Shawn Carlson Some of my earliest adventures in science came while I was a small boy hunting insects in my mother's flower garden. She loved her garden for its explosions of yellow, lavender and violet blossoms, but I was much more interested in stalking the ostentatious visitors they attracted. My mother's flowers served as sugary ports of call for butterflies so dazzling that spring still finds me netting and occasionally raising these delightful insects. Yet with only modest equipment, the amateur lepidopterist can find almost endless diversion and even do original research.
Populations can respond dramatically to changing habitats, and each specimen tells a story.
The first requirement for a butterfly hunter is, of course, a deep gauze net. Never chase a flying insect. You'll run yourself into the dirt in half an hour with nothing to show for your exhaustion. Instead approach your quarry slowly while it is feeding and scoop it up from behind. You may also be able to catch butterflies from a stationary position as they flutter past.