Butterfly sightings for June 2011

Very windy and cool when starting out. Only spent 3 hours on the meadows. Two worn checkerspot/crescent wouldn't slow down for ID.

78 degrees, sunny, and windy. Some days you can't even look out the window without butterflies flying by. If I would have counted every E.T. Swallowtail that blew by today I could have added 10 more to the list. Polyphemus found a mate.

Very windy again today. The elfins were out in the open and being blown along the roadway like little tumbleweeds.

An orange butterfly flew by but was far too fast to identify...

Although it has warmed up, there are still no great numbers of butterflies.

Sunny, 78 degrees, but quite windy. Another Monarch was seen in our yard in Sauk Co.

Also hundreds of Four-spotted Skimmers (dragonfly).

This spot was wind blocked and the butterflies took advantage. I could not count all of the CST or skippers. Too much movement.

Late arrival (after 3pm). There were 3 large groups of CST along the road plus many in the air. Winds had calmed a lot and temps were great.

I could see from quite a distance that the copper had an unusual color to one of its wings. It also looks like it had a close encounter with a bird. This is only the second time that I've seen more than one Pepper and Salt Skipper in the same day.

77º Partly Sunny 4:30-5:30 PM
Hobomok and Artic Skippers are 1sts for me. The 2 of them and a Crescent were in an 8' stretch of the path. White clover was the big drawn today. Spider with a moth.

Sunny, 91 degrees and very windy! Also an Eastern Red Damsel (damselfly).

Saw 2 Monarchs out and about.

Saw the first monarch of the season in the yard today! 4:30 pm

My first Arctic Skippers

89º at 12:30PM when I left. Sunny
RR bed west of the parking lot.
ATV trail S. of the bridge on Brockway. My First Karner!!! Viceroy had deformed wings and was flopping on the bridge. Saw many Swa.llowtails, Duskywings, Skippers and Gnats.

The Eastern Comma seemed to prefer some of the wildflowers I had in my yard.

Sunny 86º Another Snowberry Clearwing Moth feeding on red pine pollen. Silvery Blue laying eggs on Vetch. Harvester, 2 Hobomoks, an artic, 2 Pearls and Satyr were in a 10' X 10' area. Big find was the Moccasin Flower - Pink Lady Slipper.

Buckeye was the first of this species I've seen this year.

hot windless and ideal for butterflies.

81 degrees and sunny but breezy.

E. Tiger and Giant Swallowtails were all along the road - I've never seen so many of both species at once.

The pearl crescents and Eastern-tailed blues were everywhere. It seemed like one appeared every few feet along the trails. Nice to feel surrounded by butterflies.

The burn was in the area I was expecting to hike through, so few butterflies.

Resting on rocks along railroad tracks

Saw my first 2 Tiger Swallowtails of the season along the lakeshore, and saw a male Monarch feeding on Dame's Rocket.

In residential area

1:30-2:30 pm, warm and sunny. The Hobomok Skippers were in the dappled sun on an open path in the woods. The Mourning Cloaks were also in the woods and the Azures were on the wood margins. All of the other butterflies were out in the open fields. I watched one of the female Monarchs lay eggs on common milkweed.

86º Sunny. First trip(Noon) to the marsh was a dud. On second trip(5PM) I saw mating Snowberry Clearwing Moths, the Arctic, Mustard Wh. and more. Camera hand was too slow. Mustard white was on a mayapple flower.

Video of the swallowtails pudding: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frayjusto/5804557780

The Sunday morning outdoor church service included visits by a couple of butterflies and lots of singing birds.

Glad to see the 1st Karners. Lupine on Stolte Road is spectacular.

Walking searching for fawns for DNR study on private lands.

This is latest I have seen Chryxus. Still fresh and only lightly worn.

Perched in tall grass of old pasture early afternoon. Some trees nearby and heavy woods about 1/4 mile away.

Several flying across the highway. They seem to fly right at cars!

Heat got to us early afternoon. Butterflies very active causing some photo difficulty. Noted Dusted skippers in pairs like photo. Seemed to be male guarding female from other dusted's. Did not notice eggs below Hoary elfin until uploading pics from camera. Karners in many locations. Also saw 1 Slender Clearwing and 1 Snowberry Clearwing

I went out to water this evening and found a new butterfly for my yard list, a Bronze Copper(!).

94 Sunny. Rain in the early AM. All but 2 of the coppers at the SNA. The meadow has many flowers. Am. Lady in my yard when I didn't have the camera with me.

I've been seeing lots of butterflies, but they haven't been settling long enough to take their pictures.

Just a brief walk &;30-8:30 am before work. Warm and very humid.

