Volunteers Sought To Count Butterflies In Several Area Towns

Roaring Brook Nature Center

CANTON, CT — A prominent nature center in Canton is hosting a special event Saturday, July 19, where volunteers will fan out throughout a multi-town area and count butterflies.

The Roaring Brook Nature Center's annual Farmington Valley Butterfly Count will take place on Saturday, July 19, throughout the day.

The event, now in its 30th year, attempts to survey all butterflies found within a 15-mile diameter circle, the center of which lies at the intersection of Routes 44 and 167 near the Simsbury/Avon Town Line.

All of Avon, Simsbury, and Canton, as well as portions of Farmington, West Hartford, Burlington, and New Hartford, are included within the circle.

The count helps assess how butterfly populations are faring in our area and whether certain species are increasing or declining.

Butterflies serve as “environmental indicators,” providing us with clues as to the health of our environment, according to the nature center.

In 2024, 57 monarch butterflies were recorded on the Count, up from 20 the previous year.

Last year, the event's coverage of the area was "excellent," with 24 observers in 16 parties covering 46 miles in 58 hours.

"We totaled 39 species of butterfly for the count, just short of 40 species, a mark we have reached but four times in the 30 years we have conducted the count," wrote the nature center. "Our high count is 42 species, reached in 2011 and 2014."

Interest in the count seems to be slowly growing each year.

Anyone interested in learning more can contact Jay Kaplan at the Roaring Brook Nature Center at 860-693-0263.