Recent sightings

windy and cloudy. The butterflies I saw were trying to get out of the wind by laying low like the Great Spangled Fritillary. It didn't seem to bother the Snowberry Clearwing.

mostly cloudy and very windy

13:52 - 14:26. Dutchman's pipe vines growing on cedar (not Juniperus) trees are prevalent in the area. There were 2 male Pipevine Swallowtails patrolling the area, which circled around each other and sometimes the cabbage whites.The swallowtails' front wings looked like black velvet to me. Silver spotted Skipper male trying insistently to mate with a larger female.American Lady was warn but displaying the dorsal surface of its wings.

Driving along gravel roads and stopping for groups of blazing star.

Also saw a Hummingbird Clearwing moth on monarda

Least Skippers just about everywhere.
2 pics of E. Tailed-Blues.

It is always interesting to see which plants attract the butterflies and it is never the geraniums or petunias in spite of the gorgeous colors.

Sunny, warm, very light wind. This was a quick walk through the pollinator garden/trail area. There were many more butterflies, but I was walking the dog and couldn't identify/photograph more.

Sunny , calm and in the mid 70's. This was a Jefferson-Dodge Bird Walk. Large parts of the marsh were overgrown with wild cucumber and those areas had dozens of cabbage whites.

Hackberry Emperor was sunning itself on the window lintel, taking a break from the garden!

A little sulfur flew by but would not allow a picture. Flew due east through the prairie. Many species for only a thirty minute stop.

The two Harvesters were playing on the forest edge

Seen in my native plant gardens. Hackberry Emperor on a Hackberry Tree, a monarch on Meadow Blazingstar and a Buckeye on Blackeye Susan.

I was focused on Wisc Breeding Bird Atlas but the butterflies were terrific. First time I think I've seen Dainty Sulphur in Wisconsin. Next year I'll do a better job of counting leps. :)

Sunny and not terribly hot, but the humidity made it worse. Great butterflying today. Didn't know whether to be angry at the dog owner who didn't clean up or grateful, when I found 4 Pearl Crescents on a fresh turd. I forgot to recharge my camera last night, so half of my photos today are poor iPhone photos after the camera battery went dead.

80 degree, partly sunny afternoon.

Pipevine swallowtail caterpillars have hatched and are in first instar.

Been watching several Giant swallowtails cruise the edges of the woods for a week or so now

It was delightful to find this Hackberry Emperor on the wet hood of my car after I volunteered at Olbrich.

Walked the horse trail prairie restoration. Mostly cloudy and slight breeze but a few butterflies were out. I watched 2 Black Swallowtails go at it for a really long time. Got a distant photo before they lifted high in the air and were gone. Saw a Common Whitetail dragonfly too. 70s 45 minutes walk.

Amy Chamberlain and Karen Oberhauser were monitoring Monarchs with 4 HS students and others. We saw all Monarch stages except a 4th instar and a pupa, and watched a drawn out mating attempt that involved the female clasping her abdomen with her legs to avoid mating. Amy got a photo.

Our back yard, in prairie creek subdivision. Heavily wooded. The Giant Swallowtail landed on my son, and then made way to the ground. I believe it was on its last legs, unfortunately.

Partly cloudy, 80 deg., and moderately windy with many butterflies not landing for me to make a proper ID or take a picture. Special bonus - An osprey tower was put up in the park as an Eagle Scout project and has remained empty for at least 6 years. Today there was an adult with a begging juvenile in the nest.

Sunny

Mild, intermittent rain, then sun, then clouds. Some of the butterflies were still flying in the light rains. Almost as many Viceroys as Monarchs. Even got a photo of a Viceroy perched on a Milkweed leaf. The thrill of the day was the Bronze Copper which I think is a male.

Surprised to see this Pipevine swallowtail in my garden. First I’ve spotted in Wisconsin.

Photos are poor quality but was happy to capture something.

Unexpected cycnia moth (Cycnia inopinatus) caterpillar - another milkweed dependent species, esp. butterfly, but here on whorled (as was the monarch).

Many fritillaries of various sizes and orange hues flitting over much of the property.

