Butterfly sightings for October 2011

Least Skipper nectaring on bedstraw and everything else on asters.

1 unidentified skipper also seen.

A nice sunny day with many butterflies out and about!

Late in the day, between 5:30 and 5:45, still sunny and warm. I've seen many Eastern tailed blues here before. This one looks a little worn.

This Orange Sulphur was seen nectaring on wild asters in a field of young pines and aspens. It's sunny, mild, and very windy today.

74 degrees and Sunny. New spreadwing skipper in my yard.

The Eastern tailed blues and the monarchs were especially photogenic. Just as I was about to leave for home, a dragonfly landed about five feet from where I was standing, providing a great view and great photos.

78 degrees and not a cloud in sight. Today was a good butterfly day with a Gray Hairstreak and a mated pair of Fiery Skippers. This was only the second time that I've seen more than a single Fiery. I briefly saw an unknown skipper nectaring on the stiff goldenrod in my hilltop prairie, so I started walking a grid pattern hoping to see it again. I was rewarded with my first-ever Sachem. I managed to get a couple of photos, not the best photos, but good enough for a positive ID. This is my favorite time of year, you never know what might come straying through.

Beautiful day! Great for butterfly sightings. I'm probably seeing some of the same individual butterflies each day, but they are such a joy to have around!

Perfect calm, sunny weather.

Mostly by the library. I also saw one mostly yellow skipper, skipping around, but it landed only for about a second. Looked for it for about 20 minutes but didn't find it again.

New England and white asters abouded on several acres, attracting good numbers of The Whites and Sulphurs, but Orange Sulphurs very rare. Most Monarchs I have seen in over a month.

78 Degrees & Sunny.

This butterfly was innitially found sitting on a wild aster plant in a naturalized field that bordered a soybean crop. It flew back and forth between the asters and the soybean plants, sunning itself on this very warm fall day.

The clouded sulphurs are very abundant the past few weeks.

Warm day, becoming breezy as the day progressed. At Big Beaver, I saw a lot of clouded sulphurs and a few cabbage whites, and a monarch. The eastern comma was spotted at the boat landing, along with a couple clouded sulphurs.

Sunny and upper 70's. Hard to believe it's October. Highlight of the day: The Eastern comma landed on the path about 3 feet from me, then alternately "walked" and flew a few inches at a time, ending up right by my shoe. Then it jumped onto my pant-leg. Lowlight of the day: A hiker who saw me trying to take a picture of my foot walked right on by, scaring the butterfly, so I have no picture of it on my leg. (Maybe she thought I was crazy, or maybe she figured my foot wasn't going anywhere, so why bother to be polite. I'm sure she didn't realize there was a butterfly on my leg.) This photo is right before it jumped onto my pant-leg.

84 Degrees and sunny.

80 Degrees, Sunny & Windy.

Sachem! I was pleasantly surprised to see a skipper bouncing around some flowers that I parked near.

Very windy! The restored prairie still has lots of flowering goldenrod. Not a lot of variety here but amazingly there were more Monarchs than Clouded Sulphurs!

Noted my Eastern Tiger Swallowtail larvae changed color to the dark phase, foretelling formation of the pupa. I observed this egg and "cat"since Aug 23 on a white ash. Life cycle time as immature -44 days.

A beautiful warm and sunny day, but the only butterflies were Sulphurs. Also saw 6 lovely red Dragonflies at the pond.

I took a morning hike at the Browne Prairie. Temps were quite warm, and it was breezy. Many of the butterflies seen were quite tattered.

This little garden caught my attention in late August and I thought it might be interesting in October and it was! The Clouded Sulphur was highly unusual as it rarely closed its wings. In fact, this was the first one I had ever seen feed with the wings so open.

Along the roadside north of the eastern section of the SNA

84 Degrees and Sunny. Was hoping to find a Viceroy.

Surprised to see this blue on the edge of the fields. Looks like an Eastern tailed blue who lost his tails. Another treat was this cool moth.

Mild and breezy out of the south

Six species evident within New England and white aster tract. Monarchs modestly common, nectaring lengthy periods on asters. Fiery skipper on marigold in my garden on Okauchee lake

My first Variegated Fritillary of the year.

These were massing around with the bumblebees during the last hurrahs of the wildflowers, and too beautiful not to capture.

77 Degrees and Mostly Sunny.

Another beautiful October day. Sunny and mid-70's. Mid-afternoon. Many asters here.

74 degrees and Sunny. 1 Hr.*

77 degrees and Sunny.

