{"id":3666,"date":"2017-02-16T08:29:11","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T16:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/?p=3666"},"modified":"2017-03-02T14:07:26","modified_gmt":"2017-03-02T22:07:26","slug":"february-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/?p=3666","title":{"rendered":"February 16"},"content":{"rendered":"
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2017 February 16<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Jeremy Tatum writes:\u00a0 Four items today, numbered\u00a0 1,<\/strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>2,<\/strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>3, 4<\/strong><\/p>\n

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There are two butterfly and other invertebrate related items in today\u2019s (February 16) Times-Colonist.<\/p>\n

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1.<\/strong> I\u2019ll type the first of them (page A3) in full.\u00a0 I have not been involved in this and have no further knowledge of it, but it looks very interesting and it would be great if some of the viewers of this site became involved.\u00a0 If any of you do, let us know how it goes!<\/p>\n

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The David Suzuki Foundation is recruiting volunteers to act as \u201cbutterfly rangers\u201d in Victoria.\u00a0 The Butterfly Project aims to increase habitat spaces for the winged insects in five Canadian cities. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at creating patches of butterfly- and bee-friendly habitats,\u201d said Lindsay Coulter, a green-living expert with the Foundation.<\/p>\n

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In Victoria, 20 to 25 volunteers will be selected for the training, then equipped with seeds.\u00a0\u00a0 The hope is that they will share the information with neighbours and other community members, Coulter said.<\/p>\n

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The local butterfly population is on the decline, she said, as a result of habitat loss.\u00a0 But that can be stemmed by avoiding pesticides, replacing grass with pollinator-friendly plants, and taking other measures.<\/p>\n

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[Jeremy interjects here:\u00a0 Re not using pesticides – refer to our posting for December 29.\u00a0 The forestry people are going to be spraying for the mythical Gypsy Moth again this spring, targeting the Elk Lake area in particular.\u00a0 While some of us are trying to protect butterflies by not using pesticides, others are trying to kill them by widespread spraying from aircraft.\u00a0 Re replacing grass, etc., for more suitable habitat – fine, but do bear in mind that the caterpillars of all our satyrine butterflies and hesperiine skippers, as well many moths, feed on grasses.]<\/p>\n

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Newspaper article continues:<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ll be teaching people about our local situation in Victoria and what the needs are of the native butterfly species and the plants they require,\u201d she said. For example, among the 70 native butterfly species on Vancouver Island, 10 prefer to lay their eggs on Ocean Spray and Stinging Nettle only, she said.<\/p>\n

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The Foundation is also hosting the project in Richmond, Toronto, Markham and Montreal.\u00a0 The application deadline in February 19.<\/strong>\u00a0 Applications are accepted at davidsuzuki.org\/butterflyway<\/p>\n

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Training will take place March 4 and 5 at Goward House in Oak Bay.\u00a0 Much of the work will take place in the fall, she said.\u00a0 \u201cPart of it is about increasing the local populations of different species, but even more so it\u2019s about getting people out and connecting with their neighbourhoods and building social capital.<\/p>\n

Coulter, who will lead the local training, said volunteers will have a curiosity and interest in supporting pollinators, as well as a willingness to reach out to their family, friends and colleagues.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0 <\/strong>2.<\/strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Page D7 of today\u2019s (February 16) Times-Colonist also carries an advertisement from the Butterfly Gardens at Brentwood Bay.\u00a0 They are opening a new Insectorium on March 1, and the Grand Opening Week will be from March 1 to March 7, which will exhibit not just butterflies, but other insects and invertebrates from around the world.\u00a0 Although viewers of this site may think of the Butterfly Gardens from a wide range of viewpoints, this will undoubtedly be interesting.<\/p>\n

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3.<\/strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I received an email (some of you may have received the same one) about bioblitzes.\u00a0\u00a0 There are to be three Parks Canada BioBlitzes this year:<\/p>\n

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1.\u00a0 Fort Rodd Hill\u00a0\u00a0 May 13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Aimee.Pelletier@pc.gc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Pacific Rim National Park\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 May 21\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Diana.Lukinuk@pc.gc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Pender Island\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 June 10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Athena.George@pc.gc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

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There\u2019s too much detail in the email for me to reproduce here,\u00a0 but I think many of you know what a bioblitz is, and have participated in one or more before, or would like to participate in one of these, so I have given the contact persons\u2019 addresses above.\u00a0\u00a0 Get in touch with them if you would like to participate.<\/p>\n

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4.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>I have a few Clodius Parnassian ova that Devon Parker found last year, and I have started to keep a daily eye on them to see when they hatch.\u00a0 When they do, I shall urgently need some Bleeding Heart Dicentra <\/em>formosa<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 Can anyone tell me where I may find some?\u00a0 Preferably near UVic or my Poplar Avenue apartment, but when the eggs hatch I\u2019ll need to get some Bleeding Heart immediately, no matter how far I have to drive.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need a general statement such as that it is a common and generally-distributed plant in the area, or there are probably some in such-and-such an area. \u00a0I\u2019ll need an actual precise location where I can guarantee to find a few leaves for some Very Hungry Caterpillars.\u00a0\u00a0 Suggestions, anyone? \u00a0 jtatum at uvic dot ca<\/p>\n

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2017 February 16   Jeremy Tatum writes:\u00a0 Four items today, numbered\u00a0 1,\u00a0 2,\u00a0 3, 4   There are two butterfly and other invertebrate related items in today\u2019s (February 16) Times-Colonist.   1. I\u2019ll type the first of them (page A3) in full.\u00a0 I have not been involved in this and have no further knowledge of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-invertebrate-alert"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3666"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3696,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3666\/revisions\/3696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicnhs.bc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}