AUDUBON SOCIETY OF KALAMAZOO — The Effect of Global Change on Butterflies

Why are we (Audubon Society of Kalamazoo) having a presentation on butterflies? Granted – they have wings, they fly, you can look at them through binoculars, and many of them are colorful. But, what does that have to do with birds? To us, butterflies are usually welcome visitors to our flowerbeds and fun to watch. To a bird, they are food factories. Birds rely on the caterpillars of butterfly and moth species as a major food source. Many birds will also consume the flying adult stages of butterflies. Even seed-eating and fruit-eating birds rely on nutritious protein-filled caterpillars for their nestlings. Without that food source, the youngsters will not survive. Environmental effects on butterflies, therefore, have an effect on birds. Unfortunately, many butterflies and various other groups of insects are in steep decline. This decline is occurring across ecosystems worldwide and may have grave future implications for species that depend on them – including humans.

Our October speaker, Stephanie Clark, is a fifth-year graduate student at Michigan State University / Kellogg Biological Station and is studying the effects of various factors, such as drought, insecticides, and temperature, on butterflies. Her primary species of study has been the Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) which she fell in love with after working in an insect lab after college. She works with the butterflies both in the field and in controlled laboratory settings. Stephanie has also studied how ant communities in farming plots with and without pesticides are impacted by the presence of native Michigan prairie plants. Please come and hear about this important topic and find out how you can support insect diversity in your local ecosystem.

We hope you’ll join us on Monday, October 28, at People’s Church, 1758 North 10th Street, Kalamazoo. Come at 7:00 PM for some refreshments and socializing. Snacks and beverages will be provided. The one-hour program will start at 7:30. Masks are recommended but not required in the church. Handicap parking and access is at either the front or the rear entrance.

We will have a simultaneous Zoom link to the meeting for those who can’t make it or feel uncomfortable as yet to attend in person. This link will be available shortly before the meeting in the November newsletter emailed to members and on our calendar of events webpage. We will also be recording the meeting for later viewing as well.

This event was submitted to our community calendar page by an outside organizer and is not a Michigan Audubon event. If you have questions, please reach out to the event organizers or the contact information provided in the event description.