Manassas Circle Butterfly Survey 2022

 By: Ashley Studholme

Many of us pause when a butterfly flutters across our path. These winged insects inspire awe and curiosity, whether a small summer azure or the striking tiger-swallow tail. They even play a crucial role in maintaining our ecosystem health; they provide food for an untold number of birds and other animals and pollinate plants as they nectar.

If you've ever held a butterfly in your hand, you'd be keenly aware of how fragile they are. Unsurprisingly, they're very sensitive to environmental changes. Monitoring butterflies helps us to better understand our ever-changing environment and encourages us to be good stewards of the land. Just this month, the IUCN announced that the migratory monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus plexippus) is now listed as endangered on the IUCN red list. Monitoring efforts like this one alongside effective conservation stewardship and policy are key to their recovery.

Each year the Prince William Conservation Alliance hosts a butterfly survey under the umbrella of the North American Butterfly Association. Along with 422 other counts, this project collects an annual snapshot of butterfly diversity across North America and has been doing so since 1993. The 29 years of data collected during these counts are available to scientists to help them answer questions about how changes in our environment impact butterfly populations and what these changes might mean for broader ecosystem health. 

On July 17th, five teams walked about 14 miles of trail and identified 40 species. The team at Manassas Battlefield saw an American Copper (photo above by Larry Meade), which is the first one we have seen during a count since 2017! Twelve Carolina Satyrs were seen at Merrimac Farm wildlife garden, which far surpassed our previous record of one. Kudos to the volunteers that maintain the garden and keep it welcoming for butterflies and people alike!

>>Previous survey results

>>Watch Butterflies of Prince William with Larry Meade

Below are the results of the survey, made possible by a fantastic team of volunteers!

Team Leaders: Judy Gallagher, Larry Meade, Gary Myers, Nancy Vehrs, and Valerie Huelsman

Volunteers: Cheryl Hancock, Janine Lawton, Sarah Coradetti, Matt Myers, Tammy Prescott, Mike Sullivan, Brigitte Hartke