Jeremy Tatum writes:

The current (Winter 2014) issue of BC Nature includes an article in which it is proposed to introduce large numbers of European butterflies (such as Peacock and Map butterflies) to Salt Spring Island. These are to be obtained from a commercial supplier in England, known as World Wide Butterflies. The proposed butterflies include Painted Ladies which have been “specially designed” and have been artificially reared for generations on Stinging Nettles, which are not their usual foodplant here. The author is applying for a permit from Parks Canada.

This site would welcome short comments. Some viewers might also want to send comments to BC Nature or perhaps also to Parks Canada.

The article is illustrated with photographs of three butterflies. One is our native Milbert’s Tortoiseshell. Another is the Peacock butterfly, well known in Britain. The third is labelled “Red Admiral”. Viewers of this site who have seen the article will recognize that this is not the Vanessa atalanta commonly known here and in Britain as the Red Admiral, and may wonder what the illustrated butterfly is. It is in fact Vanessa gonerilla, a New Zealand endemic, known there as the New Zealand Red Admiral.