Carolina Butterfliers:

We had a good turn out of 10 folks for the Eighth Annual Southeast Guilford County (NC) Butterfly Walk and Count yesterday, Saturday, July 27, 2002. There were several new butterfliers in the group. Special thanks are due to Charlie Cameron and Jim Nottke for making sure the new folks felt welcome and for helping them to spot and identify butterflies.

This count produced low numbers of butterflies, despite the good weather and availability of nectar sources. However, the effects of the severe drought in this area on the butterfly population were not quite as bad as anticipated, possibly due to a few recent rains over a two week period in some parts of Guilford county prior to count day. (This is said to be the worst drought in the last half century, and local cities have instituted mandatory water usage restrictions.) Our 2002 total of 26 species was 87% of the average total of 30 species, while the 2002 total of 165 individual butterflies represented 79% of an average total of 212 individuals.

We were pleased to see a good number of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, a normally common species that has been scarce in the county until the last few days. There was a remarkable number of fresh butterflies, suggesting that a large number were newly-emerged. Nearly all of the Fiery Skippers were very orange, and the single American Lady was very bright. On the other hand, sulphurs of all species were few or completely missing from the count. We recorded a single Monarch laying an egg on common milkweed. Except for two Red-spotted Purples, woodland species were nonexistent on this count.

Below is a complete list of butterfly species and individuals recorded on the
count.

Black Swallowtail - 4
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - 36 (including 10 black females)
Spicebush Swallowtail - 5
Cabbage White - 6
Orange Sulphur - 3
Cloudless Sulphur - 2
Sleepy Orange - 7
Eastern Tailed Blue - 8
Spring (Summer) Azure - 1
American Snout - 1
Variegated Fritillary - 1
Pearl Crescent - 7
American Lady - 1
Common Buckeye - 10
Red-spotted Purple - 2 (+1 larva &1egg)
Hackberry Emperor - 2
Monarch - 1 (+1egg)
Silver-spotted Skipper - 33
Horace’s Duskywing - 1
[Erynnis sp. - 1]
Com.mon Checkered-Skipper - 4
Common Sootywing - 1
Least Skipper - 2
Fiery Skipper - 6
Crossline Skipper - 2
Sachem - 17
Zabulon Skipper - 1

TOTAL INDIVIDUALS: 165 (79% of average total)
TOTAL SPECIES: 26 (87% of average total)
AVERAGES*: 212 individuals, 30 species
(*dropping highest and lowest year totals)

Weather:
Temperature - low 70° at 5:00 a.m., 87° at noon, high 91° at 2:00 p.m.
Clouds -100% sun morning, 90% sun afternoon Precipitation - trace (brief afternoon shower) Wind - 0 to 5 mph

Time: Begin - 9:15; End-4:45. Party hours: 6 1/2 (5 on foot, 1 1/2 by car).

Party miles: 49 (3 on foot, 46 by car, 10 people in 1 party)

Dennis Burnette
Greensboro, NC
burnetted@aol.com