October 2016 Sightings

Overcast skies. Temp at 64 at about 430pm. Had a lot of rain in the past couple of days.White cabbage butterflies were out today.

Milbert’s Tortoiseshells seem especially common recently.

Annual ‘Death by Skipper’ field trip. 78-90 degrees, light winds, sun 90% all day. LCooper, REpstein, SFarnsworth, SHalling, BMarts, MOrsie, TPendleton, GSchepker, DRhodes, LRhodes, MSmith.

100s of monarchs sited today all day flying south.

This is the farthest north this species has been reported in Wisconsin.

Partly sunny to mostly cloudy, 70-75 deg F, light south wind. Personal first Ocola Skipper in Albemarle County.

9:15 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. then rain. 78*-89*, light winds. Sun a.m. - 90%, p.m. 10%. Bullied by Skipper annual field trip. BCooper, LCooper, SFarnsworth, REpstein, SHalling, BMarts, MOrsie, TPendleton, DRhodes, LRhodes, GSchepker, MSmith. Southern end of range for Dotted Skipper.

With Jane Lampkin
76-84
Butterflies observed during a fall bird migration outing. Highlight was the fresh Giant Swallowtail putting on a show.

Butterfly explosion continues - FOS Long=tailed Skipper in my yard. Mating Monarch’s, mating Black swallowtails, mating Red Admirals and more plus over 2 dozen Monarch cats on Swamp Milkweed plus 5 Monarch chrysalis, 19 Black Swallowtail Cats and 6 BS chrysalis

High 70’s, partly cloudy. I wanted to find more Large Orange Sulphur but numbers are down. They don’t appear to be breeding at this location. The Cloudless Sulphur caterpillar was found because male Sulphurs were attracted to it! The pictured female was laying eggs then approached by a male where they engaged in an very violent looking rapid flight I have never seen anything like before, eventually the male paired up with this already laying female.

Probably more Pierids than I have seen at any one time during the entire summer. Several were the ‘alba’ form females.
One unIDed Duskywing

Mostly overcast but there was a period of 2-3 hrs of more sun. Windy. The monarch cat picture shows 17 cats in one area on my swamp milkweed. I’d estimate 3 dozen Monarch cats & 2 dozen Black Swallowtail cats. All chrysalis continue from both species.

All butterflies seen were nectaring on a variety of yellow roadside flowers.

Skippers were feeding at Seaside Heliotrope flowers in large patch of Salt Grass at mouth of Tecolote Canyon Creek. Sunny day in the 70’s F with breezes.

With John Lampkin, Karen Finch and Dusty Rhodes (photos). Two hours. Overcast to full sun. Low 90s. Nectar sources: Frogfruit, Cow Pea, Pink Morning Glory, White Vine, Spanish Needles.

65 and sunny.

still very cast with brief periods of sun, much less wind with temps high 60’s

Sunny and warm. light breeze. May be the last count of the year.

71 F

Low humidity, 78 degrees and sunshine at 5:30pm when observing butterflies. The swallowtail came earlier in the day.

We saw at least three different male eastern swallowtails and the female on the same bush

Full sun, very pleasant weather. I was here from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM between elevation 3200’ to 3900’. Beautiful mountainous desert wilderness. Unsure when it last rained here, it seemed very dry away from the creeks, yet there were a few late brood desert flyers out. Jubas were in an open area before the trailhead.

A beautiful day in western Pennsylvania with clear skies, light winds and temperatures 70-75 degrees. The butterfly garden was quite active for October and the fresh male Zabulon Skipper was the latest I have ever seen one. There were about a dozen Monarchs flying around at any given time during the afternoon.

Sunny about 70 with light winds in the AM and stronger winds in the PM. There were Common Buckeyes everywhere 6-9 on many of the asters and lantanas. By late afternoon there were considerably less butterflies around.

I know this is a very common butterfly in some places, but not up here! It was chilly at the time, about noon, and no higher than 50 degrees.

Weekly Odonate and Butterfly count. Survey with Della Wells and Nancy Slowik.

09:30 AM to 01:00 PM; air temperature ranged from 55 to 74 F; dew point temperature ranged from 54 to 57 F; high wind speed 3 to 6 mph from SW.

