On Saturday, July 9, 2022, the Triad Chapter of CBS (Carolina Butterfly Society) will hold a butterfly walk at Loretta Lutman’s extensive private butterfly garden in Randolph County that has many nectar plants all around her house. In addition, she has installed her “blue garden,” a sculpture garden of butterfly images with blue being the dominant color. This is a beautiful addition to all her planted beds.
Loretta has previously stated, “The tour of my garden includes photos of what was once a scrubby wooded lot with no sun, to a full-fledged butterfly garden full of nectar plants with the surrounding woodlands supplying host plants. Around and in back of the house are several butterfly sculptures in the ‘blue’ garden. After your tour, sit a spell in the gazebo (with fans), view the garden, and enjoy butterflies, skippers, and the surprise goldfinches that come to forage on coneflower petals. Listen to the delightful sound of the waterfall sprinkler.”
As well as developing her own extensive butterfly garden, Loretta has spent many years as a volunteer working at the nearby NC Zoo in their butterfly gardening efforts. She also is the author of a scientifically accurate children’s book on the butterfly life cycle.
If you would like to attend, please contact Loretta Lutman at the email address below to RSVP and obtain her address (which, for privacy and security concerns, is not published here). If it happens to rain (banish the thought) on July 9, this walk will be rescheduled to July 17.
On Saturday, June 11, 2022, the Triad Chapter of CBS (Carolina Butterfly Society) will hold a butterfly walk at Reynolda Gardens which serves as a 134-acre outdoor horticultural oasis open to the public year-round from dawn to dusk. Revive your senses as you connect with nature and immerse yourself in this peaceful landscape complete with lush, colorful gardens, two miles of scenic walking trails, wetlands, paved pathways, thick woodlands, and an expansive meadow for visitors to explore and enjoy. There is also a waterfall, located along the Reynolda Village trail but we will initially be exploring the gardens listed above. Refer to the website below for a map and additional information.
Meet at the garden entrance greenhouse at 100 Reynolda Village, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27106 (or for those who prefer GPS coordinates, 36.12564, -80.28474). Please RSVP to Barbara Cullen at the email address below if you plan to participate.
On Saturday, June 4, 2022, the Triad Chapter of CBS (Carolina Butterfly Society) will hold a butterfly walk at the Historic Bethabara Park Medicinal and Butterfly Gardens. The Bethabara Gardens are beautiful, historically significant places to explore. When the Moravians settled Bethabara in the early 1750s, one of the first things they established were the gardens. The Medicinal Garden contained plants that were used to treat stomach aches, headaches, and, most commonly, intestinal worms, which were significant ailments to both people and livestock in the 18th century. The Pollinator Garden was not planted by the Moravians, but this new garden preserves their tradition and values of respecting and understanding of the balance of nature. The entire park encompasses 183 acres of preserved wildlife, historic buildings and grounds, walking and birding trails, and protected wetlands but we will initially be exploring the gardens listed above. Refer to the website below for a map and additional information.
The park address is 2147 Bethabara Road, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27106 (or for those who prefer GPS coordinates, 36.15470, -80.29618). Please RSVP to Harriet McCarthy at the email address below if you plan to participate.
On Saturday, May 14, 2022, the Triad Chapter of CBS (Carolina Butterfly Society) will hold a butterfly walk at Harriet McCarthy’s home butterfly garden in Forsyth County, which has been certified as a Monarch Waystation. The whole property is beautifully landscaped. Harriet, who is a Master Gardener, has planted her property extensively with native species (as well as some non-native plants) to provide host plants for butterfly caterpillars and nectar for adult butterflies and other pollinators. Most of the mature plantings are in her back garden. In addition, she has a flowerbed at the base of the lawn in front of her home with one end set aside for shade-loving plants under the cover of mature trees.
If you would like to attend, please contact Harriet McCarthy at the email address below to RSVP and obtain her address (which, for privacy and security concerns, is not published here).
DATE CHANGE – Now Saturday, April 23, 2022 (was April 30)
On Saturday, April 23, 2022, the Triad Chapter of CBS (Carolina Butterfly Society) will hold a butterfly walk at the Greensboro Arboretum to look for early butterflies. This 17-acre site features 14 plant collections, special display gardens and distinct structural features. The extensive variety of plants offers chances to observe butterflies and provides rich educational opportunities for children and adults, landscape designers, and homeowners. Refer to the website below for a map and additional information.
Meet at the arboretum entrance at 401 Ashland Drive, Greensboro, North Carolina 27403 (or for those who prefer GPS coordinates, 36.07027, -79.84208). Please RSVP to Dennis Burnette at the email address below if you plan to participate.
=== DATE CHANGE ===
Due to Hurricane Ian’s predicted landfall in South Carolina (along with the expected accompanying rain and possible flooding and tree damage due to high winds), the date of this walk has been changed to October 22.
This is a full CBS walk and a joint outing with SCAN (South Carolina Association of Naturalists) to the 3,674-acre Wateree River Heritage Preserve and Wildlife Management Area. Our target species is the Southern Dogface, but we will also be looking for other late-season butterflies as well. We will drive to various areas and walk some of the trails. Areas may be a little overgrown, but the walking is mostly on level ground and easy.
