Collecting in Miami, Florida

[vanatlanta]

Hi

I'll be travelling to Miami this summer, and will spend the two last weeks of june over there. I'm from Norway, so this will be my first trip overseas

Anybody got any tips to where I might be able to do some butterfly collecting in this area? My family will rent a car, so I hope to spend some time out of the big city. As far as I've understood, I should make sure to be in a national forest area while collecting, right? Seems to me that Americans are a little grumpy when it comes to trasspassing

Regards from Norway

[entoman]

Yes, don't tresspas on anybodies property, that is important. However, you do not necessarily have to make your way all the way over to a national forest (there aren't any near Miami anyway). You can collect in city parks so long as they aren't set up as conservation-type areas; Additionally, I believe that you may be able to collect in "wildlife management areas", a few of which are not to far from Miami. Everglades wildlife management area will probably be closest. Hunting is allowed in these areas, and I have read of no restrictions regarding insect collecting.

Hope you enjoy collecting insects here.

[vanatlanta]

Thank you for reply

We'll probarbly spend some time in the Everglades, as you suggested. But i came across this: "Please remember that collecting any wildlife or plants in Everglades National Park is strictly prohibited." - www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/upload/Butterfly9.pdf

Does this count for the entire Everglades National Park? I guess city parks might be my best shot then. Are people generally tolerant about people collecting insects in the US?

[entoman]

Everglades Wildlife Management Area is not the same thing as Everglades National Park. The Everglades are huge and the national park does not encompass the whole thing. Copy and paste this link, myfwc.com/media/185625/10-11_Everglades.pdf to view the Everglades Wildlife Management Area regulations (most of them pertain to hunting). Sw 8th st actually divides the two.

[vanatlanta]

Ah, I should've known! Thank you very much for your help, entoman

[starlightcriminal]

Be careful though- many "management" areas mean just that- no collecting. Florida may be different than the rest of the US, I'm not sure. But here is a link to an article by the Southern Lepidopterists that says in no uncertain terms that the entire area of the Florida Keys is considered a Wildlife Management area and as such is strictly protected from all forms of collecting:

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=10&ved=0CGAQFjAJ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.southernlepsoc.org%2Fpdf%2FVol_14_no_2.pdf&rct=j&q=%22Florida%20Keys%22%20%22collecting%20butterflies%22&ei=mEbeTfvkC4Xw0gG3x-SyCg&usg=AFQjCNFahncN8d0595RfbCPzLiPiPYv6iA&cad=rja

In my city, further north in Florida, you cannot collect in management areas or city parks or county parks and of course not state parks, forests, etc. so it seems that it can vary be region within the state. California is also like that I believe. It's really easiest to collect here, in my experience, on the roadsides (but not in the Keys) or near vacant lots. I use the "if a sign isn't posted" rule about seemingly unoccupied areas since that will hold up in a court of law, though it has never escalated at all. A surprisingly fruitful type of vacant locale are old car dealerships that are closed down. Usually big spaces with lots of weeds that are out in the open and easily noticed. Means the area is disturbed which encourages weedy flowers and thus butterflies and beetles that like that sort of thing. If you're looking for other types of insects I can't help much, I use private property with the owner's permission for much of that (things that like wooded areas and such).

Good luck! There are lots of great insects in Florida (and really awful ones too- be aware of fire ants and mosquitoes which can be especially bad in South Florida, in particular when close to the Everglades).

[starlightcriminal]

Also, when I read that article as a Floridian, the word "permit" pops out over and over- here that usually means you need one even if what you are after is not specifically mentioned. This all has to do with hunting, yes, but loosely it says that it is prohibited to use artificial light, nets, etc. in one section which may pertain to insects. I'm not sure how hunting and insect collecting are compared, if at all. I would be extremely cautious in this area specifically unless I knew for certain otherwise. The fine was about $5000 in the early 90's plus potential jail time depending on what it was you were caught with. The Everglades are at large is highly likely to be the best patrolled area in the state, I would try to get confirmation from the Florida FWC (phone number on the bottom of that article) that you can collect insects before risking it. I would be very interested to hear what you find out if you do check.