Butterflies and Moths of North America project. This is a citizen scientist project (much like Project BudBurst, another citizen scientist project I've written about and participate in that collects plant phenology data from volunteers). It's spearheaded by the good folks at Montana State University and it seeks to gather the swarm of photos and information collected by recreational and professional lepidopterists into one online database.

The BAMONA about page describes the need best:

In recent years, research has indicated that butterflies and other species appear to be shifting their ranges in response to climatic change. Additionally, there is evidence that some butterflies are emerging earlier in the year; this altered timing of metamorphosis may indicate ecosystem changes. Studies on pollinator declines also show alarming trends, mostly in bees, but data on other pollinators is sorely needed. Research of these types and scales require far more data than any single scientist can amass.

While museum collections, personal collections, published literature, and paper field guides contain valuable data, these sources:

• are scattered,
• can be out of date,
• contain varying levels of detail,
• can require considerable effort to access, and
• are often known only to a limited circle of lepidopterists.

When asking complex questions, scientists need to spend time conducting analysis, not amassing data or tracking down individual personal collections one by one to map species ranges or abundance.

The BAMONA project aims to serve as a one-stop database of butterfly and moth data that scientists can use to form or to address research questions. While it is a collaborative effort between individuals with varying levels of knowledge and experience with Lepidoptera, contributors share a common goal of assembling high quality data on butterfly and moth distribution.

Through the BAMONA website you can browse uploaded photos submitted by BAMONA participants, access links to other butterfly, moth, caterpillar, and bug identification resources, learn more about butterflies and moths in general or about specific species, and follow recent butterfly and moth sightings.

Having all this information readily available in one place will surely be a boon for scientists but I welcome this link as a resource for making a quick identification of an unfamiliar moth or butterfly. To insure easy access to the BAMONA link I've added it to the Gardening Links widget on the right side of this blog.

Spring is right around the corner – just 11 more days. My first crocus is blooming and just this morning I saw robins in the yard. Moths and butterflies will soon be evident and I suspect the BAMONA website will get a lot of hits from me.

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