Meet at the first kiosk that is located on the right, about 0.45 miles along Goodwill Road after entering the property. GPS coordinates for the kiosk are 33.94949, -80.65303. The HP / WMA entrance is located at 15001 Goodwill Road, Eastover, SC 29044 (GPS coordinates 33.94353, -80.65551) on the north side of Garners Ferry Road, US Highway 378, just across from Goodwill Baptist Church.
NOTE – HP & WMA rules state that “All users must wear international orange from October 1 thru March 1.” so please bring an international orange cap or vest.
No restrooms are available on the property. Refer to the SCDNR website link below for additional information and maps of the property. Please RSVP to Marty Kastner at the email address below if you plan to participate.
See the website link below for hiking trails and other information about the Wateree River Heritage Preserve and Wildlife Management Area.
CANCELLED
This walk has been cancelled because 3 of the 4 areas we planned to search have been burned and there is no grass around. This walk may be rescheduled for 2023 or 2024.
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Join us on May 7, 2022, in search of the elusive Dusted Skipper. This skipper seems to be rapidly declining throughout the Carolinas and is currently only known in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, from one powerline right-of-way.
We will meet up at Latta Nature Preserve at 10:00 in the Gar Creek Canoe Access parking lot, GPS coordinates 35.34968, -80.92404, to explore a once-reliable location for this skipper. Depending on the size of our group, we may split up into smaller groups to take advantage of extra eyes and search as many suitable locations for Dusted Skippers as we can. This outing aims to attempt to locate additional populations of the beautiful single brooded species. Refer to the website below for a map and additional information about Latta Nature Preserve.
If you plan on attending, please RSVP on the Carolina Butterfly Society website or email Robert Gilson at robert.gilson@faunaventures.com.
This trip will be co-led by Robert Gilson and Chris Talkington. Make sure to bring plenty of water, sunscreen, insect repellent, a hat, binoculars, a camera, and your favorite field guide.
The first CBS butterfly walk of the year will be held on March 5 at South Tibwin Trail in the Francis Marion National Forest. Target species will be the Falcate Orangetip. South Tibwin (both the trail and a road) is directly off Highway 17 approximately 3 miles southwest of McClellanville, South Carolina. The entrance is well marked by a forest service sign. There is a parking area, GPS coordinates 33.07048, -79.52006, just off the highway. The entrance to the trail is gated so the entire area must be explored on foot. There are no restroom facilities on site. The terrain is fairly even and consists mostly of dirt roads or mowed paths. Full length of the trail(s) is approximately 5 miles and includes several loops. Refer to the website below for a map and additional information. There are a variety of habitats – marsh, pine forests and fields. Bring hydration, insect repellant, binoculars, cameras and lunch. Contact Alison Smith at the email address below if you plan on attending.
This is to let you know that the butterfly garden visit this coming Saturday is CANCELLED for the time being. We hope to postpone it to a later date.
We have been keeping an eye on the status of COVID-19 in the Triad. New cases are rising dramatically. If we are going to ere, we want to do so in favor of the health and safety of our members and guests. Some of these folks have other health issues to consider, as well. Consequently, we have made the difficult decision to not meet as a group at the home of Pat & Gene Holder this coming Saturday. Pat invites anyone who would like to see the Holder native plant butterfly garden individually to contact her at <pat.holder@icloud.com> to arrange a date and time.
— Original Information Below —
Pat Holder is looking forward to having members of the Carolina Butterfly Society
visit their garden on Saturday, July 31, 2021 at 9:30 am. Pat’s address is:
1895 Lake Country Dr. Ext.
Asheboro, NC 27205
Webkeepers Note – For those who use GPS, I believe the coordinates for the entrance to Pat’s driveway are 35.747880, -79.848766
There will be safe parking on the side of the country road as well as a little parking in their driveway. Pat is seeing more and more butterflies, still not a huge number, and lots of bees and dragonflies. At the moment the garden is full of blooms, and as the Bee Balm fades, more Black-eyed Susans are popping open. It should be lovely, but warm.
Pat will be out of town until Tuesday, July 27 and will have access to email in case there are questions. Visitors should email Pat at the following address to let her know they are coming.
pat.holder@icloud.com
For this CBS walk, we are hoping to reorganize the Triangle Chapter of the Carolina Butterfly Society beginning with a garden walk followed by a field trip in the Raleigh-Durham area.
On Friday, August 6, we will meet in the parking lot of the J.C. Raulston Arboretum at 10:00 am for some easy butterflying in the gardens there. The arboretum address is 4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh, NC 27606. Currently the gardens are open from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm on weekdays only. The current arboretum policy is that masks are required indoors but not outdoors, and social distancing is required both indoors and outdoors. These policies may be relaxed by August 6th. Please check the arboretum’s website for the most up-to-date information at: https://jcra.ncsu.edu//
For those who use GPS, the coordinates of the arboretum entrance are 35.794921, -78.700278. Restrooms are available at the arboretum and good places to eat are not far away.
