Douglas J.  Buege--Various Articles

#5

"Lepidopteran Love: Butterflies are No Flight of Fancy for Expert Ann Swengel"

Appeared in Wisconsin Trails, July/August 2003, p. 8.

If not for an insect, Wisconsinite Ann Swengel might have never discovered her life's passion. 

Swengel found herself the local authority on butterflies while working at the International Crane Foundation.  "It happened to be an outbreak year for Milbert's Tortoiseshell, a beautiful dark butterfly with a bright orange stripe along the wing margins," she recalls.  "I wasn't an expert on butterflies, but I knew the most about them of my co-workers."  Swengel's husband, Scott, an avid ornithologist, encouraged her initial interest, which blossomed into a fascination as she realized how little was known of these ambling aerialists.

For 15 years Swengel has primarily funded her own research, combing many areas of the state to catalog observations that contribute to butterfly conservation here and throughout North America.  With habitats as diverse as prairie, pine barrens and bogs, combined with weather that's euphemistically termed "changeable," Wisconsin offers a haven for roughly 155 of the United States' 722 known butterfly species.  Swengel's seen most of the Wisconsin species, and is particularly proud of pinpointing the state's largest population of Regal Fritillaries, which she located in the grasslands of Buena Vista Marsh.

Starting each May and continuing into September--like flowers, butterflies prefer specific conditions, so each month brings a changing panorama of winged visitors--the Swengels hit the road near dawn, flitting between florid sites like the nectar seekers they survey.  Following set routes, Ann wanders habitats in search of butterflies, calling out species names that Scott duly records.  Noting food plants, she keeps watch for airborne and resting adults.  Her camera is sometimes on hand, ready for the perfect photo to grace one of her many articles--from how-to guides for creating butterfly gardens and habitats to controversial research findings concerning the effects of prescribed prairie burns on butterfly populations.

Funding their own research, the Swengels afford their mission by trading off breadwinning responsibilities.   Ann currently squeezes forty hours of labor into four days, with Scott overseeing the homefront while organizing gear for their 3-day research weekends.

Buzz over Ann's writings has prairie enthusiasts concerned she's teasing hornets when she should be counting Red Admirals.   Swengel's shown that proscribed burning, the tool for managing prairie, decimates caterpillar populations of Regal Fritillaries.  Frustrated researchers search for ways to rescue prairie without sacrificing rare insects.  University of Minnesota entomologist David Andow measures Ann's influence in "the way she's publicized the problems with fire."  He credits her diligence, along with a push from the Nature Conservancy, with prompting needed policy change, increasing burn intervals for prairie.

In addition to logging countless hours in the field, Swengel has served as vice president for the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) and currently is on its board of directors.  Her duties include compiling butterfly count data from volunteers who census butterflies throughout the continent in May and July. "Much of Wisconsin remains uncovered yet," Swengel says, insisting on the need for more counters. "What you see in your ramblings can be part of a continent-wide database of butterflies," she explains, "the first step in helping conserve them."

Swengel stresses that species richness, rather than numbers of individual butterflies, is the true measure of butterfly success.  While invader species, the European Skipper and Cabbage White, proliferate following habitat disruption, most natives' numbers plummet.  Development, she fears, may wipe out many historic populations.

Most butterfly aficionados fancy the resplendent celebrities, the Monarch and swallowtails.  But Swengel, shrinking from the spotlight herself, sides with the Frosted Elfin, declaring the tiny, state-threatened species her favorite. "Maybe it's because they're among the first to see in spring, after the long winter of no butterflies.  Maybe it's because they're small and brown and so easily overlooked," she muses, adding, "I like to root for the underdog."

Douglas J. Buege holds a doctorate in environmental philosophy, and is a freelance writer, educator and beekeeper.

To learn more about butterfly ecology, conservation and gardening, visit NABA's Web site, www.naba.org.  This year's July Fourth butterfly count takes place during the weeks leading to and following the holiday.  For details, find your local contact at www.naba.org/counts/um.html or call (973) 285-0907.

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