Butterflies, Moths and Chatham Township: Lincoln Brower 1931-2018

Contributed by Roz Mytelka, Chatham Township Historical Society

Lincoln Brower, foremost expert on monarch butterflies, grew up in Chatham Township. He was the younger brother of former Mayor and Committee Member Bailey Brower. He was raised in the large family homestead that included dairying and rose-growing operations.

According to Brower, he learned scientific method and discipline from his grandfather, Louis M. Noe, who grew roses. He was also influenced by Charles Rummel, a German immigrant in Green Village, who collected butterflies and moths in the Great Swamp. Brower would accompany him through the Swamp to his traps, baited with beer, molasses and rum to investigate the trapped insects.

Brower said he became interested in butterflies and moths at the age of 7. At 16, he knew he wanted to study biology. A graduate of Chatham High School, he received a BA from Princeton University and a PhD from Yale. He was a Fulbright scholar at Oxford.

Brower spent six decades studying the monarch butterfly and urging actions to protect it. He was the founder of the field of Chemical Ecology. His research led him to analyze the relationship of toxic butterflies to their food plant. Monarch butterflies are for the most part not eaten by birds. The butterflies eat milkweed exclusively during their caterpillar stage. He proved that the toxicity of the monarchs was derived from natural chemicals in the milkweed plant.

Most of us are familiar with the migration pattern of the monarchs. During the summer three generations live and die, but when the summer ends, a fourth generation makes the huge migration. Until 1975, no one knew where the monarchs went. Then it was discovered that they flew by the billions to a 30 by 70 mile area in northern Mexico. After this discovery, Brower worked in the overwintering sites in Mexico and the emphasis of his career shifted toward monarch conservation.

He was instrumental in the creation of sanctuaries for the overwintering monarchs. Also, more broadly, he was concerned about the use of herbicides which result in limited biological diversity. He appeared on television and made eight films to alert the public to threats to the monarch butterfly and the environment.

Brower taught at Amherst and the University of Florida and was a research professor at Sweet Briar College when he died. He published 167 peer-reviewed articles. He received many awards and honors, including the Linnean Medal.

A prominent scientist from Chatham Township!

Would you like to learn more about Dr. Brower and monarchs, check out this Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8Vrzd_SvTc.

The Red Brick Schoolhouse Museum at 24 Southern Blvd is open the first Sunday of every month from 2-4 PM. Come learn about the history of Chatham Township.