Join us in the South Okanagan this summer for a Butterfly Count (27 June 2026) and Dragonfly Count (28 June 2026). We will be sampling in the Vaseux Lake Christmas Bird Count Circle which includes Vaseux Lake Provincial Park, White Lake Grasslands Protected Area, and most of Skaha Lake. There are >45 odonate and >85 butterfly species known from this circle. Can you add more?
We’ll be emailing attendees with more information as we get closer to the date. If you are interested in joining either count, please RSVP here. If you have any comments or questions, please send them to Nathan (nathan.g.earley [at] gmail.com) or Tyler (tyler.nelson [at] live.ca).
Background
The South Okanagan is a biodiversity hotspot where many unique and exciting Canadian insects occur. Some of the most charismatic of these species are butterflies and dragonflies, making them favourite taxa of budding insect enthusiasts and established bug nerds alike. Join us in the South Okanagan in late June 2026 for what we hope will become annual Butterfly and Dragonfly Counts. We will follow similar sampling methods to some of the counts that piqued our entomological interests decades ago – the Algonquin Butterfly and Dragonfly Counts in Ontario and the Dry Island Buffalo Jump Butterfly Count in Alberta.
N.B.
While proposing the original Christmas Bird Counts one hundred and twenty-five years ago, Frank F. Chapman suggested that there would be “exceptional opportunities for winning the laurels of the chase.” We anticipate at least this much long-term success, and, with our counts being entomological in nature, the laurels to be won are no doubt grander.
Arrowhead Blue (Glaucopsyche piasus) photo by Liam Ragan (CC-BY-NC).