Scientists are amazed and delighted by community response to a plan to save Australian butterflies.

"We have had an astonishing response from non professional butterfly enthusiasts," says CSIRO's Dr Don Sands, who is developing a national Butterfly Action Plan to halt the loss of some of Australia's most beautiful and fragile wildlife. "The wealth of local knowledge they have contributed has been overwhelming, and we really could not have done this Action Plan without them. They have contributed much of the information that the Plan will be based on."

"We've learned that the abundance of some butterfly species are dependent on bushfires at certain intervals to promote new flush of leaves on their food plants. For other kinds of butterflies, fires are a disaster for their survival. So fire management of their habitats is crucial".

"We've learned so much more about the distribution of species. Some are more widely distributed than we thought. We've learned that some rare species are not necessarily threatened, some rare species, while there aren't many of them, are thriving near the cities, when their habitats are fairly intact," says Dr Sands. "And we've learned that butterfly collecting in Australia is not a threatening process. People are acting responsibly in this country."

Team members Dr Sands and Dr Geoff Clarke of CSIRO Division of Entomology and Dr Tim New of Latrobe University are compiling information from across Australia on butterfly species threatened with extinction. Conserving butterflies is a vital component of conserving Australia's unique biodiversity, according to Dr Don Sands.

" Many people are only aware of threats to Australia's cute and the cuddly wildlife species," says Dr Sands. "Butterflies are an important environmental indicator species. How they are managing gives us an idea about the rest of the invertebrate world, which makes up to over 99% of all the animals on earth. Many plants and insects are dependent on each other. Without insects to pollinate their flowers many plants could not reproduce. And without insects munching away on their leaves, many plants would soon become out-of-control weeds."

The Action Plan will be completed in mid 2000 and will focus on a short list of butterflies that are truly endangered. It will contain recommendations at a Federal, State and municipal level, with guidelines for butterfly recovery actions. Information for the Butterfly Action Plan is being collected via surveys, submissions and a series of workshops held around Australia. Workshops are scheduled in Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra in early 2000.

The team has found that loss of habitat and loss of butterfly food plants are the most important threats to butterfly survival. Melaleuca wetlands along the east coast of Australia and sand dune vegetation in West Australia are high on the list of habitat types and locations that are rapidly being lost. The list of threatened butterfly species is currently being compiled, with Queensland's Bull Oak Jewel Butterfly definitely in trouble.

"This butterfly is found only in a small fragment of bush and its caterpillars live with one kind of ant on the western Darling Downs. It depends entirely on mature Bull Oaks as a food tree, and these are rapidly being cleared for farms," says Dr Sands. "Without prompt action this species could soon be lost forever."

Protecting bushland in reserves or national parks can help arrest habitat loss. Habitats on private lands can be protected through programs such as Land for Wildlife and by working with local councils on ways to involve the local community. The community can do much to ensure butterfly conservation according to Dr Sands.

"They can get involved in their local conservation groups and share knowledge and information. They can protect the bush on their lands and they can plant butterfly food plants."

Further information: 

Dr Don Sands   (07) 3214 2803

Dr Geoff Clarke (02) 6246 4078