The Mason Farm Butterfly Project was a community science project that monitored butterflies at Mason Farm Biological Reserve, a nature preserve managed by the NC Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill. This project officially ran between 2015-2025, and now encourages participants to continue their efforts by joining the Carolinas Butterfly Monitoring Program. Learn more about the project here: https://ncbutterflies.web.unc.edu/
Mason Farm Butterfly Project (North Carolina)
Snapshot
Coordinator: Hamon, Laurie
Program Started: 2015
Institutional Affiliation: The Kingsolver Lab at UNC - Chapel Hill
Institution Type: Academic Institution
Species Focus: All butterfly species
Protocol
Protocol Type: Pollard, Transect
Data Type(s): Presence only, Abundance
Survey Focus: Adults
Additional Notes: Deviates from strict Pollard protocols in having multiple observers and often larger observer parties
Taxonomic Standard: Modified Pelham 2013
Program Results
Publications:
Laura E Hamon, Joel G Kingsolver, Kati J Moore, Allen H Hurlbert, High voltinism, late-emerging butterflies are sensitive to interannual variation in spring temperature in North Carolina, Environmental Entomology, Volume 54, Issue 1, February 2025, Pages 77–85, https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvae110