That's the day we're encouraged to "to look for a blur of color as butterflies begin migrating across the country. Each year the celebration brings with it an awareness of the varieties of butterflies and their importance to our survival. Spring and summer are just right around the corner, so it is an excellent time to take a few minutes and learn something new about butterflies and appreciate their beauty."--National Learn About Butterflies Day.
Enter butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, who has monitored butterfly populations of central California since 1972 and maintains a one-of-a-kind research website, Art's Butterfly World.
He's often interviewed on "Learn About Butterflies Day." Yesterday he granted an interview to a Sacramento television station. And back in 2020, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife interviewed him. The Los Angeles Times spotlighted him in November 2019.
The North American Butterfly Monitoring Network (NABA) website praises his work: "Art Shapiro began monitoring 10 transects in 1972 and has been conducting bi-weekly monitoring of those sites ever since. He also monitors an additional site as part of NABA's Seasonal Count Program! Art's program is the longest continually running butterfly monitoring project in the world, predating even the British Butterfly Monitoring Scheme."
Shapiro's fixed routes at ten sites range from the Sacramento River delta, through the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada mountains, and to the high desert of the western Great Basin. "The sites," he says, "represent the great biological, geological, and climatological diversity of central California."
Latest statistics on his website indicate that by the end of 2006, he had logged 5476 site-visits and tallied approximately 83,000 individual records of 159 butterfly species and subspecies. Note that Shapiro does not drive a vehicle. His main mode of transportation is walking. For instance, he buses from Davis to Vacaville, and walks from the bus station up Gates Canyon Road to his monitoring site and back.
How many total miles has he walked since 1972?
Shapiro replied: "Since 1988, when all ten sites were firmly established, if an average site visit is 4 miles and I do an average of 225 site visits a year, that's 225 x 4 x 33 years=29,700 miles. Of course, if you add in the years 1972-1987, it would be substantially higher. No wonder my feet are made of leather!"
The UC Davis professor estimates he wears out three to four pairs of shoes a year. "Cheapie sneakers, though," he says.
Attached Images:
One of Art Shapiro's monitoring sites is Gates Canyon, Vacaville. Here he looks for butterflies in this image taken on Jan. 25, 2014. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis distinguished professor Art Shapiro estimates he wears out three or four pairs of a shoes a year. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)