June 2018 Sightings

No Satyrium Hairstreaks. Boom or bust and this year’s a bust

I watched a Variegated Fritillary lay eggs on wild violet leaves.

blurry image but appears to show diagnostic wing pattern of Hobomok Skipper

Walk Ghost Falls Trail up and Clark’s Trail back.

Temps in the 60s.

Brief, 30-minute site visit to check on a Monarchs In The Rough planting.

Sunny, high around 90.

(20-474). Clear and sunny.

Sunny, hot, 95 degrees.

On the Prairie Trails

With Leigh Williams.

With Leigh Williams.

This is a portion of the annual NABA Count done at Colt Creek State Park, by EPerry & RWarner. Also counting were LCooper, NPrine, SFarnsworth, ABayer, J&JLampkin, and TPalmer. It was a great day to be out in the field and enjoyed by all.

Two species of Roadside-Skipper at road side. Excited to find Pepper and Salt Skipper, an uncommon species (here anyway), after seeing a NABA Sightings post two years ago to the day. Mostly cloudy and cool (63 degrees) with a brief period of sun.

Checked on local Bronze Copper colonies in the region. Wet weather has made for excellent host plant growth this season.

Sunny, in the 80’s, Not much wind

74F

We were out from 10am to 1:30 pm. Clear blue sky. 60F and very windy to start. By 1 it was 70F and still windy.
Most of the 20 + Persius duskywings were puddling males, with a few females landing on the golden banner.

74F

75F

Sunny 55 to 60 degrees 12:30-5:00PM
Very cool weather, but butterflies were abundant. One Comma and many Duskywings not identified to species.

12:00-3:00

Also had several Snowberry Clearwings and a White-dotted Prominant.

I wanted to work the mountains on the Oregon/California border by following Baldy Creek Road, then climbing up to Soda Mountain Road and finishing up at the higher Mt. Ashland. My goal was to see if Sheridan’s Hairstreak up on Mt. Ashland was out yet. Indeed they were! I saw roughly 150 Sheridan’s Hairstreaks. They were in all the gullies, roadside ditches and bald areas along Forest Service Road 20. This number was by far, the most Sheridan’s Hairstreak’s I’ve ever seen. I think some species of butterflies in Northern California and Oregon are going to have record numbers this year!

Gate is finally open. Drove up to the trail parking and looked around the muddy spots nearby.

Sunny, mid-70s

Sunny, temps in high 60s.
Walked 2 miles and back.

Usually here earlier in the Spring but the connector trail was flooded due to a new beaver dam. Very muddy but passable now.

Gorgeous day for going butterflying. Numbers are starting to pick up

around 83 degrees

Surveyed 3 large (combined 200 linear yards) moist soil, gravel road shoulder “habitat”. Road immediate conifer forest and creek. Conditions: 1:30-3:30, ~80F, clear, calm. Unidentified: 1 White, 55 Blues.

Nearly 100 degrees, humid, mostly cloudy.

Around 77 degrees, sunny

Low humidity, sunny clear skies. Saw first silver-spotted skipper checking out the butterfly plants and bushes. Temp around 74.

partly cloudy 64 to 66 degrees windy
along pipeline cut

Results of my biennial search for Macoun’s arctics, with other butterflies along the way.

Oceanside along beach berm and roadside. Walked 1 mile. Partly sunny, few raindrops. Nectar and host plants in bloom: Sleepy Morning; Black Mangrove; Fogfruit; Fringed Fan-petals; Seaside Heliotrope; Shrubby False Buttonweed; Bay Cedar (sparse); Redstem Purslane (Potulaca rubricaulis). With Leigh Williams.

Just a quick walk to the mailbox, counted these butterflies in the lawn and surrounding vegetation. The statira was ovipositing on coinvine.

(22-192) Our 2 1/2 hrs here didn’t do the park justice. Lots to see and explore.

11:30AM - 4:45PM
Sunny becoming cloudy

Full sun 70’s

It started out at 77 and got up to 88 degrees. Sunny and humid. The number of butterflies are picking up and getting more species coming in.

82F, calm humid, mostly sunny walking the trail to the bluff. Didn’t go all the way to the top.
Dusted Skipper survey 0
Tiger swallowtail (1 yellow & 1 dark)
Blue 1 (never got great looks)

85F, calm humid, mostly sunny;White wild Indigo (BBs really using), Penstomen, Red clover

saw a Blue but never got good looks

82F, mostly sunny, light breeze

Start 10:15 ended at 2pm
82F, mostly sunny, light breeze

I drove to the top of Table Mountain and butterflied the meadows on my way to the top. I saw a Johnson’s Hairstreak in a meadow roughly two miles from the Hyatt Lake Resort.

