Symposium

The Association for Butterflies Symposium 2009 was a great success. Butterfly farmers and enthusiasts from all over the US met in Townsend, Tennessee for three days of butterfly education and fun.

Helen Johnson spoke to us about Monarch Alert, her western Monarch tagging program. Linda Marchman's Monarch gives Helen a butterfly kiss.

Stuart Rietz gave us quite an education about thrips. These tiny creatures damage milkweed plants. With his help, butterfly farmers will be able to bring these nasty creature under control.

A common milkweed professional grower taught us more about common milkweed than we had any idea there was to learn. From its history in WWII to its use as a spill-soaker to pillows and comforters to ... there was so much to learn. He taught us how to pre-treat common milkweed seed, plant it, and care for it. We learned WHY common milkweed plots are spotty - with blank areas. We learned why weed block fabric is NOT a good idea.

One evening we sat in front of a fire and ate BBQ for supper. What a wonderful time we had chatting and visiting with other butterfly farmers we rarely see in person but talk with on the Internet constantly. We met farmers we'd never met before the symposium.

Other topics included marketing, red admirals, traveling exhibits, tagging, presentations, greenhouse production, plant production, and raising host plants for the 9 USDA species.