Nature's Archive #46: Paul Johnson - Finding and Counting Butterflies
Do you want to find more butterflies? Paul Johnson can help. Paul is a Wildlife Biologist at Pinnacles National Park, and a long time lepidopterist, or one who studies butterflies and moths. Paul also leads several North American Butterfly Association (NABA) counts in California, which is how I got connected with Paul in the first place, and a primary focus of this episode.
Today, we discuss Paul's path to wildlife biology and butterflies. Being a wildlife biologist at a National Park sounds like a dream job to me, so I also probed a bit about that, and what makes Pinnacles National Park such a unique place. As a hint, Pinnacles is named for geologically unique spires of volcanic origin.
We then turn our attention to butterflies and butterfly counts - North American Butterfly Association, or NABA, Fourth of July counts. Despite the name, these counts are held over the months of June and July.
We discuss the structure and goals of the counts and how to participate. With 450 counts across North America, and most skill levels needed, there might be an opportunity for you!
Paul also discusses butterfly behavior, which aside from being fascinating, is also helpful for finding them. This includes behaviors such as hilltopping, mudpuddling, and larval food plant associations.
You can find Paul on iNaturalist as euproserpinus (you-pro-serpinus). If you are interested in participating in a NABA count, check out naba.org for the count circles and count leaders (or this link for additional details for Northern California counts).
FULL SHOW NOTES
Links
Art Shapiro
Jerry Powell
Liam O'Brien - (instagram)
Xerces Society
Handbook for Butterfly Watchers - Robert Michael Pyle
The Butterflies of North America - A Natural History and Field Guide - James Scott
Checklist of Butterflies at Pinnacles National Park
Related Podcast Episodes
#28 - Milkweeds - Dr. Carrie Olson-Manning and Sydney Kreutzmann
#30 - Dr. Jaret Daniels Butterflies, Creating Habitat in Overlooked Landscapes, Creative Outreach
#37 - Dr. Stuart Weiss – Checkerspots, Cars, and Cows
Support Us On Patreon!
Buy our Merch!
Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com
Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!