Temperatures were in the 100s, but the shade in the canyon, a couple of flowering shrubs, and one watering source for cattle offered nice places to survey for butterflies. All of the butterflies at the mud puddle were Marine Blues. I also found and Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus zunianus) at the mud.

The Mexican Yellow, Palmer’s Metalmark, Theona Checkerspot, Red Satyr, and Nabokov’s Satyr were all lifers for me!

From 12:45 PM to 4:30 PM; overcast, with air temperature 67 to 72 F and wind gusts 7-13 mph. With Della Wells.

had fain early morning. Cloudy until around 1. Went out around 2 and it was 83 degrees, few clouds in the sky. Lots of butterflies out and number of species definitely picking up.

Early morning visit - 8:30-11.

Silvery Blues and Common Ringlets lit up the fields, and Little Wood-Satyrs lit up the woods. Hundreds of each at every turn.

11:30AM - 4:30PM
Sunny to Mostly Cloudy 65-70+ degrees
With Jason Bojczyk
Dry conditions limited butterfly numbers on road. Nectar plants included New Jersey Tea, Autumn Olive and Puccoon.

1145am - 1200pm, yard and surrounding environs. Nectar plants include Milkweed and Pineland Strongback.

I was out from 10-11:30 with my niece and nephew. The temperature was much more tolerable than in Tucson.

It was hot and humid. i finished up the weekly walk I do through the forest counting butterflies for the research that is on going. Did the first part the day before. 86 degrees with humidity of 66%

(22-113) Under mostly cloudy skies, 8:30-Noon.

Sunny, mid-70s

This is my 6th season walking this trail and it’s the first time I’ve seen the Acmon Blue and Arrowhead Blue along it!

Parking lot check
mid-70s, sunny, 2:30

A lot less flying than 5 days ago.

Pleasant day, in the 70’s. Might have seen more except Wildcat Canyon is closed due to Mountain Lion activity in the area. Still, it was a great day for Tailed Coppers, the most abundant butterfly of the day.

There is a persistent colony of Ap Browns at this location in an area of hardwood bottoms with sedge and savannah panicum grass growing in profusion

With Paul Johnson, Megan Gnekow and Christy Wyckoff on their portion of the Monterey NABA count.

Here we just report the species Holly and I observed.

The Dotted Blue observed was the federally endangered Smith’s Blue.

Inspired by Robert Bell’s report of 6 June, I visited Thompson’s Harbor State Park. Day was partly cloudy with some periods of sun. Temps in the mid 70s. Including a habitat shot showing the extensive columbine. Showing the dorsal and ventral of the Tawny Crescent.

This area has become very wet in a short time and the entire loop could not be driven. A surprise find was blooming gopher apple which harbored two Meske Skippers early in the season. Survey by EPerry & RWarner from 10 am to 4 pm but also spent the day with butterfly enthusiasts MHeinemann, SKelly, and S&W Wallenstein.

The pipevines are back!

My first of the year Viceroy and Peck’s Skipper. The Common Ringlet is the southernmost location along the Lake Michigan counties.

9:00 - 11:45 AM. First Monarchs seen at this location for 2018 flying around and landing on a cluster of Common Milkweed.

Sunny, upper 70s.

Warm and sunny day; 7:15 - 10:50

Between the persistent rain, a brief bit of luck with sunshine allowed me to enjoy an active group of Bog Coppers.

Windshield Survey Swallowtails Only 11:00-3:30
Mid 80’s Winds 0-8 Cloudy to Partly Cloudy to Sunny
Overall Habitat Moist with numerous puddles of water in Forest Roads.Only part of one road was closed.
Most are freshly emerged, mineralizing on the Forest Roads
Nectar Sources include Tarflower, Buttonbush, Titi, and Carolina Redroot.
Giant Swallowtail was a fly by.
Many clusters of Swallowtails in groups of 8-15 with one group having 30 individuals. Largest clusters were in moist areas next to the railroad tracks.

Seen in the ACME mall.

Observed on trail to bridge while birding

I’ve never driven the six mile dirt road to the Box O Ranch in the monument and Rattlesnake Spring before. So, I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did. The dirt road is the Copco Road which had blooming dogbane the last mile and a half. That area was loaded with a few thousand Lindsey’s Skippers!

Previously sighted one in yard on 06/09/2016. Didn’t see one for 2017. Glad to see one for this year.

14:00-16:30, Hiked 4 miles along white flagged trail. Started sunny and hot but then lots of rain and thunderstorms. First time exploring this site.

From 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM; overcast, with air temperature 73 to 78 F and wind gusts 5-11 mph. With Nancy Slowik, Karen Nickeson, and Della Wells.

on Jupiter’s beard

(17-687) 8-12. Sunny, mid-80’s. All of the Obscure’s and Pygmy-Blues were found before 9 AM.