Still strong activity, especially with the numerous Common Buckeyes, with many in the “rosa” form. Sleepy Oranges are a rarity for the region.

Was getting ready to leave work at 3:45pm on Friday when I saw a butterfly flying in the warehouse. I grabbed my camera and got a couple of poor photos as it was against the wall near the roof in poor lighting. This was only 45 minutes before the Indians were to play the Red Sox only 2 miles away. This is the first time I have seen this species. They are rare in NE Ohio!

Sunny 70

first colony of Palatka Skippers found in eastern portion of State

A true treat to see; a rare butterfly visitor! It nectared on porterweed.

Heading south from San Antonio we finally noticed a southward migration of butterflies along Hwy 281. An assortment of sulphurs and other butterflies were found along roadside.

Flying in the rain.

Sightings observed during a Nature Coast chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society plant-ID outing. 3 hours 76-88.
False foxglove, Agalinis tenufolia is larval host for the Common Buckeye and the flowers attracted several other species as well, like the Whirlabout.

area in marsh adjacent to the Gulf

Best finds were Red-Bordered Satyr and Tropical Buckeye, thanks to encouragement by Mary Klinkl and guidance by Gary Jue.

Sunny, mid 80s

Albemarle County: Piedmont Store, Shiffletts Mill Rd.
Short session, 14:45 - 16:30 EDT. Sunny (0% clouds), 65-66 deg F, breezy: 10-15+ mph west wind.

Sightings made while cleaning up debris from Hurricane Matthew. Major nectar source in the area is Frostweed, Verbesina virginica. This is the time of the year I will usually see a soldier or two on the barrier island, but not this day.

11 a.m. -3 p.mm. Roadside freshly mowed, nectar plants sporadic. Breezy.

A trashy no-facility site seemingly with little to offer. This time inconspicuous small flowers held a good variety. An Erichson’s White-Skipper is what had me hastening back to my van for my camera.

Sunny, windy, temps mid 70’s. Still have Black Swallowtail cats and chrysalis along with Monarch Cats and chrysalis. Swamp milkweed looking sad.

Windy ~ 15MPH Sunny about 72. Surprised at the number of butterflies after several days of hard rain. Red Admiral was seen in an Oak tree.

The Umber Skippers were attacking hummingbirds!

Two monarch butterflies investigate the garden together.

The Zabulon Skipper is still hanging on. This now ties the latest date for Pennsylvania.

9:30-12:30; 72-88
With Robert Epstein
Scouting for upcoming Hillsborough County Nature Festival

Monarch cats and 8 chrysalis continue, Black swallowtail Cats and 6 chrysalis continue. Sunny, high 60’s, little wind.

Short walk was mainly birding. Sunny, windy about 72.

The Common Checkered-Skipper was seen briefly nectaring near the trailhead to Mt. Taurus, very close to the Hudson River. This is the furthest away from the coast that I’ve seen this species.

2-4 p.m. Windy, cloudy. Lots of Bidens.

Monarch caterpillars were common on my friends Asclepias currisavica plants around his yard today. There must have been at least two dozen or more. There were also several Monarch caterpillars in all stages of getting ready to transform into chrysalises and three fresh chrysalises. The one adult Monarch was freshly emerged. Also had one Cabbage White caterpillar on a Cleome plant. Didn’t know they went to those.

First sighting for me of 3 Long-tailed Skippers in one place.

The ratty Monarch pictured below is still hanging out in my yard. Long-tailed Skippers continue.

Mostly cloudy after morning rain with tempseratures in the 50’s all day.

Full sun, trip was from 9:00 to 3:30, 2100’ elevation. Stopped by turn off right before Scissors Crossing where most Desert Metalmarks and Mojave Sootywing were seen, then took the Sentenac Birding Trail where many Leda Ministreak were, then cut across the dry San Felipe Valley to the Sentenac Cienega where a sudden explosion of butterflies occurred!

Hurricane Hermine damage visible
Water level low and stagnant with a lot of downed trees and branch debris.
9:30am-1:00 pm low 80s clear

Chinese Mantis preying on Monarch. Not what they were hired for!

photo by Mike Freeman - the 3rd of this species found by this observer within 6 weeks, in Manhattan parks (the prior 2 were in Central Park on separate days).

