Keeping your data.

If you are a butterfly enthusiast, it is likely that you notice butterflies everywhere and want to identify each species that you see. You might even keep a butterfly life list which can become tedious in notebook form. It may seem inconsequential to most, but these little field trips can record important data that help to note the health of butterfly populations or their seasons of flight.

The North American Butterfly Association or NABA hosts a website called Butterflies I’ve Seen. On this site you can record individual field trips and note their weather conditions, locations, temperatures and the butterflies you noted there. The site will aggregate a life list for you based on these recorded field trips but you can also add species to your life list manually. Butterflies I’ve Seen includes the species found in North America including those known in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Get started on Butterflies I’ve Seen with this quick start checklist to get yourself set up as a user. You can create your backyard as a location or search their list of official locations for places that you already visit. If you want to record butterflies that you have seen out and about in the MOSI gardens, here is the MOSI location information.

Keeping this information is a great way to watch your butterfly population expand at home as you add to your personal butterfly garden. The more diverse species of host and nectar plants that you add will help to draw more species in greater numbers.

The North American Butterfly Association also hosts a yearly butterfly count in July and other seasonal counts that are often looking for volunteers. As a volunteer you can sign on at a designated site and spend the day looking for butterflies and recording your sightings.