April 2021 Sightings

Was around 55 degrees and sunny today. Saw our first spring azure.

With David Rawlinson, Sarab Seth, and Nancy Asquith. Unusually warm (high 70’s), and calm (no wind coming in off the ocean). We had the good fortune to find three of the four federally protected butterflies which occur at SBM: San Bruno Elfin, Bay Checkerspot, and Mission Blue.

Went for a bike ride (near Aria and Laurel Road) and spotted the first American Lady I’ve found in Sarasota County. I got off my bike and got within 18 inches of it to be sure the ID was correct. 1pm, 69 degrees and very windy.

First butterflies of the year.

A perfect day for butterflying, Temperature close to 80, little wind and clear blue sky. The butterflies didn’t stay put for very long so hard to get pictures. First Mourning Cloak in 2 years. Early for Cabbage White.

60F 5-7 mph wind no clouds

10am to 3:45pm, 69 - 73 degrees, sunny to partly cloudy, 10-15mph wind

First butterfly of the season flew through our yard in the East Mt Airy section of Philly. Sorry no pics.

Afternoon visit; clearing with sun & 65 high temp.; both Falcate Orangetips seen were male. Spring Azure appeared to be ‘violacea’ form. Rock cresses and other native flowers mostly not seen, still early for them. Walk of around 3+ miles on trail in total, but most butterflies not far from the summit on this visit.

1:15 PM: First Cabbage White seen at this location.

Pair of mating Luna Moths seen.

The high today was 67, sunny and very windy.

Atlantic White Cedar was interspersed in the Pine Forest adjacent to Sand Myrtle which was the primary nectar source.

2:30-3:45pm. Wild Coffee (Psychotria nervosa) was the nectar of choice. The Ruddy Daggerwings were all over it and plentiful!

Cool, mostly overcast morning, clearing before noon and warming to 70’s. During a 2.4 mile walk mainly in natural areas of riparian park, I counted 210 Pipevine Swallowtails, 1 Western Tiger Swallowtails, 1 Cabbage White, 3 Mournful Duskywing, and 3 Silvery Blue. Pipevines started flying early in walk. Others seen mostly toward the end as it warmed up. the pipevines were mostly in continuous flight till toward the end of the walk. Then I found them nectaring on redbud, fiddleneck, and vetch.

Weekly Survey With Della Wells and Karen Nickeson. 10 AM to 12:30 PM; air temperature 54-65; sustained winds 1-4 mph with gusts 4-13 mph from NW.

9:15-5:45 Weather: 65°-80°, winds 4-8 mph, 85% sun all day. Nectar: thistles, fleabane, coreopsis. LCooper, DFraser, EPerry, NPrine. Searching for suitable habitat for Yucca Giant-Skipper found few yuccas and zero eggs, cats or adults.

Not the most exciting butterfly, but interesting numbers to see this early.

Nice weather! 65-80F, Full Sun, 9:55-4:00PM, Looked mostly in the upland areas and did not go to salt marsh. Most of the Little Wood-Saytr(s) in one small area near a little bridge over a wet area.

FOY Black Swallowtail. Lousy picture, but he wouldn’t sit still!

A string of nice days and numbers are popping…looking forward to an open day for a hike to look for more diversity

Counted only the Hairstreaks that I could clearly see with binos to ID. Many in the upper parts of the Oaks, I assume most were Oak Hairstreaks. A personal high count of Oak Hairstreaks.

Sunny, late afternoon, in the 80s

Sunny a little humid and temp of 81 degrees! Saw the first butterflies of 2021. All four of them - Cabbage Whites.

10:45-4:30PM, 68-78F, 01-12MPH variable, Mostly sunny
The Little Wood-Satyr(s) and Carolina Satyrs were plentiful along Henderson Road which runs along a shady swamp.
The Pearl Crescents and Salt Marsh Skippers were together on nectar source(s) along Mule Wallow Spur.

Sunny, high in the low 80s. One Falcate Orangetip observed ovipositing on Cardamine hirsuta.

With Della Wells; 11 AM to 12 PM; air temperature 55-60 F; sustained winds 3-4 mph with gusts to 10 mph.

Wildcat Canyon, High Meadow, and Rogue Valley Trails. Swallowtails and duskywings were all hilltopping. California Sister was quite small, and FOS.

Seen at various places along the path from Garth Woods south to Crestwood.

First of the season butterflies for me.

72 degrees and sunny.

I saw my FOY Eastern Pine Elfin here on 4/4/21, which is rather early for MA, but did not manage to get a photo until today.

partly sunny, 81 degrees, above average temperatures for last 3 or 4 days.

