BANGOR — The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is going to offer butterfly identification training next month in hopes of expanding its statewide survey.

Maine has at least 120 species of butterflies, but spokesman Doug Rafferty says the state has only a rudimentary knowledge of them compared to neighboring states and provinces, including Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Brunswick, which have compiled butterfly atlases.

Additional Photos

In this 2001 file photo, a monarch butterfly feeds on a verbena flower in a Portland garden. Maine is hoping to train the public to help them with a statewide butterfly survey. Jack Milton / Staff Photograher

Phillip deMaynadier, state wildlife biologist, will help train volunteers next month at Colby College in Waterville with the hope that they’ll contribute to the annual survey.

DeMaynadier says the idea is to engage the public and to marshal the efforts of more than 100 citizen scientists is to expand the butterfly survey and improve the data.