The Wells Reserve couldn't run without its army of volunteers. They help with every aspect of activity here. One task that I never have problem getting volunteers to help with is going out into the field with insect nets and catching dragonflies and butterflies.

In 1999 the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife started a state-wide survey of dragonflies. That survey concluded in 2004. This year starts the first year of a survey for Maine's butterflies. MDIF&W relies on citizen scientists to go out and collect specimens in as many different places in state as possible. To increase our knowledge of what kinds of insects we have at the Wells Reserve, we established several sites to sample here as part of those two programs.

According to the Maine Butterfly Survey website one of the goals of the survey is "acquiring a solid baseline of the distribution and abundance of Maine butterflies."

Because of their short generation times, sensitivity to environmental insults and often narrow habitat requirements, insects can be effective sentinels of environmental change.  As the specter of global warming looms, wildlife biologists and ecologists need to be able to monitor the direction and rate of changes in plant and animal populations.  The use of any group of organisms to monitor population changes requires a firm baseline of information against which changes can be judged.

With over 115 species native to Maine, butterflies contribute a colorful and conspicuous component to our state's biological diversity.  Butterflies play an important role in terrestrial and wetland ecosystems by serving both as pollinators of many wildflowers and prey (both caterpillars and adults) to larger species ranging from dragonflies to birds.

For more information on both these programs, visit the Maine Damselfly and Dragonfly Survey and the Maine Butterfly Survey.

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