Butterfliers,
We had a delightful morning full of butterflies, dragonflies, and flowers
at the Duke Gardens on the Carolina Butterfly Society Garden Walk
yesterday morning (8/18/2007). About 25 enthusiasts showed up, so we
split the group up with Randy Emmitt and Tom Krakauer leading one group
while I led the other, so that we didn't have too many eyes trying to see
the same little butterfly. Tom also had a handful of Carolina Butterfly
Society info packets he handed out to interested non-members. And Pat
Coin identified several wasp species and the colorful Ailanthus Webworm
Moth as well. Thanks to Tom, Pat, & Randy for helping out!
We enjoyed a fun group of butterfliers and a fun group of butterflies,
finding 30 species and a few hundred individuals. I hope the folks in my
group enjoyed "Skipper Boot Camp" as we practiced distinguishing the
orange skippers (mostly Sachem, Fiery, and S. Broken-Dash), and the dark
skippers (Clouded, Dun, and Little Glassywing). Lots of odes put in a
show as well, including Fragile Forktail, Variable Dancer, Common Green
Darners, Blue Dashers, Widow Skimmer, E. Amberwings, and a Twelve-spotted
Skimmer.
Here's the butterfly list under sunny skies in the 80s:
3 Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) caterpillars only
40 E. Tiger Swallowtail (P. glaucus)
2 Spicebush Swallowtail (P. Troilus)
6 Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)
1 Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme)
4 Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebus sennae)
1 Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe)
2 Juniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus)
1 Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus)
7 Red-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops)
1 E. Tailed-Blue (Everes comyntas)
3 Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta)
1 American Snout (Libytheana carinenta)
7 Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)
6 American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)
1 Red Admiral (V. atalantica)
2 Common Buckeye (Junonia ceonia)
2 Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
40 Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)
10 Horace's Duskywing (Erynnis horatius)
3 Wild Indigo Duskywing (E. baptisiae)
2 Common Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus communis)
10 Clouded Skipper (Lerema accius)
5 Least Skipper (Ancyloxypha numitor)
75 Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)
25 S. Broken-Dash (Wallengrenia egeremet)
3 Little Glassywing (Pompeius verna)
150 Sachem (Atalopedes campestris)
4 Dun Skipper (Euphys vestris)
1 Ocola Skipper (Panoquina ocola)
Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed the morning in the Gardens!
Good Butterflying,
Jeff
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jeffrey S. Pippen
Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
Rm A-241 LSRC Bldg, Box 90328
Duke University, Durham, NC 27708
PH: (919) 660-7278
http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/nature.htm
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Return to Carolina Butterfly Society Home Page