NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS - Butterfly Records for the
T.E.A. Annual Lepidoptera Summary

 

By Colin Jones

 

Introduction

 

If possible, we are asking that contributors to the annual summary submit their records in electronic format, preferably within a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel. The advantages of such a system are many. For example, such a system allows for much easier storage, sorting and analysis of records. It also allows the records to be mapped quickly and easily (providing that they also contain a geographic coordinate). The records of rare species will also be incorporated into the rare species databases at the Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC) where they will be used for a variety of conservation-related projects and land-use planning.

 

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Although we strongly encourage the submission of data using the method outlined below, we do recognize that such a system might be foreign and impossible for some. We will continue to accept records submitted in other formats but strongly encourage this system if possible. We are more than happy to provide any assistance needed in order to get people started with this format.

 

 

How To Submit Records

 

As mentioned above, if possible, please submit records using the format and field identifiers indicated in the accompanying Microsoft Excel spreadsheet template (see also below under specific format suggestions). If Microsoft Excel is not available, another spreadsheet or database program will suffice (e.g. dBase). Submitting records in electronic form saves a great deal of time and is the best method. If the contributor does not have access to a spreadsheet or database program, then the data can be typed in a word processor such as Microsoft Word. If a computer is not available, hand written sheets will suffice­—please contact us if you would like a copy of a form for hand-written records.

 

Most identifications are likely to be based on adults, but records of larvae are also most welcome. Tentative records may be acceptable, but must be indicated as such with a question mark after the species name. Contributors should be prepared to discuss the validity of their submitted records with the compilers who are responsible for ensuring a high standard of accuracy.

 

 

Mandatory Data Fields

 

Observation Date (OBS_DATE) - please use the following format if possible (year-month-date - eg. 2000-08-14). Please also ensure that the date field is designated as a "text" field. The template included with this package already has the fields formatted the correct way.

 

Scientific or English Name - English names should be those featured in "The Butterflies of Canada" by R.A. Layberry, P.W. Hall and J.D. Lafontaine. This list can be found on the internet at http://www.cbif.gc.ca/spp_pages/butterflies/taxonomy_e.php . Scientific names should follow "Butterflies of North America: Scientific Names List for Butterfly Species of North America, north of Mexico" by P.A. Opler and A.D. Warren. It too can be found on the internet as a pdf file at: http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/old_site/uasm//Opler&Warren.pdf

For the sake of convenience, if anyone would like me to email them a listing of English and Scientific Names for Ontario, I'd be happy to do so.

 

County (CTY) - Please enter the first four letters in the name of the county or district, all in block CAPITALS. Note that Haldimand-Norfolk are no longer amalgamated and are now, once again considered separate counties. The country codes are:

ALGO – Algoma

BRAN – Brant

BRUC – Bruce

COCH – Cochrane

DUFF – Dufferin

DURH – Durham

ELGI – Elgin

ESSE – Essex

FRON – Frontenac

GREY – Grey

HALD – Haldimand

HALI – Haliburton

HALT – Halton

HAMI – Hamilton-Wentworth

HAST – Hastings

HURO – Huron

KENO – Kenora

KENT – Kent

LAMB – Lambton

LANA – Lanark

LEED – Leeds & Grenville

LENN – Lennox & Addington

MANI – Manitoulin

METR – Metropolitan Toronto

MIDD – Middlesex

MUSK – Muskoka

NIAG – Niagara

NIPI – Nipissing

NORF – Norfolk

NORT – Northumberland

OTTA – Ottawa-Carleton

OXFO – Oxford

PARR – Parry Sound

PEEL – Peel

PERT – Perth

PETE – Peterborough

PRES – Prescott & Russell

PRIN – Prince Edward

RAIN – Rainy River

RENF – Renfrew

SIMC – Simcoe

STOR – Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry

SUDB – Sudbury

THUN – Thunder Bay

TIMI – Timiskaming

VICT – City of Kawartha Lakes

WATE – Waterloo

WELL – Wellington

YORK – York

 

Location – a description of the location using a prominent landmark is very useful. Some examples include:

            Toronto, High Park

            Little Turtle Lake, S shore, 1 km W of Mine Centre

 

UTM (Zone, Easting, Northing, and NAD)  OR....  Latitude & Longitude (LAT and LONG) (see detailed notes below if more information is required on this system). NOTE: If a UTM or Lat/Long absolutely cannot be derived, please send along the record anyway. We can probably derive a UTM from the record given that we have access to all of Ontario's Topographic maps.

