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Things
to think about and things to do. |
Now that you have finished
this unit of work, you will understand a lot more about butterflies than
you did before and you will have become an expert about the butterfly life
cycle.
You will also have
learnt that butterflies are beautiful and delicate creatures that are part
of our environment.
What you may not have
realised is that there are some butterflies, both in Australia and in other
parts of the world, that are becoming rare and endangered.
The main reason why
this is happening is because the plants that provide food for them (food
host) are disappearing.
Some of the reasons
why this is happening is because
-
the land on which the
plants once grew has been cleared and built on.
-
cattle, sheep or feral
animals such as goats and rabbits are feeding or trampling on the food
host.
-
people are not planting
plants that butterflies can feed on in their gardens any more. Many people
prefer to plant lawn, shrubs and bushes instead of plants that produce
nectar that butterflies feed on.
-
fires have destroyed the
butterfly's food host.
-
some farmers use very
powerful poisonous sprays to protect their crops from insects. Sometimes,
when these sprays are spread from the air by small planes, the wind can
carry the poison to surrounding areas where the butterfly's food host grows.
-
searching and drilling
for oil and gas has caused the destruction of the land and the food host.
-
toxic waste from factories
in the city and other places has ended up in the wetlands where butterflies
breed.
Once the butterfly's food
host has disappeared it is very difficult to restore it. It takes a very
long time and is very expensive to do. Plants take a long time to grow
and because so many are needed, it costs a lot of money.
Therefore, protecting
the habitats of the host plants is an important way of making sure that
butterflies survive.
Things that you
can do
Find out more
about local butterflies and butterfly conservation by visiting the South
Australian Butterflies site at:
http://www.adelaide.net.au/~reid/
Go to see the butterfly
display at the Museum of South Australia and visit their butterfly website
called Where have all the butterflies gone?
This site has interesting
information and photographs about butterflies and their food hosts in different
parts of South Australia. It shows which host plants are important and
which areas need protection.
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