With Marc C. Minno & field trip participants in the 2016 Florida Birding and Nature Festival.
2-5 pm; mid-80’s.
Dr. Minno spotted several larval shelters. The Clouded Skipper caterpillar makes partial cuts mid-leaf then rolls a tube around itself. Image after opening tube shows the cat, cuts and sticky residue. Careful examination revealed an asymmetrical pattern in the head, possibly the result of a developmental aberration or predation.
Other images show Southern Broken-Dash predation by an ambush bug and a Long-tailed Skipper larva (included in count list).

Sunshine and 60 degrees.

The butterflies were enjoying the rabbitbrush on a warm fall day 78F.

55 sunny with cool breeze

Butterflies were feeding at small white aster flowers nearby the pond at Chancellors Run Regional Park. Sunny day in the 60’s F

With Don Stillwaugh, Robert Epstein & field trip participants of the Florida Birding and Nature Festival.
2-4 pm; mid-80’s, impending light shower

45-minute walk, from 3:30 p.m. 65 degrees, mostly sunny.

Ceraunus Blue is a new state record for Tennessee.

13 Monarch chrysalis continue plus 2 newly emerged monarchs today

Weekly Odonate and Butterfly count. Survey with Della Wells, Nancy Slowik and Karen Nickeson.

10:00 AM to 01:00 PM; air temperature ranged from 50 to 64 F; winds calm.

Covered ~3 miles over 3 hrs (0900-1200). Warm, sunny morning. Nice stands of cowpen daisy, goldeneye, and frostweed in bloom. The 5 Common Checkered-skippers reported are more accurately classified as Common/White Checkered-skippers.

Sunny, late-day visit to Heather gardens areas. Both hairstreak species seen appeared to be in very good condition; a Painted Lady is in the featured photo. I was hoping to re-find an Ocola Skipper that had been photographed by a friend, in this site, just 2 days earlier - but that was not seen again.

numbers of butterflies decreasing

68 and sunny. Swallowtail and hairstreak were very fresh. Hairstreak seems a bit late

Very short visit 11- 11:20 AM, Sunny with little wind low 60’s, Since there have been so few Painted Ladies around in NJ this year I was excited to find my FOS Painted Lady today. Monarch numbers higher today.

Sunny & warm, late-day visit. The Zabulon Skipper may be a late record for NY state; it appeared to be in very good condition - there are prior (early) October records in New York. Not that many other species noted on this visit, although Monarchs were in fair numbers.

After 2 days of southerly winds we had a bonanza of butterflies on flowers in our yard. We had 16 species in less than an hour. The most unexpected were 2 Gulf Fritillaries and a Bordered Patch.

I was surprised to see one of the Long-tailed Skippers back but it was chased off the property by a Sachem and I never saw it return.

Late afternoon walk 3:30PM to 4:30PM, 72, sunny and little wind.

Spent the entire day surveying the ranch. Elevation 4000-5000+’. Covered about 6 miles, mostly in canyon bottom habitat, but spent some time in mid-elevation grassland and juniper-oak-pinyon woodland during the A.M. Common Checkered-Skippers more accurately classified as Common/White Checkered-skippers. Overall, big concentrations of butterflies at mudding sites.

Williams Road Unit from west to east. 83*-85*, windy, mostly sunny. Noon to 3 p.m. BCooper, LCooper. Nectar: thistle, pickerelweed, liatris, carphephorus, sunflowers.

Very sunny & warm day; hike along shores of 6+ miles. The several Variegated Fritillaries were a bit of a surprise, although others had been seen in the region recently. It was a bit more surprising to find 4 times the number of Painted Ladies as (just one) American Lady. Pearl Crescent getting somewhat late, but have been seen into November in the region, in some years. Monarchs in fairly good numbers, not surprising for the date, however. Sachem has been seen much later in NY- but only rarely.

Sightings incidental to Citrus Chapter FNPS field trip to observe site regrowth post burn. Excellent regrowth of Vanilla Leaf, Fl Paintbrush,loaded with butterflies.
Site deserves a more butterfly focused count.

75 sunny. Most sulphurs I’ve seen this year

Some Common Buckeyes Rosa form.

