Bethpage State Park Ecology

   This week in the pollinator garden behind our maintenance shop, park staff gathered in awe to find dozens of native butterfly species not only present simultaneously but feeding voraciously! Many remarked that it was like being spectators at Bethpage State Park's very own "Butterfly Zone". These high numbers seen so late in the season may have to do with the extremely warm weather we've been experiencing on Long Island well into October; during midday, on both Friday October 6 and Monday October 9, temperatures reached 80 ° F. In the past, temperatures were cooler and many of the butterflies seen this week would have been well on their path of migration to warmer habitats down south.          Nevertheless, butterflies of all different shapes and colors were swarming around many of the flowers and shrubs still in bloom near #13 green on the Black Course. One type of flower in particular, the Lantanas, was the champion of all host pla...