The Diana Project: Diana Fritillary Conservation Status's Journal

and so long male Diana's for the season (in some areas). Looks like the females are hanging out in the trees. Not many sightings right now.

Hello everyone:)
I just wanted to send you our ‘end of pollinator month’ update and say Thank-you for all of your help thus far. The Diana Project is in planning mode until Spring 2025 except for social media monitoring and interacting.

Here is a look at what WE accomplished this year so far! A heartfelt “Thank-you” to everyone who supported, encouraged, volunteered, input, critiqued, suggested or just wanted to help! We have accomplished allot in a year. Whew! As Randy Rowland told me, this is not a 5k, it is a marathon. So the next several months will be me organizing files, photos, etc., and sending out a new email list sign up option. Once I get organized we will start planning for Pollinator Month 2025.

Identification education and interp

• 1000 members on Facebook

• 103 instagram
  If you haven’t seen the Facebook page it is worth a gander. There are some great pictures. It has been a good tool for teaching identification of The Diana there as well as used it for a springboard to enhance citizen science and AMN. The most popular post so far was by Jane Steinkraus who saw 4 males in West Fork; It has almost 3000 views! I hope to do more on instagram this coming year.

Citizen science

• 202 members on iNaturalist project page
• 357 total observations made to iNat in 2024 this far (compared to 129 total combined from 2008 to 2023)

Partnership impact

• 3161 visits to www.thedianaproject.com
• 753 of those were to the native plant list for The Diana which indicate our impact encouraging native plant use
• 351 visitors followed the link to “Learn more about Arkansas Master Naturalist”
• 111visits to Resource List that contains links to some of our partner entities and information (AGFC, Pollinator Project, ANHC)

Outreach and pollinator education
6 monthly meetings
2 training sessions
2 NIT sessions
3 radio interviews
38 presentations, meetings or interp tables
1 summer camp (ONSC)

Installed interp as Diana Patch installations (gardens installed with signs forthcoming)

• Calico Rock, Jill Easton project
• OHNC
• Fayetteville Public Library
• The Nature Conservancy, Logan Springs Preserve

Thank you each and everyone for supporting this project. It truly means the world to me.

Advocate for the voiceless,
Ms. Shawn Hunter

... that the place to be this weekend for an easy walk and tons of blooms in NWA - try one of these AR Natural Heritage Commission locations
1). Cherokee Tall Grass Prairie (TGP) - 584 acres
2). Flanagan TGP - 536 acres
3). Presson/ Oglesby TGP - 200 acres.

Why? The Prairie gayfeather Liatris is in peak bloom now... yellow Rudbeckia grandiflora and Ashy sunflower. There are over 400 plant species listed on these sites.

4). There is also a new area at Healing Springs Natural Area - 25 acres of Monarda fistulosa in peak bloom right now. Healing Springs is between XNA entrance and Cave Springs.

More natural areas near you? Check out https://www.arkansasheritage.com

June 29 at Historic Cane Hill 10am-12pm

Celebrate National Pollinators Month by exploring the wonders of Arkansas’ State Butterfly, the Diana Fritillary (Argynnis diana), with Shawn Hunter.

Shawn is a NWA Master Naturalist, a Wild Ones Ozark Chapter member, and the co-founder of The Diana Project. Shawn will share an informative presentation that explores the Diana’s unique lifecycle and the challenges it faces. She will also explain the history and purpose of The Diana Project and provide resources to help participants become involved. The presentation will help create public awareness regarding creation and protection of habitat, the importance of providing essential native plant nectar, and the need for responsible pesticide and herbicide use.

Guests are invited to bring their lunch to enjoy after the workshop, or go directly out to the trails to begin identifying butterflies. iNaturalist is critical to The Diana Project for providing decision makers much-needed data to help track threatened insects. If attendees would like to use their mobile phone or other smart device, they can practice sighting pollinators after the presentation. Folks that are avid iNat users are invited to help new iNat users during the hike.

This is a free event, but registration is requested. Participants can register at historiccanehillar.org/pollinator-pals

The trip planned to day to visit and learn from Mr. Barnhart at the Roston Butterfly House has been cancelled due to inclement weather in Springfield, MO. We will let you know when it is rescheduled.

