Here are the results of the Carolina Butterfly Society/carolinaleps listserve (aka here as CLL) to Weymouth Woods/Paint Hill and the Sandhills Game Land on Saturday, March 17. The weather was partly cloudy, with mild temps -- with a high probably 65-68 degrees. We heard thru the grapevine that up to 24 people would be showing up, but only 12 did. Nonetheless, 12 is a good number for a trip, as we got everyone into 4 vehicles. This was partly a CBS trip, but as it was promoted mainly over carolinaleps, I think CLL should get most of the credit!

We stopped first at Paint Hill to look for the Brown Elfins, and we weren't disappointed. But, we only had one other butterfly there. This is a rather poor butterfly site, and it's mostly good for Brown Elfins now, and some hairstreaks in early June.

We then traveled to the Richmond County portion of the Game Land, and worked a road north of the prison, through the field trial area. We hit some wet spots/seepages near creeks, but spent more time working over Chickasaw Plums growing in thickets in the full sun in the fields. Though there were relatively few butterflies on the plums, they were just about the only nectar source there. We finished up checking a few floodplains along Thunder Road in southern Moore County. For the day, we had a singing Bachman's Sparrow, a very few dragonflies --a Blue Corporal and first for everyone on the trip a Stripe-winged Baskettail, first IDed as a Uhlers Sundragon.

All in all, except for the 18 species of butterflies, it was still "winter" in the Sandhills, with no new spring birds, no herps other than a Fence Lizard, and hardly any dragonflies. But, we were rewarded with both a Great Purple Hairstreak and a White-M Hairstreak nectaring on the plums -- but too high and too far in to see at eye level and to poke to see the blue on the upper wings. But, we got long studies of their underwings. And, we had a few more Brown Elfins at the Game Land, including two on the plums, far from woods! We added one new county record -- the American Snout for Richmond County. I had never seen Brown Elfin in the Game Lands before, but admittedly I have seldom if ever looked for butterflies there until about April 10 (when the Browns are finished flying for the year.)

Here is the combined butterfly list of 18 species for Richmond and Moore counties.

dark swallowtail (not E. Tiger) 1
E. Tiger Swallowtail 7
Falcate Orangetip 2
Orange Sulphur 1
Sleepy Orange 4
Great Purple Hairstreak 1
White-M Hairstreak 1
Brown Elfin 12
Gray Hairstreak 3
Spring (Edwards') Azure 7
E. Tailed-Blue 1
American Snout 1
Variegated Fritillary 14 including a pair in copulation!
Question Mark 3
Eastern Comma 4
American Lady 5
Silver-spotted Skipper 1
Juvenal's Duskywing 10

Harry LeGrand