Our updated WBA Website has something new. We now have a Blog that you can use to search for articles from over 97 issues of the G’num (and counting!), from the first volume published in 2000 through the most recent. This includes species profiles, trip reports, and more. The power of the Blog is the ability to search for the topic or article you want. We have a few suggestions below to help you efficiently find what you want.
The search box is accessed via the Blog tab in the navigation menu. From the Blog screen, the search box is found at the bottom or right side of the screen, depending on which device you are using (Figure 1). (Our website now works on phones!)
Figure 1: Our new website’s Blog tab:
https://wabutterflyassoc.org/blog-home/
To get an idea of the Blog content, anything from a particular G’num issue by year and volume number, a list of articles by species, a field trip summary, or any number of topics, you can search for it.
Narrow your search by adding keywords or changing your keywords. The more keywords you use, the more specific the results. Putting “quotation marks” around keywords tells the search engine you are only looking for the exact phrase. You can also pick a topic from the “View Article Archives by Topic” list below the search bar.
A few examples:
To get specific results select a more specific phrase, “G’num2000Vol1No1” You will only get the articles from the first Quarter Volume from the year 2000. All G’num articles can be found by Volume using the search phrases. From Table 1 of G’num listings, just copy and paste them into the search bar.
Another example is to find an article about a specific butterfly species. Using keywords separated by “AND” provides only those articles having those elements.
For example, Species Profile: AND “Purplish Copper“, will limit the number of results to specific articles found in the Species Profiles (Figure 2).
Figure 2: using AND limits results to articles that meet both conditions—just one, here.
A search using only “Purplish Copper” results in every article in which the phrase ‘purplish copper’ appears. But, searching for the words Species Profile Purplish Copper, with no quotation marks at all, returns every species profile that includes the words ‘purplish’ and ‘copper’ (Figure 3).
Figure 3: not using quotation marks returns more items. All these articles mention Copper butterflies and/or purplish coloration.
“Species Profile: Coronis Fritillary” will change the species but keeps the Species Profile topic (Figure 4). These keyword searches will narrow the results to only articles having those specific butterflies.
Figure 4: Quotation marks return one article.
On the other hand, searching for the words species profile returns several articles, mostly but not limited to Species Profiles, all including one or the other of these two words. A lot of our articles include the word ‘species‘! Search results don’t always work as hoped, but we encourage you to explore.
This is the Web standard Boolean search type, not the new natural-language searches that Google and Firefox can do now, where you can search with “how to …” or “when is …” whatever. Boolean search terms are the international standard for all kinds of databases, including online search engines, so you can use these techniques in all your Web searches. Check out the University of Toronto’s explanation of how to use AND, OR, and NOT, and be sure to watch the videos for hip hop hippos and “dancing monkey boxer shorts”! https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/faq/what-are-boolean-operators-how-can-i-use-them-improve-my-searches
To recap – narrow your search results by using:
- Keywords
- AND, NOT, OR between keywords
- “Quotation Marks” to search by a phrase, not individual words.
Thanks to Sylvia’s extraordinary efforts, all of our G’num articles are preserved and available to search and enjoy from your device of choice and available from our web-site Blog. The G’num PDF versions are now available on the webpage under Newsletter Archive. The G’num quarterly issues will continue to be emailed directly to our amazing members. Good reading to you!
Give it a try: https://wabutterflyassoc.org/blog-home/
Sylvia Sheets is leaving the Board to focus on her other passions, her family, garden and of course butterflying! We thank her for her exceptional work in supporting the Washington Butterfly Association and transforming our website! The Website is now a showcase for Washington butterflies and the Association. We will miss her expertise but understand her need for a break after months of revitalizing the webpages. Although she is stepping down, she will continue to join us in the field. When you see her, give her a high five! Thank you, Sylvia, for your contributions during your WBA Board tenure and enjoy your other passions!
By Liz Kuehn and Regina Johnson
G’num2025Vol26No1
Liz Kuehn
WBA President, Former WBA Secretary & Great Photographer
Regina Johnson
WBA Board Member, Editor of the G’num Newsleter & Moderator for WBA iNat Professional ecologist and horticulturalist
Table 1: every issue of G’num in the archive on our new website.
| “G’num2000Vol1No1” | “G’num2001Vol2No2” | “G’num2001Vol2No3” | “G’num2001Vol2No4” |
| “G’num2002Vol3No1” | “G’num2002Vol3No2″ | “G’num2002Vol3No3” | “G’num2002Vol3No4” |
| “G’num2003Vol4No1” | “G’num2003Vol4No2” | “G’num2003Vol4No3” | “G’num2003Vol4No4” |
| “G’num2004Vol5No1” | “G’num2004Vol5No2” | “G’num2004Vol5No3” | “G’num2004Vol5No4” |
| “G’num2005Vol6No1” | “G’num2005Vol6No2” | “G’num2005Vol6No3” | “G’num2005Vol6No4” |
| “G’num2006Vol7No1” | “G’num2006Vol7No2” | “G’num2006Vol7No3” | “G’num2006Vol7No4” |
| “G’num2007Vol8No1” | “G’num2007Vol8No2” | “G’num2007Vol8No3” | “G’num2007Vol8No4” |
| “G’num2008Vol9No1” | “G’num2008Vol9No2” | “G’num2008Vol9No3” | “G’num2008Vol9No4” |
| “G’num2009Vol10No1” | “G’num2009Vol10No2” | “G’num2009Vol10No3” | “G’num2009Vol10No4” |
| “G’num2010Vol11No1” | “G’num2010Vol11No2” | “G’num2010Vol11No3” | “G’num2010Vol11No4” |
| “G’num2011Vol12No1” | “G’num2011Vol12No2” | “G’num2011Vol12No3” | “G’num2011Vol12No4” |
| “G’num2012Vol13No1” | “G’num2012Vol13No2” | “G’num2012Vol13No3” | “G’num2012Vol13No4” |
| “G’num2013Vol14No1” | “G’num2013Vol14No2” | “G’num2013Vol14No3” | “G’num2013Vol14No4” |
| “G’num2014Vol15No1” | “G’num2014Vol15No2” | “G’num2014Vol15No3” | “G’num2014Vol15No4” |
| “G’num2015Vol16No1” | “G’num2015Vol16No2” | “G’num2015Vol16No3” | “G’num2016Vol17No1” |
| “G’num2016Vol17No2” | “G’num2016Vol17No3” | “G’num2016Vol17No4” | “G’num2017Vol18No1” |
| “G’num2017Vol18No2” | “G’num2017Vol18No3” | “G’num2017Vol18No4” | “G’num2018Vol19No1” |
| “G’num2018Vol19No2” | “G’num2018Vol19No3” | “G’num2018Vol19No4” | “G’num2019Vol20No1” |
| “G’num2019Vol20No2” | “G’num2019Vol20No3” | “G’num2019Vol20No4” | “G’num2020Vol21No1” |
| “G’num2020Vol21No2” | “G’num2020Vol21No3” | “G’num2020Vol21No4” | “G’num2021Vol22No1” |
| “G’num2021Vol22No2” | “G’num2021Vol22No3” | “G’num2021Vol22No4” | “G’num2022Vol23No1” |
| “G’num2022Vol23No2” | “G’num2022Vol23No3” | “G’num2022Vol23No4” | “G’num2023Vol24No1” |
| “G’num2023Vol24No2” | “G’num2023Vol24No3” | “G’num2023Vol24No4” | “G’num2024Vol25No1” |
| “G’num2024Vol25no2” | “G’num2024Vol25No3” | “G’num2024Vol25No4” |