Newly emerged Black Swallowtail. Can you see the old chrysalis?

My first Eastern Tiger Swallowtail of the year!

Have had a few other sightings of the Red-spotted Purple Butterfly this season and in prior seasons.

mostly sunny, late AM

Sunny early evening

Beautiful late afternoon walk around the prairie loop north of the clubhouse. MANY unidentified "fly-by" Ladies. Three pairs of tandem Monarchs, and one caterpillar.

12:15pm-1:10pm

10:50am-11:30am

I hiked the north trail loop, 9:30am-10:45am

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on cosmos in garden.

Spent the afternoon in my small (30' x 40') back garden which is filled with pollinator and hummingbird friendly plants. Had 5 Monarchs and one time on the Joe Pye Weed (I could only get 4 at once in a photo). One of the Red Admirals was so tattered, I was surprised that it could still fly. Besides the butterflies, there were 2 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, 1 Hummingbird Moth, and countless bumble bees and honey bees.

One loop around the main pond. Sunny and 70 deg.

Sunny 78 degree afternoon.

Incidental while gardening. Most were pollinating verinoca

It's been hanging around the last couple of weeks.

flitting on my gravel driveway

All seen in test garden

Incidental while removing giant ragweed, Queens Anne's Lace and bull thistle from SNA. We had 37 Painted Ladies sitting on the road at one point.

These were in the zinnia gardens in my yard.

warm, partly sunny. Besides the butterflies, saw a White-striped Black Moth. The Tiger Swallowtail was a dark female. I noticed that the Common Wood-Nymphs are much paler than they were a few weeks ago.

A quick run through the gardens on a cloudy afternoon, cut short by showers.

2-345pm, mostly sunny and warm. I was only in the test garden

Walked up to the falls from the parking lot. Partly cloudy temps in 70s.

My friend Ruth Smith & I checked out the canoe launch early in the afternoon before the rain moved in. She got her lifer Dainty Sulphur but no pic. I was able to get one of it tho. We also had several Big Sand Tiger Beetles and a fly I can't ID. Saw an Eastern Comma sharing some Monarda with a Silver Spotted Skipper.

4 pm - 6 pm sunny, but wet from earlier rains: walked the area and some marshy fields with a lot of Joe-Pie Weed hoping to see my neighbor's Pipevine Swallowtail...did not find it, but did see lots of other good butterflies.

Heavy rain in the afternoon limited butterfly activity.

Took a quick walk at lunchtime. Sunny and 76 deg.

Seen near the boat launch but not for very long. Tried to get a picture but it was already gone before I could find my camera.

Too many Cabbage Whites to count. Lots of Least Skippers near the edge of the river. I think all the larger skippers I saw were Pecks.

Just a quick stop to look for Bronze Coppers.

Pipevine Swallowtail, male

This butterfly was on a Rudbekia flower in my yard.

Many least skippers flushing ahead along trails - impossible to accurately count but a very conservative 15.
Looking down, looking down, and Behold at eye level about 4' up in a goldenrod: Common Garter Snake (cloudy, wet, but 11:30am!).

Several minutes nectaring on flowers, mid morning

seen while walking around town

Mid 70s, cloudy and very humid. Recent rain provided puddling spots. Still no Leonard's Skippers, but plenty of other interesting things. Many Dragonflies, Robber Flies & (the frustrating to photograph) Clearwing moths.

Late afternoon, overcast and slight drizzle on and off.

Backyard flower garden

The most Giant Swallowtails I've seen in one area. 4 were puddling on the shore of the river and the other 2 were flying around the parking area.

humid and hazy

My wife and I have seen at least 6 eastern Tiger Swallowtails in our backyard

In my front yard among the Allium (Flowering Onion) plants.

These butterflies were all in the pollinator and zinnia gardens in my yard.

cloudy

cloudy

In my front yard flower garden on bee balm.

Seen in our farm garden.

70 deg. and very overcast

At least 3 giant swallowtails in our yard now. May be more later. We dont mow much lawn, lots of weeds and natural plants. Plenty of prickly ash in the woods.