As of June 1st The Diana Project appears to be successful with many thanks to all of you who are doing the leg work. I wanted to post this update to let you know our efforts to create pollinator awareness and encourage citizen science to increase The Diana's chance of survival during our first year are working. Here are some statistics to prove it:

✓ Over 800 people on the Facebook page and 87 on instagram.
✓ 187 members in The Diana Project here on iNaturalist
✓ This year to date we have 236 observations of Diana's. This is almost twice as many as the last 10 years of observations combined.
✓ 100 observers this year have seen Diana's and posted to iNaturalist which is 44 more than the last 10 years combined.
✓ 2392 visits to the website we published in June 2023 - Insights indicate 462 of those visitors went to the native plant list and 370 came to check out our project here on iNaturalist. There were 374 looking into "How to become an Arkansas Master Naturalist" with the remaining divided between social media, events, contact info and the resources list.

In one year The Diana Project has been very well received by other entities and we have had several cooperative opportunities.

• Fayetteville Public Library green roof - Native Plant and Pollinator Education Garden installation of The Diana Patch #1
• The Nature Conservancy (TNC) at Logan Springs Preserve - 500 plants donated by TNC and installed with the help of volunteers - The Diana Patch #2
• JB and Johnelle Hunt Ozark Highlands Nature Center (ONHC) - The Diana Patch #3 installation
• NW Arkansas Master Naturalist Native Plant Project - donated plants for ONHC and the Library as well as advice in plant selection for the green roof.
• The Ozark Society - provided cases of Lori Spencer's books to distribute for a discounted donation as a fundraiser
• Ozark Wild Ones - much appreciated native plant advice and research for the entire project
• Many of the local native plant nurseries understand the value, to their bottom line and to The Diana, of offering both violets and the special nectar plants to their customers. We have been working to try to coordinate both the selection, seed collections and marketing for them to be more successful.
• Pollinator Project & Bee Friendly Gardening - providing a resource list for us to use and spreading the word in their newsletter
• Arkansas Game and Fish (Nick Goforth) - For fact checking me as we go and answering a bazillion questions from me via email without ever once complaining.

I am constantly reminded by friends, volunteers and family that I can't save an entire species by myself. My answer to that is, "I can damn sure try!" But it is much more sustainable and likely to prove successful to have you all aiming for the same goal. All I can say is Thank-You! Thank-You! Thank-You!

Be sure to check out the updates on the website. There is a new link to the events coming up, a resource page with tons of ideas from prescribed burns to native plant nurseries and the updated research based nectar plant list for our specialist, The Diana.

https://www.thedianaproject.org

Hello ʚïɞ watchers!
I am appealing to anyone able to get out and make an extra effort in the northern half of the state. Last year there was a confirmed sighting in Elm Springs and Fayetteville near Dean Solomon. It is critical that we locate NWA populations since it is getting hit the hardest by fragmented habitat. Really anywhere that is North of the expected sightings such as in the river valley. They may be few and far between so please make the effort. I am only one pair of boots so my territory is limited. Check graveyards, ANHC natural areas, The Nature Conservancy sites and AR Land Trust areas if you have one near you. 10am and 1pm are prime times!

https://www.kuaf.com/show/ozarks-at-large/2024-05-15/the-diana-project-celebrates-pollinator-month-with-volunteer-events

Also, be sure to check out https://thedianaproject.org for upcoming volunteer events and presentations.

I don't know how to post a link here but this is the very first Diana of the flight season!

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/215987995

Any minute now! Looks like the earliest Diana in the history was sighted around May 11 so we are getting close. I saw thistles out today so there is food to be had. Has everyone got the Diana Primary plant list that wants it? Holler if you need it!

I have never seen so many violets as I did today. I am so excited to keep checking back at this location for The Diana. Most of the violets had little nibbles on the leaves!

According to https://nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/Plants/3455 there are 23 species of wildlife that depend on native violets. Something out there sure was!

If you are in NW Arkansas be sure to check out The Nature Conservancy's Logan Springs Preserve located at 15300 Osage Hill Rd, Siloam Springs, AR.