Hiked over 5 miles through variable terrain (woodland, prairie, meadow, creekside)…still lacking diversity…probably a little early yet. FOY Spring Azure. Rest assured, Cabbage Whites are alive and thriving…

Elevation about 2000 above the River on a gravel road. We had an Olympia Marble fly down the mountain side along with West Virginia White and Falcate Orangetip. Wild Mustard and redbud trees were blooming on the rock face but it floated down to nectar at our feet! Then we chased it for 200 yards to get more photos!

Sunny, barely 50 degrees. Snow still covering nearly 1/2 the road.
(6100-6500ft)

Anise Swallowtail was black and white. It was fresh, not worn, and seen from 3 feet away. I’ve seen a couple of these over 20 years of watching.

11-3, 82 degrees, sunny, 10mph wind.

Finally found some trace of a Yucca Giant Skipper (2 hatched eggs)

8:30 - 10am, 0-10mph wind, sunny 75-82 degrees

I visited this area that has a tremendous amount of Jewelweed, Streptanthus tortuosus, to look for Pearly Marbles. I was surprised to see only 10 during a 3 mile exploration. I was fortunate to find one laying an egg and get some good looks at another nectaring on Jewelweed. Many bumble bees were nectaring on the Jewelweed flowers, most being yellow-faced but also at least 2 other species.

81F, 15 mph wind, partly cloudy 1pm-3pm, until heavy rain

cloudy start, then partly sunny, brighter at times in p.m. hours, high in mid-60’s F. - the butterflies seen were almost all during the sunny intervals. No photos of these, although attempted along the trail; not many nectar sources easily seen, yet. Also observed and photographed was a tiger beetle, Cicindela limbalis. Most of the Cabbage Whites were seen in the town. The 1 Falcate Orangetip was male and would not stop patrolling on a steep rocky slope! Trail climbed to summit of Mt. Taurus, where at least ‘commas & cloaks” were hilltopping and cavorting; 1 azure also near there.

Started my weekly survey of Fontenelle Forest this week. Today was cloudy for the first part of the hike, with gradual clearing. It was windy.

1040am-225pm, 77-82 degrees, partly cloudy, windy. Southern Oak Hairstreaks are uncommon here but may be found at this location in April. Found 12 of them today, more than all last year!

8:30 to 11:00, 75-85, wind 10-15 mph, sunny

Beautiful day in the hollows and secret areas where some rare butterflies were being found today.

Sunny, mid 70’s, between 10 am and 2pm

A local guided us into the area where Goatsweed or Bride’s Feathers, the host plant, grows along the Hiawassee River on the hilly slopes of a gravel road. The dorsal was dark gray.

11:00-2:30PM, 70-81F, 7-11MPH NW, Rough roads, Some deep sand in spots, Creek Crossings

72 degrees and sunny.

10:30AM-3:15PM, Mostly sunny, 74-87F, 3-5MPH Variable, Ground is covered with colorful flowers, Thistle has started to bloom as well

I arrived around 3:30 pm on a sunny, warm (70º afternoon). No sooner had I stepped out of the car than a Falcate Orangetip did a fly-by. There were no significant nectar sources, so all sightings were of moving insects, apart from a mating pair of Cabbage Whites that briefly landed before flying off before I could get a photo.

Julias are back after a long hiatus.
2 hours;

70 and sunny.

Sunny and 64degrees

Sunny, light breeze, mid 60s…probably the earliest Black Swallowtails I’ve seen!

Mix of sun and clouds. High around 70.

(22-311). Full sun. Emperors just starting to appear. Great total of duskywings. Only one swallowtail.

9 a.m.-5:15 p.m. Weather: 66°-85°, winds 8-10 mph, mostly sunny all day. Nectar: thistles, fleabane, Lyonia, aster, iris. LCooper, SFarnsworth, EPerry. Road 1 and Loop Road only.

Nan Wilson and I photographed two out of three Frosted Elfins. Both very different. Also a surprisingly early Mottled Duskywing.

I’ve seen more Mourning Cloaks already this spring then I have in the last 20 years! A good winter for them I guess. I’ll go years without seeing them usually.

Quick walk on the trail, with clouds rapidly increasing, temp. to near 70 F. All Falcate Orangetips were males. Just one nymphalid butterfly seen on a trail that typically produces good numbers on sunnier afternoons. Native wildflowers starting to bud or bloom.

Did our weekly butterfly survey at Lauritzen Gardens today. Really didn’t expect to see anything with the temperature not even 45 degree but there was this one lone butterfly sunning himself.

