Live release of butterflies misinformation

[Anonymous]

From: Jon Timko jon.timko@dol.net
Date: 01/03/02
Time: 03:49 AM


The information you present in your posting is not true but continues to be disseminated by certain individuals. Butterfly breeders do not send butterflies to areas their native ranges. It makes no sense to do this. The butterflies released are so few that they have no impacts on local plants. Because of the care in breeding taken by breeders, released butterflies are "cleaner" than those in the wild. They do not spread disease and parasites to wild insect populations. And as far as the naba article is concerned, please go to www.butterflybreeders.org to see the scientific rebuttal to these claims. Misinformation is not good. Science should prevail, not unsubstantiated opinion.

thanks

[Anonymous]

From: Steve Argue steveorchid@yahoo.com
Date: 01/04/02
Time: 12:19 PM


It should be obvious that a few released butterflies in an area that they are not native can turn into many and turn into a problem. This is an extremely obvious point, but you seem to have missed it.

[Anonymous]

From: Jon Timko (timko6@home.com)
Date: 01/15/02
Time: 08:45 PM


This is exactly my point. Professional breeders who sell for live release at events never send to areas where the species are not endemic. We know that but it seems that someone doesn't want the public to know that we KNOW what we are doing. Again, this is misinformation being propagated. I have not missed the point; you have proved mine.

[Anonymous]

From: Steve Argue steveorchid@yahoo.com
Date: 01/16/02
Time: 11:16 AM


You first stated, "Butterfly breeders do not send butterflies to areas their native ranges." I apparently misread the meaning of your typo. If butterflies are in fact not being released outside their native ranges, I'm glad to hear it. ---Steve Argue

[Anonymous]

From: Carol Witham, cwitham@ncal.net
Date: 02/19/02
Time: 09:38 AM


I on the other hand am very concerned about genetic contamination caused by release of butterflies. Monarchs are native to most of the US and yet those native to areas east of the Rockies migrate to Mexico for the winter while those west go to areas of the California coast. If you mix the two, do their offspring successfully migrate to the correct location? Or do they just die because they don't know where to go?