Page 8 - Boca ViewPointe - October '22

Page 8, Viewpointe October 2022
Another Monarch Lost?—The Plight Of The Butterflies

By William A. Gralnick PROGRAM NOTE: They and 23 others are either listed But so what? Here’s what. First, Butterflies are lovely to
as endangered, imperiled, or rare. It is a grim picture. For watch as they flutter here and there. It is what they do while
Idyllic would be the instance, the Swallowtails so often seen are now rarely fluttering that is important. Like bees, they ensure that new
word to use in describing my seen. I haven’t seen the majestic Giant Swallowtail in more plants come to life after old ones die.
neighborhood in Brooklyn. than fifty years. We see two most often, the white Cabbage Not only are they fascinating to watch, but they are
If I remember correctly, Butterfly. It is the most common butterfly in the country. altogether fascinating. Here are a few “did you knows.” The
there were five dead-end The other is the Zebra. The zebra longwing is found powdery scales, which are unique to each species, give the
streets between Foster Avenue and Avenue H. The houses throughout the state, although it is more common in the butterfly its beauty. The scales on the translucent wings enable
had front yards and backyards lined with trees, primarily south. It is the official state butterfly. The Atala is nearly them to fly: no powdery substances, no flight. No flight, no
American Sycamores with big leaves and extended extinct. It was thought to be until several were discovered life. No life, no pollination. Butterflies have a very short life.
branches. and put in the capable hands of the scientists at Butterfly If the germination stages are omitted, the lifespan is 5-7 weeks
Backyards are second only to dead-end streets for a World. Google Florida Butterflies and see what we will for most. One reason is that they are tasty treats for birds that
kid. You could hide in them, hop over fences, run away in soon be missing. snatch them from the air. Another reason is that the butterfly
them, and play in them. In the summer, parents would set When it comes to the butterfly that most enthusiasts is delicate, and the world is not. The third reason is that their
up sprinklers so we could splash and play until the yard and or environmentalists are concerned with, the dramatic habitats are disappearing, and our chemicals are killing them.
was mush and we were dotted with mud splotches. The orange and black winged Monarch, Florida is a most Like all other insects, butterflies have six legs and
backyards were also gardens. Flitting amongst the flowers unusual place. We have a species of Monarch that, like three main body parts: head, thorax (chest or midsection),
were butterflies. many snowbirds, migrated here, liked what they found, and abdomen (tail end). They also have two antennae and
There are 20,000 species of Butterflies. This is a thought- and decided to stay and raise families. They can be seen an exoskeleton.
starter about those in and around us here in New York and fairly often, especially if you are near a garden or field full Their hearts run the length of the body. The brain is
south Florida—or used to be. of milkweed, the aphrodisiac of the Monarch. Then there in the thorax (thus, like some of us, they think with their
Some common butterflies that you will find in the New is the Western Monarch. It is migratory. hearts…?), and like none of us who were taught any
York City area include Eastern Swallowtail, Clouded Flying up to 2,500 miles from the US and Canada, manners, they taste with their feet.
Sulphur, Buckeye, Spring Azure, and Pearl Cresent. where they breed, all the way down to central Mexico, But here’s what is so important about them. Butterflies
New York State even has a state butterfly, the Purple where they hibernate, the Monarch’s migratory pattern is are super important pollinators. Approximately one-third
Admiral, chosen by 1,400 elementary and middle school the most highly evolved of any known species of their kind, of all plants need pollination to set fruit, and bees and
students across the state. so tells us the National Geographic. “People would say to butterflies are the major pollinators. Flower nectar is the
In Florida over 160 butterfly species breed here, the late Lincoln Brower, a world-famous monarch scientist food for adult butterflies, and by flying from flower to
and about 200 species migrate through the state. There for many years, ‘What’s the good of this migration? What flower sipping nectar, pollination occurs.
are twelve species of butterflies common in this area. good is it for the world?’ And his answer would be, ‘Well, My editor reminds me that I love this following line and
what’s the good of the Mona Lisa?’ The migration is kind use it a lot. “They pave paradise and put up a parking lot.”
of the same thing,” Davis said. “It’s this natural wonder More cement, less flowers. The chemicals do the rest.
Stamp and Coin Club that instills excitement.” objects d’art, do you want to have to put your kids in the car,
To see what were dozens of different types of these flying

The Western Monarch population is at the most
Boca Raton Stamp & Coin Club asks you to start significant risk of extinction. It has declined by an estimated drive to Butterfly World or a botanical garden, look for a
a new hobby. 99.9%, from 10 million to 1,914 butterflies between the parking place and shell out a bunch of money for parking and
Visit with us at the Stratford Courts Auditorium 1980s and 2021. Again, PROGRAM NOTE: that’s a 99.9% entry fees? All that for what we got for nothing right outside.
located at 6343 Via Sonrisa del Sur, off S.W. 18th population loss. They are currently on the endangered list Unless you do something for the Monarch and its cousins,
Street, between Powerline Road and Military Trail. (the step before extirpation and then extinction). that will be your only option. They will no longer be your
We meet the second and fourth Thursday each
month at 7 p.m. Please call membership coordinator As Dr. Marc C. Minno shares, “It is sobering to children’s fascinators, no longer the things that make you go
Harvey Golinger at (561) 752-4922.  understand that extinction and extirpation (meaning that “oh!” when one or more suddenly appears, no longer will they
a species is no longer found in the wild) are in progress be a spot of light in an often dreary world.
“under our very eyes…” Remember this: they can’t help themselves. 

Dr. Lebrun Nestor Dr. Siperstein-Paul
Cornell University Yale University
Dr. Mackay-Wiggan Dr. Micciantuono-Meran
Columbia University On-site Mohs Surgeon
Dr. Lipman Dr. Gold
NYU Medical Center Albert Einstein Med Ctr
Dr. Waintraub
Dr. Mathew
Dr. Mathew Dr. Waintraub
Duke University Cornell University
Dr. Anna Kurayev Dr. Anu Parameswaran
Tufts Medical Center NYU Medical Center