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Last updated: April 24, 2019
The Lancaster Butterfly and
Entomological Club
2019 - Our 24th year!
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Sleepy Orange
Yellow Jackets
Ocola Skipper .
Photographs by Fred Habegger
Meets at the
North
Museum, Lancaster,
Pennsylvania
Next Events
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Monday, May 6, 2019 7:00 pm
"Regal Fritillary Research with Distance Sampling Methods" by Alice Puchalsk,
entomologist and ecologist at Fort Indiantown Gap National Guard Training Center. We are
testing the reliability of the distance method to obtain accurate Regal Fritillary
population density estimates. The distance method requires
observers to record distances from transects to the observed butterflies.
Using statistical methods, the distance method provides an efficient and accurate
monitoring technique.
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Dates for 2019 - All Mondays
March 4, April 1, May 6, June 3, July 1, August 5,
September 9, October 7
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The regular meetings of the Lancaster Butterfly & Entomological
Club are held on the first Monday of every month from March through October
(except the September meeting which is on the second Monday).
Meeting Location: Kinsey
room on the second floor of the North
Museum of Natural History & Science, at the corner of College
Avenue and Buchanan Avenue, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The meetings
run from 7:00 to 9:00 P.M.
Everyone is invited to the meetings, which are free to all.
Please use the Main entrance (a change from past practice) and bring a
friend.
The purpose of the club is to study butterflies and insects and to share
that information at our meetings. Catch the enthusiasm and attend our lively
club meetings. Most meetings include a lecture, discussion, and show-and-tell
of books, bugs, host plants, or photos. Members and friends are invited to field trips
and Fourth of July Butterfly Counts in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania throughout the
season. Counts are part of the North American Butterfly Association's Fourth of July
Butterfly Count program and require a nominal participation fee by NABA.
Learn what can be found in this area and meet other enthusiasts.
Membership Information: If you wish to join the club, annual dues are $15 (starting
2018) per household, payable at club meetings or by mail. Lancaster Butterfly and
Entomological Club, Jan Schaefer, 154 Pinetown Rd, Leola,
PA 17540. Jan Schaefer at 
For more information contact President Fred Habegger at
or 717-859-2521.
*** Butterfly sightings by year & month ***
The 8
butterfly species seen in Lancaster County in
2019.
(April 7, March 3, February 0, January 0 species)
Most recent first of year sightings: --- American Painted Lady, Meadow Fritillary,
Wild Indigo Duskywing, Orange Sulphur, Tiger Swallowtail.)
The 57
butterfly species seen in Lancaster County in
2018.
(Programs and Field Trips for 2019)
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Monday, March 4, 2019 7:00 pm
"Spotted Lanternfly Update" by Dr. Tim Elkner. Since being discovered in Berks
County, PA in 2014 the Spotted Lanternfly has spread to 13 counties and two additional
states. Impacts of this invasive insect from S.E. Asia are beginning to
be felt throughout the region. Efforts of the USDA and PDA are focused on containment, while
researchers from Penn State and other universities are focused on understanding the biology
and investigating control of Spotted Lanternfly. Learn the status of these efforts. Tim is
a commercial horticulture Extension Educator based in Lancaster County.
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Lancaster Butterfly & Entomological Club
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Monday, April 1, 2019 7:00 pm
"Microplastics - An Emerging Pollutant: Preliminary Studies on Headwater Streams"
by Dr. John Wallace, Millersville University’s
Entomologist.
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Monday, May 6, 2019 7:00 pm
"Regal Fritillary Research with Distance Sampling Methods" by Alice Puchalsk,
entomologist and ecologist at Fort Indiantown Gap National Guard Training Center. We are
testing the reliability of the distance method to obtain accurate Regal Fritillary
population density estimates. The distance method requires
observers to record distances from transects to the observed butterflies.
Using statistical methods, the distance method provides an efficient and accurate
monitoring technique.
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Monday, June 3, 2019 7:00 pm
"Pollinator Community Video Observation Method of Research" by Gerard (JJ)
Smith, PhD candidate at Temple University. His current work is on how plant-pollinator
interactions change through time, persist despite disturbances, and drive selection for
floral traits.
