Butterflies of Everglades National Park

Lenczewski, Barbara

The South Florida butterfly fauna is often considered by lepidopterists to be well-known and thoroughly recorded. In part, we find this to be true. Miami and the Dade County area, the Keys and Everglades National Park have long been favorite spots for winter-vacationing northern enthusiasts. As the only subtropical area on the U.S. mainland with a close West Indian faunal and floral association, collectors in this area have been able to sample many tropical species not found elsewhere in the United States. The Everglades, although unique and beautiful, are neither particularly pleasant nor conducive to field work in the summer months. Many butterfly species are highly seasonal and thus poorly recorded due to coincidence of occurrence with mosquito infested periods or to summer flooding making their habitats inaccessible. In recent years, there also seems to have been a decline in several species previously considered common and the establishment of many others hitherto unknown in the country.

Butterflies of Everglades National Park

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