 

UTM Source - it is helpful to indicate how a UTM or Lat/Long was derived.

Options include:  a hand-held GPS unit (GPS) a reading was taken from a topo map (TOPO MAP) or coordinates were derived from Google Earth (GOOGLE EARTH)

 

Observer(s)

 

Number of Adults (ADULTS) and/or Number of Immatures/Larvae (IMM)- for the number of adults field please use the following style: # followed by and M for male, a F for female. If exact or approximate numbers were not noted terms such as "a few" or "several" or  "present" (indicating that this species was noted but numbers were not) are fine.

 

Record Type (RECORD_TYPE) - please use one of the following - Collected, Photographed, Caught and Released, Sight Record

 

 

Optional (but useful) fields:

 

Township (TWP)

 

Notes - notes on behaviour, clarification of numbers or photographs, any other information (note that there is a separate field for habitat).  An example of something that might appear in the notes field is something like: a female was noted ovipositing on Common Milkweed. The term “in copula” can be used to indicate a mating pair.

 

Map Number (MAP_NO) - the number of the relevant topographic map (i.e. NTS mapsheet) is useful but not necessary

 

Map Square (MAP_SQUARE) - not necessary as this can be populated automatically. For those people familiar with breeding bird atlas work, this may be a field that you have recorded.

 

Habitat

 

Collection # - some individuals who collect specimens assign a unique collection number to their collections

 

Collection - if a specimen was collected, this field indicates where the specimen resides.

 eg. CNC (Canadian National Collection at Agriculture Canada); ROM (Royal Ontario Museum); NHIC (Natural Heritage Information Centre collection); CDJ (Colin D. Jones' personal collection).

 

Specimen determined by (DET) - if a specimen exists, who determined or identified the specimen

 

You may have additional fields that you use for your own data management, and if this is the case, by all means feel free to submit your records with or without these fields.

 

 

When and where to send records

 

Normally, each year we'd like to receive all records by the end of January. For the 2008 season, however, we are extending this deadline until March 6, 2009. This will provide compilers with enough time to compile and produce the next volume so that it is available prior to the following field season (and hopefully give you enough time to prepare your records). If you can't get your records in by the deadline, let us know the date when you think they could be delivered.

 

If submitting records via email please send them to both compilers: Colin Jones colin.jones@ontario.ca and Ross Layberry (rosslayberry@yahoo.ca). Any hardcopy records should be sent to:

 

Colin D. Jones

Box 182

Lakefield, ON, K0L 2H0                      

Tel (H): 705-652-5004

Tel (W): 705-755-2166

Email: colin.jones@ontario.ca

 

 

Additional notes on Location Data (including UTM and Lat/Long)

 

Precise locations and corresponding geographic coordinates are very important and will be the basis for any maps portrayed in a second edition of the Ontario Butterfly Atlas.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE NUMBER TWO: Once again, we recognize that for many contributors, generating and supplying geographic coordinates (either a UTM or Lat/Long) will be foreign. Although we strongly encourage contributors to supply such coordinates, it is not completely mandatory. We would rather have the records without coordinates than no records at all. In order to be able to accurately map these records (for example in the Ontario Butterfly Atlas), they will have to be assigned geographic coordinates either by you as a contributor or by those of us working on the atlas. It is much more accurate, therefore for contributors to be supplying these coordinates. Read on to learn how this can be done and keep in mind, once again, that we are happy to provide any guidance required in order to help people begin this process.

