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Index of Subjects Hi Phil Have found nothing on their corporate web-site... Andrew ________________________________________ From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] on behalf of Phil Schappert [philjs@eastlink.ca] Sent: September-09-15 10:06 PM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: [NatureNS] CIBC Butterfly Encounter @ Hants Co. Ex. 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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