The subjects of this brief report are the "charismatic megafauna" of the insect world. Better yet, the phrase "charismatic microfauna" seems appropriate. If you wish, you can also think of butterflies as the "flying flowers" of the insect world. Although some species are rather nondescript in color and pattern; many are very colorful and boldly patterned.

In looking at animal diversity on our planet and the relative diversity of various animal groups; the iceberg analogy is useful. Butterflies are the easy to see tip of the iceberg while the rest of the insect groups comprise the vast amount of the iceberg that is not readily visible. The species diversity of large animals with backbones - those that we most often notice - pales in comparison to the diversity of small animals without backbones, most notably the insects.

The place behind this story is the Pend-d’Oreille River valley in the West Kootenay area of southeastern British Columbia. Pronounce the name "pond-o-ray". Apparently the name was coined by French-Canadian voyageurs in reference to First Nation people that made a practice of wearing dangling shell earrings. I believe that the Pend-d’Oreille valley is the "biodiversity central" of the British Columbia butterfly world. Read on and you will see why I have this belief.

I have deliberately written this report with an informal style to ease the communication process for readers with little prior exposure to the wonderful world of butterflies - and besides, butterfly study should be fun !