Many more that I couldn’t identify in time riding a bike. More on Trail west of Merton.

cloudy but calm

Cool and cloudy. But still quite a few butterflies flying

75 F, 7:38 - 10:19, 1.53 miles. No mowing has been done in this area. Least skippers on chichory flower - one side view, one dorsal of thorax. Red Admiral underside looks a bit unusual and less like a Painted lady.

Namakagon Road and Snake Trail Area west of County Hwy GG and north of County Hwy M. While walking the first 1.2 miles of the Snake Trail north of its junction with Namakagon Road, we saw 25 Common Branded Skippers and our only Milbert's Tortoiseshell of the year.

Very busy butterfly on my phlox. You can see from the size it was nearly the size of the entire head of flowers. No 'tails' on it though. Brownish black above and pale yellow below with distinctive orange/russet spot at base of wings. Have seen several of them in my flower garden this year.

75 degrees and partly sunny. Field trip of the Southern Wisconsin Butterfly Association, led by Karl and Dorothy Legler. 24 participants. We found 19 species. Painted Lady was the most common butterfly! The astonishing find was the Reakirt's Blue, a very rare immigrant from the Southwest. Note the photo of black female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail which characteristically shows the underlying tiger stripes on the underside of the hindwing (photo by Pat Ready). Reakirt's upper side by Jim Otto. Four other photos by Lester Doyle.

Sunny 78 degree day.

I saw at least three Bronze Coppers chasing each other. This park/wetland has great habitat for them, so I hope a population becomes established. Least Skippers were abundant.

Incidental while gardening.

Also saw 2 Hummingbird clearwings and 1 snowberry clearwing moths nectaring on monarda

Part of Arb Citizen Science Open House

Very short walk.

Ruth Smith & I parked at the Kampen Rd. lot and walked the trails in the Brown Prairie. Hard to believe how many Painted Ladies are out there! Beautiful day for butterfly watching! Also saw some Widow Skimmer dragonflies.

930-1145am, sunny and hot.

2:45 hours at the 4 bogs and their bog roadsides where we have most recently seen Purplish Fritillaries: Lyman Lake, North Bear, Bear, and Milchesky Road 1.15. In more than 20 years making 2 and sometimes 3 visits per year during the presumed Purplish Fritillary flight here, nearly all of our lowest peak counts are from 2012-2019, with our only zero peak ever in 2018. In 2011 our Purplish Frit daily totals were 107 the 1st try and 120 two weeks later. But the hot dry 2012 brought the start of continuously low counts here with 6 and then zero on our two visits that year. Today's Purplish Fritillary was stunningly gorgeous and nectaring at length on Jo Pye Weed in the west ditch of North Bear Bog.

Saw several blues flying around the sand at the beach. Also saw the Red-spotted Purples and the Red Admiral on the beach.

The conditions seemed perfect for butterfly sightings (light winds, warm, sunshine), but I saw very few.

The first fiery of the year for me.

In walkway, by porch..a bit battered but it was getting moisture from cracks...after I had made puddles for the birds.

All butterflying days should be like this. The count is conservative because at times there were so many butterflies I could not identify and count fast enough to tally!

Mating pair of Silver-spotted Skippers in my garden.

Least skippers were all sighted along the edges of the mown path. Also saw a clearwing.

On my Porch today Aug 9_2019

Spent two hours looking for that unusual skipper, but only found a few Least skippers

Monarchs were raised from eggs

Sunny and mild. Seeing quite a few Hummingbird Moths too. And I took a photo of this interesting insect that I think is a bee-mimic.

Many "Crescent" butterflies flushing/flitting along trails. Yellow Garden Argiope (Argiope aurantia)

Seen on the northern edge of the Holy Wisdom Prairie

Found on anise hyssop

I am quite sure it is Purple Loosestrife in the north end of the marsh. Smooth edged leaf arranged in opposite pairs, squareish woody stems, 5 petaled flower. Skippers seem to like them though!

lots of Purple Loosestrife in the marsh

We walked most go the gardens where flowers were in full bloom. Found the usual suspects and right before leaving I spotted an American Snout on the ground. Saw lots of Clearwing Hummer Moths all over. Never saw so many Painted Ladies!

