November 2020 Sightings

Sunny, mostly clear skies, 87 degrees.

from 10am to 3pm

Sunny, cool, blustery, Temps says 56 feels cooler with the winds. No frost yet though over 24 hrs of gale force winds. Karen Thompson visit, able to see 6 species. Fair numbers of grass skippers. Total of 8 species flying. Surprised not to see a Common Buckeye. Taking down the canna’s stalks found another chrysalis. There are several over wintering Spicebush Swallowtail chrysalises. Have Black Swallowtail caterpillars on rue.

I was very surprised that my only butterfly was a Checkered White! This is only the fifth one this year in the state and my first of the year.

(12-79) Not a full-out effort. Was specifically looking for Least Skippers in November.

Nectar sources fast disappearing after a light widespread frost. Only a few protected plants remain viable now. Pearl Crescent was tiny. One Monarch was fresh and the other flying into a south headwind about 5 MPH.

Sunny, 67, with slight winds and a nice selection of butterflies. First Ocola Skipper in the yard since 10/22. 4 mint fresh Cloudless Sulphur’s which I believe must have eclosed here. Est counts of both Fiery and Sachem Skippers. Numbers were higher but as working in the garden didn’t take the time for a more accurate count. I always find it surprising that we can have several days of quite bad weather and they still bounce back.

Bright and sunny and warm. One of the Orange Sulphurs was nectaring on a dandelion flower.

The second Buckeye was unusually dark brown on the hindwings, including the eyespots.

1.25 hr visit to see what was still flying after our first frost, sunny 61 F, still a good amount of plantings in bloom, as well as goldenrods by Wild Play field. Mild weather for the next week or more bodes well for the Monarchs.

While waiting to view a Sage Thrasher this butterfly flew by. The thrasher did show for a short time afterwards.

Very surprised to see a very fresh male Zabulon Skipper. Most recent sighting was back on September 15, which is about a week later than most years, so this is quite unusual.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks in Eastern Pa…several hard frosts, cold daytime temps, heavy rains, and strong wind. Nectar sources reduced to scarce dandelions and a few goldenrods. Nonetheless a handful of individuals still around…

The only Little Yellow I saw this year.

Full sun, 73 degrees, windy.

sunny upper 60s

One of the sulphurs was the white (“alba”) form

sunny, upper 60s

Yard Butterflies. Before the bad weather from ETA started to set in the butterflies fueled up for a sunny start to an otherwise cloudy day. This Cassius Blue gave me a great photo op for a few minutes before the winds started to blow.

sunny, mid 70’s, little to no breeze

Sunny & 75F. Worth a look due to the non-native collection with plants flowering despite frosts. The pipevine by the conference center has been removed.

73 degrees F at noon, I saw the solitary butterfly flying 3 to 5 feet off the ground. It landed and I had a good look at the topside. Likely, it arrived on southern winds that have prevailed for a week.

A pleasant surprise to have a fresh Cloudless Sulphur for ten minutes, and onward north after fueling up some.

sunny, mid 70’s, little to no breeze

Cloudy with light rain at times. 75 degrees. No frost here yet.

sunny, warm day.

An awesome November 2 digit day of butterflies. A Clouded Skipper found by HT and then, HT & SG found a Long-tailed Skipper and 2 fresh Brazilian Skippers. They went onto find Ocola and Gray Hairstreak. Always great to have visitors to my yard. Sunny, low 70’s and little wind. Continue to have great numbers of Monarchs for this time of year with a small roost in the cherry tree last night.

Sunny, breezy, upper 70s…beautiful fall day. Surprised to see a very late season American Lady!

Another Cloudless Sulphur barely stopping for a moment and gone. A very late Monarch nectaring on Mexican Sunflower and shot with a cell phone.

Another wonderful warm, sunny November day in the garden with winds 5-10 MPH. Double digit species and some species in double digits. More Monarchs arriving in the PM. How long will this nice weather and the butterflies be here?

2 locations a few miles apart…partly cloudy, breezy with gusts, mid-70s. Another great late season day. Still a few species holding on with the recent stretch of warm weather - despite next to nothing for nectar sources…

Atala landed on my windshield

Continues to be warm (70 at noon), partly sunny AM, rains started about 1:30 PM. Working in the gardens, digging out cannas. Still have a few cannas blooming in the backyard though most stalks were cut down earlier this week. Zinnias, several varieties of lantana and Mexican sage continue to bloom though are fading. Monarchs flying at 7:15 AM. Saw my last Monarch in the drizzle at 2:15 PM heading south over the garage. Still have Black Swallowtail caterpillars on parsley and 3 overwintering Spicebush Swallowtail chrysalises.
As the season winds down and the rains arrived, I wonder how many butterflies will be left here next week?

1030am-115pm, 81-82 degrees, cloudy to partly cloudy, light wind to very windy

The nursery sells a variety of native and exotic butterfly plants and attracts a variety of species in quantity.

Near the end for this year at this location. Cabbage White on Chinese Cabbage, next year’s egg source perhaps.

75 degrees and sunny after tropical storm rain for several days.

9a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Mostly sunny low 80s very light breeze. Butterfly garden by the visitor center, the trail to the North up to impoundment B, canal on main road.

One lone Monarch seen for about an hour feeding on zinnias in the backyard. It was windy, cool and cloudy so I did not go out to look for other butterflies. Will this be my last butterfly for the yard for this season?

1030am-130pm, 80-83 degrees, partly cloudy, calm

Sunny, 58 degrees, windy 15 -18 MPH. Walk around the gardens about 1 PM. Shocked that any butterflies were out and that 7 species were flying. Images obtained of all but the Brazilian Skipper. One of the Monarchs had a tag but I couldn’t get a picture of it.

