The Beetles of Waterloo Region

Jessica Linton, 2012

This 42-page report on the butterfly populations of Waterloo Region (Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and area) is based on original field research conducted for this study as well as a compilation of 4,433 individual butterfly records over an 80-year period gathered from the TEA, museums, universities and private individuals.

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The 4,433 records are analyzed in 3 ways:
- A checklist of the 102 species of butterflies found in Waterloo Region over the past 80 years, and the 68 found in the last 5 years.
- An assignment of a Regional scarcity ranking for each species.
- An account of general trends and a report on changes observed in the populations of individual species.

In addition, Jessica reports on a quantitative analysis of the relative scarcity and abundance of the different butterfly species in 5 different urban vs. rural habitat types. This data was compiled by walking a pre-specified 500-metre path (“transect) in 15 locations weekly for much of the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

The paper is a condensed version of Jessica's thesis for the degree of Master of Environmental Studies at the University of Waterloo, with a few updates for 2010 and 2011 records.

Jessica is with Natural Resources Solutions, Inc. (an environmental consulting firm in Waterloo). She has worked for Environment Canada on butterfly monitoring programs, and she developed such a program for the rare Charitable Research Reserve near Cambridge.