It has been several years since I’ve seen Northern Cloudywings at Rancho San Antonio, so it was a nice surprise to see two of them today. Northern Checkerspots were first of season.

Yard butterflies! There were two laying female Orange-barred Sulphurs, with one patrolling male. The male was impossible to photograph, and gorgeous. Females ovipositing on Cassia alata and Cassia bicapsularis.

My first butterfly sighting of the 2021 season, on a sunny evening in mid-April with deep snow still covering much of the backyard. I found the Milbert’s tortoiseshell warming itself in bright late day sun on the side of our shed and speculate that it may have hibernated inside the shed or within a little bat box that hangs near where I saw the butterfly.

3-5 pm, 5-10mph wind, mostly sunny, 85 degrees

Freshly emerged male.

1:00-3:30PM, 70-73F, 4-9MPH SW, Mostly cloudy to overcast. Large weedy fields next to wooded swamps.
The Hoary Edge kept changing perches but remained within an area of about 10 square meters.
The E. Tailed-Blues were looking worn.
I was not able to ID several dark swallowtails that quickly traversed the fields.

First of the year for; Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Spring Azure, and Orange Sulphur.

Walk from the Rt 420/95 entrance to the Heinz NWR.

I was only out for 1 1/2 hrs. The Indra sure are having a good year.

Sunny and temp around 60 degrees. First tiger swallowtail.

Surveyed for 2.5 hours looking for spring Dukes’ Skipper. The dragonflies were so abundant in this area it makes their presence noteworthy. They were spotted nearly every three feet and competition for food was fierce. They attempted to eat anything small kicked up by my presence. A good time was had by all (which was only me today)!

Surveyed for only an hour at the north end of Powerline Road, looking for spring Dukes’ Skippers. The area has been extensively mowed under the powerline and adjacent natural areas, including ditches. Few nectar sources persist.

Sunny and 62degrees. Two white cabbage butterflies visited

silvery blue female looking for vetch, which grows in my\
yard.

63 degrees, mostly cloudy.

Starting weather was partly to mostly cloudy, 6mph wind, 59°

Ending weather was partly to mostly cloudy, 6mph wind, 61°

Surveyed for two hours

Slow day…cooler temps lately - and a classic stubborn Eastern PA cloud cover have kept numbers down.

Sunny, around 50 degrees.
Snow on road is melting quickly
6100-6500ft

mid-60’s and sunny
virtually all butterflies seen were puddling on the damp sandy soil.

First non-cabbage white observed.

First 3 miles of Laramore Road north of New York Road (eBird Hot Spot). Sandy Road, (private land on both sides) through agricultural and wooded areas. 66-72F, NW 10-15MPH steady wind, Full Sun.

Black Swallowtail(s) all appeared to be males that did not allow close approach.

Probably many more Cabbage White in fields beyond view.

A county park in the township of Montebello NY. This adjoins the far-larger Harriman State Park, which takes up parts of 2 NYS counties. Trail we used accesses that larger park, but we hiked just the county park portions, as well as power-line right-of-way that the trail crosses. The majority of species seen were on or close to that power line and require some steep hiking to reach. The Falcate Orangetips & Brown Elfins in particular are likely found almost only on the higher terrain with their host plants, at this park. Sun with temp. to 70+ F., strong SW breezes, on which the Orange Sulphur seen seemed to fly along. Many native wildflowers in bloom or about to. The Tiger Swallowtail & Pearl Crescent were our firsts of the year. We did not linger later in the day, when a chance of other nymphalids might have been better - such as Red Admiral, E. Comma, Lady species, or the rarer, but formerly-regular at this park, Compton Tortoiseshell. Also seen at this site was the tiger beetle Cicindela limbalis, which is regular on trails, rocks in the higher elevations there.

10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
sunny high 60’s

1:30 to 3:45 p.m.
low 70’s and sunny

72 degrees and sunny.

1:45-3:45PM, 74-77F, SSW 5-8 MPH, Sunny, Very weedy overgrown fields next to swamp(s).
Two Duskywings not identified.

Partly cloudy, breezy, upper 60s. Surprised to see a couple of Gray Hairstreaks this morning…probably my earliest sightings of this species!

11:30AM-3:00PM, 70-74F, NW 13-17 gust to 24 (A windy day) Full Sun, Weedy, Dirt road-sides, fields, Usually close to swamps

Pleasant 69 degrees today, and a nice showing of butterflies. Surprised to see the Red Admiral, it clearly has seen a few battles and narrow escapes.

Butterflies seen includes a Common Buckeye seen earlier in the week (Monday).