Sunny, temperature in the 60’s with winds around 15 MPH but still a few hardy butterflies out after almost 2 days of rain. A fiery skipper seen along with one that wouldn’t settle down for me to get a decent look for an ID. Black Swallowtail caterpillars continue on curly parsley along with 3 Spicebush Swallowtail chrysalises.

1230pm-230pm, 75-79 degrees, sunny, light wind

One walk around the yard about 10:30 AM, temp 53, sunny at the time with winds about 15 MPH. Weather changed to rain and increased winds about 1PM when a storm came through the area.

Full sun, windy 15 MPH out of SW, and a high of 58 degrees.

23C degrees.
7 MPH NE wind, sometimes gusting.
Partly cloudy.
Finish at 16:14
Start at 14:00
This WMA is managed for dove. Vegetation includes low shrubs, mustard?, rattlebox (many Utetheisa ornatrix). The mustard and some of the rattlebox were blooming. There are a few swamps. Many hundreds of sparrows spend the winter. I was mainly interested in grasshoppers, but made notes of the butterflies.

Never seen a Monarch this late by far.

Sunny and mild, 64 degrees, from 12 PM - 2 PM. This was our latest date of seeing Cloudless Sulphurs in New York. Sightings also include a few leps from nearby Point Lookout.

1115am-150pm, 76-77 degrees, partly cloudy, light wind

W Wallenstein and D Vollmar
2:45 to 3:15 PM. Mostly sunny light breeze.

W Wallenstein and D Vollmar
11:30 to 2pm. Mostly sunny light breeze.
Trail had up to 12 inches of water on 50-60% of the 2 miles we covered.

Not many butterflies, 1 Eastern Diamondback Ratttlesnake swimming on the trail

W Wallenstein and D Vollmar
8am to 11am. Mostly sunny, light breeze. Overall pretty slow on the butterfly front. 7 Manatee and 1 American Crocodile at the marina.

7 - 11 am; 68-78;
Multitasking during a bird count.
Odd not seeing Fiery Skippers or Whirlabouts.

This is the first year I have had any Long-tailed Skipper and it took me a while to get a good picture. But today the one just hung around and came in the garage and wanted to get on the underside of my Crown of Many Thorns that I’m overwintering.

1400-1600, 22-23C, Wind NNW 10MPH, Full Sun, Field with low vegetation (Beggars Tick, Field Mustard) near wooded swamp areas.
I was mainly looking for grasshoppers, but could not ignore the butterflies, many of which still looked to be in good shape.
I have had the Dorantes here at this location before this late in the season. But it is always a surprise to see any and they are rare here. I took the photos to partly assure myself. The ventral and flight shots posted here are of the identical individual.
The Zebra Heliconian(s) were at the edge of the swamp. There was a handful of them floating around in the same general area. They seem somewhat late for Georgia and they and the Dorantes were not expected today.
I probably just missed the Tropical Checkered-Skippers when I was here a few days ago. It is no longer a surprise to see them in SW Georgia in the right habitat.

11am-115pm, 75-81 degrees, sunny, windy

(27-471) 9:30-1:30. Mostly sunny. Many species nectaring on Sleepy Morning (Waltheria indica), which is utilized by Mallow Scrub-Hairstreaks as their host plant here. An incredible late November day of butterflying. 2nd-highest total of Mallows for the park, 2nd-ever park record of Sleepy Orange and 3rd-ever park record for Variegated Fritillary. The mosquitoes were just as numerous.

Sunny and 79 degrees for a high today. My first crop of zinnias self seeded this second crop. They are only 12” tall vs 4-5 feet tall for the first crop but they are blooming and providing nectar for lots of butterflies!

Habitat: Weedy fields with low vegetation near cypress swamps. Beggar Ticks, Field Mustard, Rattlebox, Asters, Weeds, etc.
Weather: 23-25C, Wind S 10-12 MPH, Partly Cloudy.
Finish: 1545
Start: 11:52

Never thought I would see this in SW Georgia: Queen Butterflies were COMMON if not ABUNDANT. In one very large multi-acre plot of blooming Field Mustard, Queen were everywhere. Photographed a Queen and a Zebra Heliconian in same frame (see pic).

Photographed the only Long-tailed Skipper of the day (They were common until recently).
Photographed one of the two Dorantes Skippers.

Did not try to ID the few small dark Grass Skippers I observed.

I positively identified a couple Tropical Checkered-Skipper(s) and a couple Common/White. I did not try to ID the 20 or so other Checkered-Skippers I saw.

Spent most of the time chasing grasshoppers and katydids.

The temperature was 67 under a mostly sunny sky as I walked through the paths of the woods and me in shorts, just inside and on the sunny side, I saw this sighting amongst Greenbriers and Wineberry from almost seventy-five feet away. I was basically birding with binoculars at the time.

Sunny, 65 degrees

79 degrees and sunny! No frost yet. We think we had a Sleepy Orange yesterday and today but could not get close enough to confirm.

Uncommon butterfly here, especially after Thanksgiving!

Concentrated on three species. Sunny with temps reaching 75. The scrub-hairstreaks were on the abundant Sleepy Morning plants found throughout the park.

11am-130pm, 80-80 degrees, sunny, calm

Sunny and 77 degrees.

11:45 to 1pm. No wind, sunny,

9:15 to 11:30 mostly cloudy changing to mostly sunny. no wind 81 degrees

Yard butterflies.

Sunny, mid 40’s, no breeze. 12:30-2:30pm. Likely the latest Pearl Crescent I have seen in Ohio. I saw one 17 November 2007 for previous record late date.

1115am-1245pm, 77-81 degrees, sunny, calm