The University of Louisville – reigning NCAA men’s basketball champs – will show off some of its educational chops July 20 by taking part in the national butterfly census.
The public is invited.
The census will be held at the University’s Horner Wildlife Sanctuary in Oldham County, Ky., from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. EDT. Volunteers are not required to stay the full-time.
University of Louisville biology professor emeritus Charles Covell and other butterfly specialists will lead the count.
Volunteers should bring water, lunch and insect repellent and wear a hat, hiking shoes, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt.
Project leaders will teach participants how to ID butterflies. Nets will be provided but volunteers can use cameras, binoculars and notebooks to gather information. Last year 36 species and 765 individual butterflies were recorded.
Volunteer counters should meet at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot of Sugarbabe Antiques, located about one mile northwest of Exit 14 off Interstate 71. This is about 20 miles northeast of Louisville, Ky. In case of rain the count will be held July 21.
Covell, who organized the Society of Kentucky Lepidopterists for the study of butterflies and moths in 1974 and retired from the University of Louisville in 2004, continues to lead the annual Kentucky butterfly count.
Need more? Contact Covell at covell@louisville.edu.
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