Hackberry Emperor

The kind of day the local weather person calls a "Top-Ten Weather Day". A delightful 75 degrees with a breeze and very low humidity. Painted Ladies are still plentiful (one of them in the grip of an Ambush Bug). I was looking for Leonard's Skippers, but blazing star is just beginning to bloom. Whorled Milkweed and Joe-pye-weed are blooming. Lovely day!

The Giant Swallowtail found the sweet Joe-pye and was nectaring for quite awhile this afternoon. Also a 'Summer' spring azure showed up, interesting how one of the biggest and one of the smallest!

Giant swallowtail. Having issues flying. Found inside porch.

Breezy, sunny, 75 degree afternoon.

American Snout is not a common butterfly this far north in Wisconsin. This is only the second Manitowoc County record.

Walking parallel to the boardwalk. Came across both of these in quick succession.

The only butterfly I don't have pictured is a Giant Swallowtail. I saw one in flight on 8/7/19 on Moely Prairie and then again nectaring on the prairie on 8/8/19. I can say with certainty that what I saw both days was the Giant even though I couldn't believe I was seeing one up close! It was a first for me and a first sighting recorded on Moely Prairie as well.

Breezy, warm afternoon

I didn't look around the entire gardens just the perennial garden mostly. Target was the Pipevine. Lifer!

Sunny, high 70's. I noticed Partridge pea blooming along the edge of the prairie. Hoping to see if there were any Little Yellow in the area, I was extremely lucky to see a coupled pair land in the grass. Lifer for me.

My backyard, in a cluster of Purple Coneflowers.

Windy and warm in late afternoon, but a fair number of butterflies were active.

Giant Swallowtail seen on native Joe Pye Weed. Hackberry Emperor seen in back yard - with many hackberry trees around though picture taken on a wooden clothesline post. Also seen several Monarchs on native Cup Plant, an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on native Joe Weed, a Viceroy on native Rattlesnake Master and a Pearl Crescent on native fleabane.

Partly cloudy, mildly windy, mid 80s, 2:30pm

Giant Swallowtail - Sighted in our flower garden at about 4:00 p.m. feeding in bee balm plants. Due to size and coloration it could not be mistaken. We have a lot of prickly ash in this area so am thinking this would be an attraction.

This butterfly landed on the deck of The Nature Conservancy work boat on Lulu Lake and was very tolerant of my jumping on and off the pontoon boat at the dock while I was loading equipment. It was completely focused on a rotting pile of Eurasian water-milfoil that I had harvested a week ago and left to dry on the boat.

This butterfly was seen on a trail in Amnicon Falls State Park

Incidental while biking.

Bronze copper found Rich's hand irresistible - had to brush it off on a flower and rush away otherwise it kept returning. 6 of Viceroys nectaring on rattlesnake master - only flower they were using.

13 Monarchs eclosed and flew away today. One of them chose to chase the Giant Swallowtail away from the Monarda, and then it in turn was harassed by the Painted Lady. An interesting afternoon in the garden.

Sunny and warm. I am very puzzled by the dark skipper.

Part of Arboretum staff survey of Lodde's Mill plants and butterflies. Butterfly surveyors included Chris Kregel, Lance Rudy, and Karen Oberhauser.

Attracted to phlox flowers.

Seen while walking

Observed the largest butterfly I've ever seen on 8-6-19. Black with yellow spots outlining wings and line of yellow spots across the back connecting the outlines on outer edges of wings. I don't search for butterflies, just an admirer. But that might change! Spent 3 hours on-line trying to find a picture of the butterfly I saw. Most magnificent creature I've ever seen. It spent about 10 minutes in my back yard (next to a woods) moving from my coneflowers to my wave petunias. Time was mid afternoon. Luckily I was in my garage and grabbed my binoculars to get a close look.

I walked the trail to Watts Lake. Nice selection of dragonflies on the pier, including a very cooperative Eastern Amberwing and Slaty Skimmer.

In our butterfly garden