The Yale Peabody Museum’s Division of Entomology was closely involved in the Connecticut Butterfly Atlas Project, whose primary goal was to map the distribution of Connecticut’s butterfly species. Over 120 butterfly species have been reported in Connecticut, and the Project documented the occurrence of 117 species from 1995 through 1999.
Volunteers collected data in the form of vouchers and field forms. Vouchers were either specimens or photographs, and provided the information needed to produce maps of each species’ distribution in the state. The Project’s mapping system is based on the standard United States Geological Survey topographic map quadrangle series. Each of Connecticut’s 115 quadrangles is divided into 6 blocks, and the presence of butterfly species in each block is noted.
The results were published in the Connecticut Butterfly Atlas, available from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. It includes notes on the abundance, flight periods, habitats, and favorite nectar sources of Connecticut’s butterflies, as well as information on the historical distribution of butterflies in the state.
The Connecticut Butterfly Atlas Project was sponsored by the State Geological and Natural History Survey of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Connecticut Butterfly Association, and the Connecticut Entomological Society.
Connecticut Butterfly Atlas Project Steering Committee
Andy Brand, Connecticut Butterfly Association
Jeff Fengler, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Larry Gall, Yale University
Carol Lemmon, Connecticut Butterfly Association
Chris Maier, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Jane O’Donnell, University of Connecticut
Ray Pupedis, Yale University
Charles Remington, Yale University
Clay Taylor, Connecticut Butterfly Association
Mike Thomas, Connecticut Entomological Society
Dave Wagner, University of Connecticut
Louis Bevier and Les Mehrhoff (formerly)