With Chris Tenney, Steve Moore and Frank Model

Mostly sunny 70-80F
11:30AM to 4:00PM
4 “Pocahontas” Hobomoks
A tiger moth, probably an Agreeable Tiger Moth.
Nectar sources were New Jersey Tea and Blackberry.

Windshield survey swallowtails only 10:30-3:00
Wind SW 0-10 80’s cloudy to light rain 84ft. elevation
Swallowtails mineralizing or nectaring on Button Bush or Carolina Redroot.

Forest roads surveys include: 33-295a-295-19-8-8a-34a-125-Moccasin Creek

With Chris Tenney, Steve Moore and Frank Model.

Warm hazy day with temps in mid-80s

i only had a short time to be out…1:30 to 2:40. 80F and windy, but sunny. very dry conditions in the mountains right now

Harris’ Checkerspot, Silver-Bordered Fritillary, and Long Dash were firsts for me. Sunny, damp gravel was popular as were alsike and purple clover.

Gorgeous day for butterflying. Was out for 3 hours. Started at 71 and got up to 78 degrees. Little cloud cover or wind

Visiting from St. Pete…

Sunny, 82-85

With Steve Moore and Frank Model.

Restricted access - Hundreds of White Checkered-Skippers.

Gray Hairstreak enjoying the Salvia.

From 9:30 - 11:00 AM.

Temperatures started at 72 and ended up at 81 degrees after 5 hours of butterflying. Winds kept increasing during that time. i was out for almost 5 hours doing my weekly hike.

Windshield Survey Swallowtails Only
10:06-3:07 P.M.
Mid to High 80”s Sunny to Partly Cloudy Winds S.E. 0-12
Elevation 101 feet.
Several Forest Roads were flooded and had to turn around.
Most are freshly emerged and mineralizing on Forest Roads or nectaring on Carolina Redroot.

See images from several recent windshield surveys.

With Rob Santry, Steve Moore and Frank Model

Mostly sunny, a slow warm to upper 70s, gusty winds. No ID greater fritillaries, whites, and duskywings. The area was still 2 weeks away from full potential.

10 am to 2:45 pm. Area very wet and road unpassable just to south of Yolk Branch Bridge. Good to still see some Dusted Skippers persisting, but they are disappearing fast. Gopher Apple still in bloom this week but unable to find any more Meske’s Skippers utilizing it for a nectar source. RWarner & EPerry

Had a hairstreak visit milkweeds in the evening. Also monarch and tiger swallowtail visited the garden.

elevation: 8730 - 9700ft

East parking to lake

With Steve Moore and Frank Model.

With Steve Moore and Frank Model.

Cooler, mid 70, breezy.

Doing yard work most of the afternoon. The ninebark was in flower and really attracting the insects!!
Bombus vagans seen on weiglia and vicia

Five of us conducted the Shimek State Forest butterfly count. The number of Great Spangled Fritillaries nectaring on common milkweed at the Donnellson Unit of Shimek State Forest was incredible — 400 in one field.

We’ve seen several swallowtails this Spring! The Western Tiger Swallowtails are especially enjoying my pansy garden!

Walked Grove Trail 11:00am-1:00pm

10:15 am to 3:15 pm, RWarner & EPerry. Area very wet; Fish Hole Road un-passable at least to our vehicle. Surveyed entrance road and Powerline Road down to bridge area. Road shoulders recently mowed :( but duck potato, pickerel weed, and blue mistflower were being heavily utilized for nectar sources. No Bidens alba due to the mowing.

Very cloudy with approaching thunderstorm
2:30pm-3:30pm

Overcast after a rain in the 80’s. Found patch of Fogfruit which was full of Phaon Cresents.

Also had two Nessus Sphinxes.

Windshield Survey Swallowtails Only 10:00 - 3:05 PM
Mid 80”s Partly Cloudy to Cloudy Winds S.E. 0-10 MPH
Overall habitat moist, all roads open, some puddles.

FR surveyed 257-239-234-262-272-212-232-213-235-200-221 and 277.

Most are freshly emerged, mineralizing on Forest Roads or nectaring on Carolina Redroot or Buttonbush.

Many clusters had 5-10 individuals. Some all Palamedes, Some all Spicebush, some all E. Tigers, some mixed with all three. Both Zebras mineralizing alone.

Finally a sunny warm day! Harris’s Checkerspots were on both sides of the road in the same exact spot as they have been for many years. This is the first time I’ve had this many Arctic Skippers at this location and only the second time seeing them here. Hobomok Skippers are rarely seen or reported in Sullivan County, nice to see them today.

12:30PM to 4:30PM
light to moderate overcast - upper 70’s