Plant it, they will come!
Also have caterpillars of quite a few species, including Eastern Black Swallowtails

Beautiful, breezy day, lepped around from 1:50-3:45. Highest count for me of Fiery Skippers in this park.

On foot, approx 6 miles, mostly open woods in both mesic and xeric landscapes.

Two-Tail - a rare visitor to my garden

First of the year.

Most seen in protected areas along pathways in sunny, windy conditions in the low sixties.

First Spring Azure seen at this location for 2021.

Annual Spring Wildflower Walk 9:30-noon. I continued until 4:30 p.m. 73°-87°; partly cloudy to cloudy to sun late in afternoon; winds: 15-20 mph. Nectar: thistles, pickerelweed, Simpson’s Stopper. With CHuegel, CEvans, GCrocker, PCrocker, JAllyn, PStrauss and others.

Also had several unid. elfins that wouldn’t land.

Sunny with temps in high 60’s

Sunny, temps in the high 60’s

Midmorning sighting

Cool, cloudy and very windy for a spring day.

First one of the year.

Early-season sightings in our front yard on a sunny evening in late April. We had just returned from a weekend of beluga monitoring in Kenai and I saw two faded tortoiseshells chasing each other across the dried grasses of the southern-facing yard, only recently exposed after the snow had melted. I noticed a third butterfly flutter down and land with brighter orange and was very happy for a Green Comma (Arctic anglewing is the local subspecies), still with brilliant coloration despite a very long winter spent hibernating.

Took photos of other species, but just posting some of the skippers here.

The Golden Banded-Skippers (GBS) were located in a very thick understory of tangled vines, head high vegetation and thorny Devil’s Walking-Stick within mixed pine-hardwood forest. It was difficult to move through the vegetation to follow the GBS once located.

During a morning observation (11:03AM), a GBS was observed briefly on the forest floor, under the lowest level of vegetation. This individual then flew to a perch about 7 feet high where it was photographed from a distance and then lost from sight. This wide view photo also gives an idea of the thick tangled understory.

During an afternoon observation (4:22PM) a GBS was photographed perched upside-down underneath various leaves.

For the most part, flight was distinctively slow and usually between waist and head high.

8:15AM-5:00PM, 60-83F, N to E 3-6MPH, Mostly Sunny: Cloud Cover 1-31% (Lot of time spent looking for GBS and photographing other species.)

We had 5” of rain at this location after 3 dry weeks so I checked to see if anything new was present. Helitrope was blooming.

One un-identified Duskywing

Partly Cloudy, mid-60s, light breeze. It’s been a great year for Gray Hairstreaks…FOY Eastern Tailed Blues today as well!

Sunny, 85 degrees.

With Della Wells. 10am to 12:30pm; air temperature 65-81; 3-5 mph gusts from ESE.

Weather hazy sun & mild, 60’s-70’s F., with clouds on the increase for mid-afternoon visit. Some hill-topping activity among the butterflies at summit area. Numbers of Brown Elfins near their blueberry host-plants were likely higher than that given here. A possible Dreamy Duskywing also seen too-briefly (expected for area). 1 Cicindela sexguttata, the Six-spotted Tiger Beetle was noticed. Good wildflower diversity in bloom in limited areas at river-level, more so than on the higher elevation where plants were still in early stages of bloom.

9:30 am-5:00 pm. Weather: 70°-85°, winds 8-12 mph, sunny to partly cloudy. Nectar: thistles, blackberry, lantana, oxalis. Most thistles past bloom but it was a skipper party on those that weren’t. LCooper, SFarnsworth, DFraser, MMancuso, EPerry.

Busy working and our warmest day and of the year so far in the upper eighties under a mixed sky of clouds and sun. I am sure I missed a lot of sightings. I saw two dark Swallowtail butterflies at a long distance and would not even guess their identity.

Sunny and 79 with some humidity when observing late afternoon

Sunny, midday, landed on rosemary flower

Very warm, breezy with gusts at times, 80 degrees. First of year Clouded Sulphur, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Pearl Crescent, and a very early Northern Cloudywing! Unfortunately nobody wanted to sit still long enough for photos…

Few species in this small in-town area, but several friendly individuals.
An American Snout landed on the truck.
Several Hackberry Emperors landed on me.
A Question Mark posed for photos.

11:05AM-1:25PM, 75-84F, SW 10-18MPH, Mostly Sunny, Cloud Cover 46-50%.
Swamp to slightly upland pine and hardwood.

Fun shooting in my spring garden. Warmer today at 86 degrees!

6900-7465ft elevation

6900-7550ft in elevation

Observed the swallowtail flying then landed in my lilac bush.