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Saturday, June 29, 2019 9:00 am
FIELD TRIP
"Furnace Hills Fourth of July Butterfly Count". We will mount an intensive effort
to find as many butterfly species as possible in the Brickerville Hills, Middlecreek
State Game lands and Northern Lancaster County floodplains. This is part of the North
American Butterfly Association’s Fourth of July Butterfly Count program and requires a
nominal participation fee. Meet at 9:00 AM at the Riparian Park along PA-772 and Clay Road,
about 1.4 mile East of the Lititz square. Compiler is Fred Habegger (Weather/cancelation
info. 717-859-2521).
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Monday, July 1, 2019 7:00 pm
"Mysteries of Monarch Migration"
by Gail Steffy. Watching a monarch caterpillar become a caterpillar at age 13 began a
lifelong interest that led to a BS in Environmental Biology from Millersville University,
a MFA in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins and eventually having my research published in
the Annals of the Entomological Society of America.
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Saturday, July 13, 2019
9:00 am FIELD TRIP .
"The 22nd Annual Holtwood Fourth of July Butterfly
Count."
Another opportunity to tally butterflies for NABA (North
American Butterfly Association), this time
in the Southern part of the county. Explore along the Susquehanna River and at Muddy Run
Park. A nominal participation fee will be assessed. Meet at 9:00 AM at the Muddy Run Park
Information Center's butterfly garden. Compiler is Fred Habegger (Weather/ cancelation
info. 717-859-2521).
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Lancaster Butterfly & Entomological Club
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Monday, August 5, 2019 7:00 pm
"WQVC Invertebrate Counts: Data on stream health in Lancaster County" by Matt
Kofroth, Lancaster County Conservation District Watershed Specialist.
In Lancaster County there are over 1,400 miles of streams and creeks. Of this total,
nearly 50% of these streams are impaired or polluted according to the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
The Conservation District provides technical, informational
and organizational assistance that will improve watershed organization development and
the quality and quantity of the county's surface and groundwater resources. Come and hear
what we are doing.
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Saturday, August 17, 2019 9:00 am and/or
3:00 pm FIELD TRIP
"Summer Rerun of the Furnace Hills Butterfly
Count." Summer Rerun of the Furnace Hills Butterfly Count.
For the die-hard enthusiasts, we will start at 9:00 AM from Sunfish Pond
at Middlecreek Wildlife Management Area. No fee, but bring plenty of fluids
and sun screen for making a hot day of butterfly hunting in the field manageable.
August is the prime month to see numbers of butterflies. We will be regrouping
at 3:00 PM, at the Middlecreek Visitors Center, allowing those who want
a shorter day of butterflying to join us in the afternoon.
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Lancaster Butterfly & Entomological Club
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Monday, September 9, 2019 7:00 pm
"How insects survive winter cold" by Dr. David Newcomer.
Did you ever wonder what happens in the cold winter to all the insects we are accustomed
to seeing out and about during the warm summer months? Everyone knows about moth
cocoons, but what about dragonflies, lightning bugs, or water striders? Where do they
go? What do they do? This talk will enlighten us on the various ways cold-blooded insects
are able survive bone-chilling, winter cold we experience here in Pennsylvania.
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Monday, October 7, 2019 7:00 pm
"Members Night" Members share recent sightings, photos, movies, specimens,
books, other observations.
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Further Afield - Other organizations
Ned Smith Center
For Nature and Art
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Ned Smith Center
Saturday, July 27, 2019
10 am to 5 pm
"Ned Smith Center - Nature and Arts Festival," To be
held at the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art, 176 Water Company Rd., Millersburg,
PA sponsored by the Ned Smith Center.
Click on "Events." All ages will be entertained and stimulated.
Our contact person is John Laskowski at 717-362-7979 for more information.
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National Moth Week
Saturday, July 20 - 28, 2019
Celebrate National Moth Week July 20-28, 2019
. Turn the porch
light on and enjoy the show! NationalMothWeek.org has information on this
celebration of biodiversity of the often overlooked creatures in your neighborhood.
Pennsylvania has over 1000 species of moths.
Friday, June 22, 2019
Locally there will be a
Moth Night at Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center on June 22, 2019
with the Mengel Natural History Society and the Baird Ornithological Club hosting.
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Photographs
by Karl Gardner unless otherwise noted.
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