A wonderful warm afternoon. The Sachems were chasing each other, the Viceroy and nectaring moths.

Garden Marigolds attracted two skippers during the early afternoon.

The clouds moved in just as I arrived, so there wasn't much activity.

Stopped after work to see if anything was still flying.

Not a lot of nectar sources available and very windy.

8:50-9:10am. Walked shoreline 0.3 mi from Shoop Park parking area to the lighthouse.

Sunny, 57 degrees, fairly windy, around 3pm. Stopped here because I knew there are still lots of asters and some portions of the trail are relatively sheltered from the wind. However, I only saw 3 clouded sulphurs and one not-very-colorful moth.

Saw only this single butterfly sunning on the road, but there were hundreds of what I believe were Autumn Meadowhawk dragonflies flitting everywhere along the paths.

Still lots of flowers! Sunny, high 50s, and still very windy. All Sachems were males.

Cool, very windy, and partly sunny ...late Morning. French marigolds continue to attract the few butterflies that chance upon them

You never know what you will see. Yesterday I walked alot where there were lots of asters and saw 3 clouded sulphurs and a moth. Today, nearly the same conditions, different location, I walked very little, and I saw lots of butterflies (for October). The monarch greeted me at 9:00 am when I arrived and was still around when I left around noon. The red chrysanthemums attracted the red admirals and the Peck's skipper (lots of great views, they stayed a long time, I left before they did).

It was only the second one I have seen all year, and it was on the asphalt in a mall parking lot!

58 degrees, sunny and windy. Painted Lady waited for me to walk around it, get my binocs & camera from the house, ID it, but wouldn't wait those last seconds for the camera to turn on. Only the 2nd PL for the year.

Sunny mild morning, still a few butterflies.

55 Degrees and Sunny. Most on the south facing patio on the daisys.

Enduring garden marigolds, dandelions and asters at Conservatory Hill (Oconomowoc) productive today, with temp at 54 degrees and sunny. Clouded Sulfur albinic form prevalent.

Day started out sunny but quite cold. Lots of birds, but no butterflies until noon when it had warmed up a bit.

I saw it while raking leaves.

Basking on asphalt driveway , enjoying mid morning sun.

These sightings are between 3 locations in Waupaca County.

Sunny, mild (for this time of year). This was the only butterfly I saw on a 2.8 mile round trip hike on the trail.

3 Monarchs were seen by my elderly friend gathering nectar on his New England Asters.

65 and sunny. Clouded Sulphur along a roadway. The Red Admirals and the Monarch on red chrysanthemums. (Red Admirals were there last week.)

59 degrees and sunny. Doing yard work. Monarch flew by when it was still 50 degrees this AM.

Was sunning itself on a small tree in my backyard.

I was cutting my lawn and noticed the butterflies. It was sunny with temperatures in the upper 50's. The Comma landed on my leg for a few seconds.

Few Whites and Sulfurs active during sunny spells The illustrated egg was laid by a yellow Clouded Sulfur on a legume, with little possibility of completing the larval cycle before deep freeze weather.

60 Degrees with varying skies. OS and Monarch flew right at me.

I spotted in on the back deck which is the painted nearly the same color as the butterfly. I've never seen a blue so late in the year.

59 Degrees and Sunny. Got a pict with an American Lady and Painted Lady!!! Lots of fresh Red Admirals.

Very likely the same Comma that I saw and photographed on Saturday.

I was happy to see some butterflies before the weather took a turn for the worse. Nectar sources were asters, thistle, clover, and the red chrysanthemum plant where I've seen butterflies before.

I checked out my pile of rotting apples and noticed a Red Admiral. He's so colorful; looks as if he just emerged. Sunny skies and 46 degrees.

Saw Red Admiral again today in the rotting fruit.

Saw just 1 Clouded Sulphur as I left work today, yesterday as well. Perhaps the same individual?

53 degrees, a sunny stretch on a mostly cloudy day. I happened to be near the red chrysanthemums where I've seen so many butterflies this fall. Today it was a Painted Lady and a Cabbage White. I'd never seen a Cabbage White on the chrysanthemums before. Also saw 6 dragonflies.

VERY surprised to see a Buckeye this late. Noticed 2 Monarchs, one I saw up close it was a male and looked as if he recently emerged.

Perhaps the last butterflies I'll see this year...

The Red Admiral was back in his fruit pile again. I saw a Monarch flying around as well.

9:00-10:40am. Walked shoreline 0.6 mi, from the Shoop Park parking area towards the lighthouse.