By: Jeremy Hatt

The Butterfly Committee has a few exciting announcements to share as we approach spring. The first is that the Committee now has a logo thanks to the artistry of Janice Boussey.

The Committee is represented by the Pearl Crescent, a common butterfly of Essex County that can be found from April to October but is most abundant in late July to early August and mid-September. This variable pollinator of meadows and roadsides symbolizes the complexity and interconnectedness of nature; a great emblem for the Committee.

The Committee has also been in contact with the Toronto Entomological Association (TEA) to explore more ways to get involved in the Ontario Butterfly Atlas as well as participation in additional butterfly counts in the region. Point Pelee National Park is restarting its annual butterfly count this year and ECFNC will be closely involved in helping organize the event and providing volunteers to count. The count will be held on Saturday, August 8 – stay tuned for more details closer to the date.

Partnerships with Pelee Buzz on Pelee Island are also in the works including a moth night that will be held in coordination with TEA on Saturday, June 6 at 9pm and continue on the morning of Sunday, June 10. The moth night will be led by Alan Macnaughton, Vice President of TEA. More details on how ECFNC members can participate will be forthcoming.

“Location: 285 West Shore Road, Pelee Island. This is a joint outing with Pelee Buzz. A variety of sheets and lights will be set up to see the moths come in. We will want to identify and record the moths as they arrive, perhaps by uploading observations to the www.iNaturalist.ca website — it can identify observations to species with at least 90% accuracy. Bring either phones or regular cameras. On the following morning (Sunday, June 7), there will also be a viewing and releasing of moths that arrived during the night.”

Keep your eyes out on Pelee Buzz at https://peleebuzz.ca/ for other upcoming events taking place on Pelee Island in 2026.

Also, a reminder that the Butterfly Committee has created Projects on iNaturalist and eButterfly for collecting data from all butterflies reported in Essex County. They are a great resource for learning about our local butterflies, their flight times, and abundance.

iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/butterflies-of-essex-county

eButterfly: https://www.e-butterfly.org/ebapp/en/projects/view/91

Finally, we are still looking for additional members to help, so if you are interested in joining the Butterfly Committee, please contact me at .