lillian Stokes, and Ernest Williams. 1991. The Butterfly Book. The Complete Guide to Gardening, Identifi ation, and Behavior. Little, Brown and Co. Boston.

Tekulsky, Matthew. 1985. The Butterfly Garden. Harvard Common Press. Cambridge, MA.

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This educational resource was prepared by the Young Entomologists Society, 6907 West Grand River Ave., Lansing MI 48906-9131, phone/fax 517-886-0630, e-mail YESbugs@aol.com.  Support minibeast youth education - join Y.E.S. today!