Three times a year volunteers in Middle Tennessee get together to conduct a census of butterflies, or a butterfly count.
"It's another way to look at what's happening in the world around us," Nancy Garden, one of the volunteers, said. "People count birds, people look at different kinds of plants, they look at the changes in what's growing in different places."
Garden has been counting butterflies for 20 years in Tennessee and reporting the results to the North Americana Butterfly Association.
In Tennessee, butterfly populations have remained about the same, but other observations show the butterflies Tennessee has are adapting to the recently milder winters.
"This year there were butterflies seen in March that we used to see in early May," Garden explained.
The counting is done by groups of people who use their knowledge and books to identify the species of butterfly. They then write down every one they see, and make sure not to count the same butterfly twice.
While the goal is to observe and take notes, many like to simply get out and enjoy looking at a creature that is often overlooked. The data is simply a bonus.
“They’re beautiful and they’re interesting. They’re all different, every kind of butterfly is different, it’s like birds or any other kind of animal – even people, they’re all different, so it’s fun to meet new people, all kinds of different new people, it’s fun to see new butterflies," Garden said.
All of the data gathered is posted to the North American Butterfly Association's website.
