Page 47 - Grapevine July-August 2015
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Around The Vineyard
be able to have this sustainable them professionally because they We Sell
option,” James said. don’t have a large economic Equipment
impact. That We Use
Why Butterflies? & Believe In!
“It’s very rare to get a job that
The increase in butterfly numbers involves butterflies. They weren’t We Proudly Offer The
isn’t directly beneficial to vine- even under threat when I start- Following Equipment
yards. Butterflies don’t eat any ed my career,” said James, who
pests or have any direct economic wrote his Ph.D. dissertation 30
benefit. But they naturally live on years ago on about the monarch
the returned native plants, both butterfly. “But to now combine
as caterpillars and as adult but- practical pest management work
terflies. They also have immense with butterflies is remarkable.
aesthetic appeal to people, are And I think it will only grow as
important pollinators and are an we continue to see the benefits of
important part of healthy ecosys- natural pest management around
tems. the world. Nature conservation
and agriculture will be inti-
James said the viticulture mately linked in the future. The
industry is unusual in agriculture Washington wine grape industry
because many vineyards and win- is a pioneer of this movement.”
eries invite people onto the prop-
erty to enjoy the product. Funding for the work came from
Western Sustainable Agriculture
“To have butterflies flying Research and Education, the
around could be part of a tour- Northwest Center for Small Fruits
ism drive and an attraction for Research, and the Washington
visitors,” he said. “In these days Association of Wine Grape
of organic production and not Growers.
wanting pesticides on food, but-
terflies can be a symbol of that. Contact:
To show butterflies flying around
vineyards has great aesthetic and David James
commercial appeal.” WSU Department of Entomology
Career Coming Full Circle Phone: 509-786-9280
Email: david_james@wsu.edu
James has been working on pest For Full Product List & Information
management in grapes and other
crops for several decades. But Contact Us Today!
his interest in entomology started
with butterflies. He’s written a 806-229-2100
few books on butterflies, includ-
ing “Life Histories of Cascadia www.southwestagspec.com
Butterflies” (http://osupress.
oregonstate.edu/book/life-histo-
ries-of-cascadia-butterflies) about
species that live in Washington.
But he’s rarely been able to study
877-892-5332 The Grapevine • July - August 2015 Page 45
