Butterfly sightings, past two weeks

Red Admirals frequenting a neighbors pear tree and the over ripe fruit, about 2 weeks now.

More butterflies, such as the Great Spangled Fritillary have been appearing since I purchased a butterfly bush.

At least 5 or 6 caterpillars and 2 groups of eggs were found.

Heavy overcast. Both Duskywings were fairly worn.

Fiery Skippers everywhere!

Most of the Monarchs were seen while nectaring on goldenrod. I also saw a greater fritillary nectaring about 10 feet away. At first it looked like a Great Spangled, and with a second look I thought Aphrodite. It wouldn't hold still and I was hoping for a third look to make it 2 out of 3 for an ID, but it took off in a big hurry.

The Tiger Swallowtail was a very worn dark phase female.

With the wet summer we have a pond where there never was one, this seems to have brought in NUMEROUS puddlers, the eastern tailed blues are TOO plentiful to count along with the orange and clouded sulfurs

This was a SWBA field trip. 14 people. We also saw a Monarch caterpillar, and Clouded Sulphur laying interesting eggs. The American Snout and Little Yellow were new records for the Conservancy.

The Red Admiral was perfectly camouflaged against the trunk of a tamarack tree.

We saw a Red Admiral and photographed it. It was enjoying the midmorning sunlight and the Agastache foeniculum along with many monarchs, whites, sulfurs, and viceroys. We saw just one Red Admiral.

The Funereal Duskywing was very cooperative. It stayed nectaring on the same plant for about 45 minutes.

We have several of these every year that hang out with the sulphurs

Although quite breezy, butterfly activity was very productive once I got behind the main building. I also easily found three Monarch Caterpillars in the two minute time frame that I looked for them. I was restricted to the trails because of NUMOROUS black and yellow spiders in their large orb webs (not the common Garden Spiders that I'm used to).

Same location as yesterday, but a different time of day (noon today vs late afternoon yesterday). Clouded Sulphurs still rule, but I saw a few different butterflies and two moths. I'd never seen the white-striped black moth before. Very small, less than an inch long.

Lots of Clouded Sulphurs!

My 3 yr. old son and I raised 12 out of 13 Monarch this year! I even got to see the transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis! I also have a video of it on my phone. In addition, the milkweed we picked had larva on it that is why we had 13 caterpillars! I was amazed at the stages and so happy to share it with my son.

In my garden, feeding primarily on verbena bonariensis and butterfly bush.

If anyone wants eggs of clouded sulphurs for children to raise, they are available in abundance on clover leaves this week.

It was such a beautiful day I had to go out on my lunch hour. Very few butterflies. I walked the edge of the grounds by uncut prairie vegetation and cattails.

Cool morning caused slow warm up of butterflies. More wind than I like, but less than monday. All monarchs were moving south. New hatch of Eastern Commas

The Eastern Tailed Blue I spotted was really beat up and had lost its "tails".

This fritillary was in a construction area where a new trail is being built to link Eagle Elementary School and the village library. Heavy construction equipment was operating nearby.

Observations made while removing Burdock this morning. The Giant Hyssop flowers were very popular among the Monarchs. One thistle which had both flowers and seeds was shared by a G.S. Fritillary, a S-S Skipper and a Goldfinch.

9:00 am observations. Cool and windy.

Dozens of clouded sulphurs were out, many on thistle at the edge of a soybean field along Highway 67. This white female was quite distinct from the yellow males.

Windy day made it difficult. Temps were hot, mostly sunny. Found pockets of butterflies where wind sheltered.

Went out too early (7:30 am) for many butterflies, but found several Monarch caterpillars and one woolly caterpillar eating invasive burdock.

At least 3 individuals, in open sandy area.

The tiger swallowtail was a dark form female.

Amazing butterflying!

These sightings during a 2-hr walk at the "far side" (SW corner) of the park. In ten years of walking this park, I have never before seen so many butterflies - esp BSTs, which were numerous and active.

[There were 30+ Crescents, but I wasn't able to enumerate Pearls vs Northerns; got pix of each.]

Also had 5 species of tiger beetles -- Boreal Long-lipped, N. Barrens, Big Sand, Oblique-lined, and Cow Path.

Casual obs while lounging on the shores of L. Superior. Neither of these species are all that common here, though this year they have been present in above average numbers.

Beautiful day but windy. A Bumble bee and an active flock of 5-8 American Goldfinches playing in the prairie.

Not bad for a 25 min. walk along Yahara Place Park!

Beautiful day with little wind, temps in the low 80s, no clouds, but really few butterflies. I was surprised to see two Wild Indigo Duskywings.

A birding trip which produced my first Least Skippers of the year feeding on yellow mustard.

Area recently cut. Few butterflies today.

Clouds early and then mostly sunny. I mainly walked the roads and when the sun came out it was spectacular again this week.

We also saw several Great Spreadwing damselflies.

There are swarms of a small yellow butterfly on what appears to be a field of clover. They are just west of town on Rt 33 by some fields of sunflowers. It is truly an amazing sight! They are everywhere!

Lots of butterflies in 20 minutes. Very cool.

A very harrowing 6.5 hour trip through the prairie that was more a swamp. Much of Avoca is underwater and travel there should remain on OBVIOUS trails.

The tiger swallowtails adore my Zinnias, and monarchs like to land on the Red Milkweed. The red admiral landed on the flox.

Seen in flower garden, it poor wings looked as if they have seen better days. Especially the right wing.