Forty-one volunteers from four Virginia Master Naturalist chapters, and others from the region, participated in the fifth annual Middle Peninsula North American Butterfly Association count, which was held on Aug. 23. Parts of Gloucester, Mathews, Middlesex, and King and Queen counties were covered in the one-day census, with the count sponsored by the Middle Peninsula Master Naturalists. During the nine-hour count a total of 1,910 butterflies were counted in the four-county area with 41 different species of butterflies identified. The most numerous species was the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (the Virginia state insect) at 491 individuals. The volunteers visited public parks and over 60 private properties and businesses to count the butterflies. The data from the count was submitted to NABA and will contribute to the long-term scientific monitoring of butterfly populations and geographical distribution. Above is an Appalachian Brown Butterfly found in James Store area wetlands of Gloucest...