Southern butterflies invade RI field

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BRISTOL, R.I. (AP) - Wildlife officials are baffled by the presence of a butterfly more common to the South that has taken up residence in a Bristol field by the thousands.

The Audubon Society of Rhode Island said Wednesday that more than 3,200 Baltimore checkerspots were counted in the field during the organization's annual butterfly census. Just 40 were found in the rest of the state.

A doubling of the number of butterflies of all species in this year's census to more than 7,200 was almost entirely due to the huge number of checkerspots.

July Lewis, the Audubon's volunteer coordinator, called the find "fascinating" and said experts are trying to figure out why they congregated in the area.

Checkerspots are more often found in southern states and are Maryland's state insect.

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Information from: The Providence Journal, http://www.projo.com/

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.