 

Locations should indicate a position through the use of a distance and direction from a prominent landmark. A post office (indicated by the letter P on a topographic map) is useful, but a distant post office is less useful than a nearby one. A lake, river, or town can also be used. In order to aid in the sorting of records, locations should begin with a prominent landmark, rather than a number, street name or local name. For example, a particular collection site may be described as "65 km W of Atikokan" but a more useful description of this particular location would be "Little Turtle Lake, south shore, 1 km W of Mine Centre". Little Turtle Lake is featured on topographic maps, but because there could be several Little Turtle Lakes in Ontario, indicating that it is 1 km W of Mine Centre is very helpful.

 

Accompanying a location name is either a UTM or a Latitude/Longitude, both of which are coordinates used for mapping. Although UTM is preferable when reading from a map, latitude and longitude (best expressed as decimal degrees; e.g. 45.8156, -82.7557) is also acceptable.

 

A UTM is basically a numerical value that represents the precise location of a site using a type of grid system. A UTM consists of three sets of numbers. A two-digit "Zone", a six-digit "Easting", and a seven-digit "Northing". Together, these three numbers refer to a precise location. An example of a full UTM would be 17, 693455, 5071456.

 

Hand-held GPS (Global Positioning System) units are the easiest, and most accurate way to generate a coordinate (either a UTM or Latitude and Longitude) for a location, provided you are physically at that location with your GPS unit. These units are relatively inexpensive, small in size and easy to carry around in the field, and are available at most outdoors and camping stores. They will display geographic coordinates in UTM, Latitude and Longitude, or both.

 

A UTM grid reference can also be generated from an NTS (National Topographic System) mapsheet. This method can be used regardless of whether or not you are physically at the site. Such mapsheets are available at camping and outdoors stores, as well as map stores. NTS maps are available at two scales, 1:50,000 and 1:250,000. A scale of 1:50,000 is the most useful for fieldwork. More information on where to buy these maps can be found at: http://maps.nrcan.gc.ca/cmo/dealers.html. Instructions on generating a UTM from an NTS mapsheet can be found at: http://maps.nrcan.gc.ca/maps101/grid_ref.html or by contacting us. NTS mapsheets are also now available in digital format and can be read using a computer software program called TouratechQV. This system is excellent –more information can be found at: http://www.ttqv.com/

 

When reporting a location using a UTM, there are two grid systems that are used in Canada - NAD27 (North American Datum 1927) and NAD83 (North American Datum 1983). The datum used on an NTS mapsheet is indicated on the bottom of the map. In addition, when using a hand-held GPS unit, you can program your unit to display the coordinates in either NAD27 or NAD83. It is important to indicate the "datum" with any UTM coordinate because, in Ontario, they differ by approximately 200 metres in the Northing (and a little in the Easting). Naturally, NAD83 is the more up-to-date system and is preferred, but as long as the datum system used is provided with the coordinates, a conversion can be made.

 

 

Value of Observations

 

The preparation of distribution maps and atlases depends on geographic data. Knowledge of flight periods and habitat depend on observations at various stages at various dates.  Even after a species has been recorded from a particular site, continuing observations from that site are valuable in documenting fluctuations and changes and therefore may contribute a great deal to our knowledge of the biology of butterflies.  Such monitoring is very important with respect to rare species and their habitats.  If a species is shown to be declining, it may be admitted to a risk category by provincial and federal governments and then the program, funding and planning necessary for retrieval from the risk category may be brought to bear.

 

The larger and more widespread the number of records, the more reliable the trend data.  A few miscellaneous observations at a site where it has already been reported may seem without value, but in concert with many other observations they are a database that can be analyzed to produce new information some of which may be beyond present imagination.  Although observations of rare species and indicator species are most important, all observations have a potential value.

 

Recording observations is not a major chore.  Since an increasing number of people observe butterflies while doing other biology work, or in recreation, they can easily contribute to science and conservation by submitting at least some observations to a central database where they will not be lost, but rather increase in value as part of a body of information that can be analyzed and queried.

 

The annual summary database produced by TEA has this general purpose, i.e. to make observations valuable, useful and accessible for science and conservation, but nor are we ruling out recreation, if for example someone wants to see or photograph a particular species at its nearest location.