STARTING A TRANSECT

The transect is a fixed route along which walks are made. Once chosen, the route should not be altered. Comparisons are dependent on continuity from week to week and year to year. The transect route should be chosen to be reasonably representative of the locality as a whole. However, it is interesting to include areas which are managed differently,or, perhaps, have more species present than others, or contain a population of a particularly interesting or local species.

Written permission or a formal permit must be obtained from the landowner. Voucher specimens which are not legally obtained cannot be deposited in museums.

The transect should be only as long as is easily manageable, bearing in mind:

1. It must be walked at least once a week.

2. At the height of the season, when there are many butterflies on the wing, counting will take longer than earlier in the year.

3. Someone else may take over the transect or substitute for a week or so in the absence of the regular recorder.

It is better to restrict the route to paths, the boundaries of which are obvious. In more open habitats, established paths may be used and the butterflies counted within limits which are judged by eye. The precise width is not important, but recording becomes more difficult if the width is over about 15 feet. The width should be fixed for a given transect. Ideally, use a total width of approximately 15 feet (7.5 feet to either side). A fixed route can be marked out, using posts or canes, to ensure that the same path is followed. Buried steel rods can be used in public parks to provide long term identification of the route using a metal detector. If the route chosen makes it necessary for some sections to be covered twice due to overlapping paths, butterflies should be recorded only on the first occasion that the section is covered. A loop is ideal.