The sulphur was a white female.

80 degrees-sunny

Long-tailed Skipper made a brief appearance around 3 PM. First one I’ve seen here since 2012.

Sunny, 75. The Monarch pitured is very fresh with some kind of right wing defect.

Sun & clouds, very warm (80+ F.), southwest breezes. The 2 Little Yellows were in the south part of Gerritsen beach, a traditional location for the species, & on this occasion were near-impossible to find perching for photos (their size compared directly in flight with numerous Orange Sulphurs was near-half that of the Oranges, & they appeared all-yellow in flight. The date approaches record-late for the area, but these dates may need revising! A Black Swallowtail is late, but not quite a NY record-late date. A number of Common Buckeyes, of many observed, were of the “rosa” form which is more likely in fall here. Common Checkered Skippers were all within a small area of Floyd Bennett Field, in a specific location, well-known to local observers. Much time was spent observing in the community gardens with many flowers, the site for the one swallowtail, and many, many Monarchs nectaring. Visit from 11-4.

Mating Monarchs and Cabbage Whites

67-75F

My home/farm with nectar sources drying up quick from very dry conditions. Very warm in the eighties and due to become quite cold this weekend, so the end is nearing. Horace’s seems very late to me. Still seeing half a dozen Monarchs daily here.

Site recently opened to public. Needs further exploration.

Beautiful Fall day. Sunny with a high of 74.

3-4:30 pm; mid-80’s
Cloudless Sulphur laying eggs on sensitive pea, Chamaecrista nictitans. A close look shows the egg exiting.

The Black Swallowtail was a fresh female.

Highest count I’ve ever had for Fiery Skipper in WV.

Full sun mid 80’s, quick afternoon visit from 3:00 to 4:20. Baccharis blooms were all expired. Impressed by number of Great Purple Hairstreak which were all in one patch of rabbitbrush.

Full sun, mid 80’s from 10:30 to 12:30. Well is dry but nearby has lots of blooming Goldenbush attracting some butterflies.

Mostly cloudy today until midafternoon and then it became quite windy too, with temps in upper 70’s. Almost all Budelia past bloom now, leaving far less nectar sources.

overcast, 70. Fresh Spicebush Swallowtail - first seen in a few weeks.

overcast, 70

from 11 AM to 2 PM. The gardens are amazing!

Monarch tagging in my yard by CM Monarch Project volunteers the past 2 weeks. RH tagged 25 today when he ran out of tags before running out of Monarch’s. This afternoon I counted 20 monarch chrysalis’s including one on the bottom rim of a trash can by my back steps. Most are on the siding or on the steps overhang. Still a few Mon cats eating Swamp Milkweed that is about dead. One newly enclosed monarch today.

The butterfly season is winding down. A lot of time spent mostly in Kilpatrick Hammock looking for Three-spotted Skippers. 10:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Temperature: 78*- 87*; Mostly sunny all day but very windy. Nectar: Pickerelweed, liatris & carphephorus. BCooper, LCooper.

Buckeyes were all Rosa(fall form)which is rare in Mass.
Mostly cloudy with showers but very warm in the 70s.
Probably last area butterflying day as cold front is expected tomorrow.
Also 1 Ocola Skipper-very late for this area

Sunny, mid-50s.

Saw butterfly flying over snowy meadow at around 9300 ft in elevation.

Long-tailed Skipper appears to be same individual that was seen on 10-18; Monarch numbers higher today than earlier in the week

Very few nectar sources. First frost of the season this morning

Very chilly morning with little lep activity. By noon things started to get more active and by late afternoon the wind slowed, the temps rose, and the activity peaked. Cemetery Road, east side of road, was best, with liatris, carphephorus, and coastal plain honeycomb head the best available nectar sources. Another spot on east loop road, about a mile or so into the loop had some liatris close to road and one Neamathla was there, the other was off Cemetery Road. Much activity from hunters today; wear bright colors and stay near roadways.

First time in the field in a month.Monarchs have arrived in good number along the beach,and the Gulf Fritillary found through out the area,and super abundant along the beach.This was the next day after the passage of our 1st cold front,and it was dry;making it more than a month since we have had any rain.
it more than a month