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Does anyone here know anything about the advertised "CIBC Butterfly
Encounter" at the upcoming Hants County Exhibition? Here's the blurb
from the program/advertisement:
"The CIBC Butterfly Encounter has hundreds of butterflies including 6
different species. The educational exhibit shows the life cycle of a
butterfly from the egg to the adult butterfly, and how to fix a
broken wing class. Feeding sticks are provided so you can feed and
interact with the butterflies. Butterfly kits are also available so
you can take home your very own butterfly. The CIBC Butterfly
Encounter is located in the industrial building and open from 10 am
until closing both weekends."
I'd like answers to the following questons: 1) what "6 different
species" are being exhibited?, 2) what is the origin of those
butterflies?, 3) what precautions are being taken to prevent
escapes?, 4) why is it considered important to know "how to fix a
broken wing?", 5) what specie(s) is/are being used for the "butterfly
kits?", and 6) who are, and what are the credentials of, the people
in charge of this exhibit? Finally, are there any
rules/regulations/permits required for such an exhibit and have they
been obtained?
While I admire the purpose of the educational component of the
exhibit, my concerns, given that we are in the final year of a
butterfly atlas project, are that "foreign" butterflies are not just
potentially escaping from the exhibit but are being actively
released. Records of butterflies from the area around Windsor may be
suspect from the first weekend of the Exhibition until the end of the
season. However, they specifically state that kids "can take home
(their) very own butterfly" so this may mean that any butterfly of
those 6 species seen from the Exhibition until the end of the season,
anywhere in the province, maybe even NB or PEI, could be an erroneous
record.
This "take home your very own butterfly" also raises a large red flag
to me: the suggestion that you can "own" a butterfly! Perhaps this is
why it's considered important to know how to "fix a broken wing?"
Finally, an ongoing concern is that even if all 6 species are
"native" or known from Nova Scotia, or even if only a single species
is included in the "butterfly kits", if the butterflies are not from
local stock then they are potentially introducing novel genes into
local populations. If the butterflies are from captive stocks that
are infected by a parasite (e.g. Ophryocystis elektroscirrha is an
obligate, protozoan parasite that infects monarchs) then those
parasites will also be potentially introduced to NS.
Inquiring minds want to know...
Phil
--
Phil Schappert, PhD
27 Clovis Ave.
Halifax, NS, B3P 1J3
philschappert.ca
imaginaturestudio.ca
imaginaturestudio.blogspot.ca
philschappert.com
"Just let imagination lead, reality will follow through..."
(Michael Hedges)
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