I spotted the "summer" spring azure very late at 7:00 P.M. It's the latest I've ever seen a butterfly. It landed in the damp ground I had just watered the day before maybe to get a drink, cool off, or fall asleep.

90º Sunny and Humid. 2 hours is all I could muster. Another Copper being eaten by a spider. Hobomoks guarding Blackberry bushes. Last look at a Spring Azure.

Also a flyby Canadian or Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. About an hour in late afternoon.

I saw the swallowtail while driving on Elm Road.

Very hot. About 90 degrees. Several Calico Pennant dragonflies.

I went for a walk in my field after 8:30pm, and these all flew up out of the grass.

Red spotted purple observed on a sunny early evening on a rocky gravel area in my yard.

84º Sunny, humid, but breezy. "Road hunting" today form 9-10:30 AM on a half mile stretch Cnty K. 39 total in 9 speices. Found 3 dead ones. Had 2 otters cross 50' from me, and helped a quarter sized turtle cross the road.

Did about 45 minutes of butterflying after a morning of pulling garlic mustard. Hot and humid.

Saw the Red-spotted Purples at our fire pit. It was amazing. They were drawn to the ashes even while I cut grass around them.

93º Sunny and humid. 4:30-6 PM. First Least Skipper. If the Hobomok hadn't chased it I would have wrote it off as a moth it was so small. Blackberrys flowers are the key today. Nothing on the white clover. Silvers on Vetch. 3 huge(3"+ wingspan) hawk moths.

DNR staff in Grantsburg report "massive" numbers of Karner Blues this week, tho blustery winds today kept my count submassive. Abundant lupine on the hill at Reed Lake/Crex, but even more (and more blues) at Fish Lake.

Another flyby tiger swallowtail. Saw my first Twin-spotted Spiketail of the year.

Hot, partly sunny, breezy

We stopped at 6 different spots along this road, primarily where water was on road or around it. Silvery Checkerspot photo K. Java. Duskywings getting worn. Winds came up early afternoon (with dropping temps) and butterflies became scarce.

Danbury WA was first stop and butterflies were just getting moving. Small area so we didn't spend a lot of time. Lots of Lupine.

It was clouded over most of the time, but it was just bright enough for the butterflies to be out. The Spring Azure wouldn't cooperate for me to get photos of all 3 blue species today.

I saw this butterfly land on a shrub in my yard.

60º and Cloudy. 33º colder than yesterday. Parked at the end of 6th. First trip here. Exploring new ground. Was surprised to see anything. Thought I might be able to get a good pict of the monarch, but it found a place to hide in the grass when it landed.

Mosquitoes were horrific.

Kamrath Creek Forest and Fen north of Hwy67, west of CtyZZ.

63º and Cloudy. Still found some in the yard. Monarch came out for a quick flyby the one time the sun came out. Brought the American Lady cat. in to show my Wife and get a quick picture. Dozens of them out there. Glad I didn't mow off the pussytoes.

Sunny when I got there before noon but soon it turned cloudy and cool, with not much flying. Surprised to see Ebony Boghaunters yet. Also saw 6 Tiger Swallowtails. Four-spotted Skimmer caught in sundew.

The butterfly is resting on her forehead

The sun disappeared shortly after I arrived and came back out after I got home. The Silver-spotted Skipper ignored nectar sources and was very difficult to approach while resting on the roadway. I picked up enough deer ticks here to set a new seasonal high record, with lots of season left yet.

Many dragonflies including dozens of Kennedy's Emeralds, several Racket-tailed Emeralds, a Rusty Snaketail, Common Sanddragon, Stream Cruisers, Springtime Darners, Green-faced Clubtail, Dusky Clubtail, Black-shouldered Spinyleg, Common Baskettails, Frosted Whiteface, Twelve-spotted Skimmer, Chalk-fronted Corporals, and more.

Open cranberry Bog with hundreds of pitcher plants. A real gem if you want to see a classic bog with a floating mat. Since I checked yesterday and found nothing, this is the first day of the year for either the Elfins or the Frits!

Very pleasant afternoon.

68º Sunny changed to cloudy. Really flying when the sun was shining. Blackberry bushes the key. Mating pair of Pearl Crescents.

My butterfly bush is even attracting things before it blooms! I found a snowberry clearwing on it this morning. I also went to Johnson's Nursery and saw a ton of pearl crescents landing on the damp gravel.
I also saw a six spotted tiger beetle later on, but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it.

Found a small, high-quality prairie remnant near the trail that had recently been burned. All butterflies were nectaring on dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) which was in full bloom.

In the first minute I stopped, I saw 6 species of butterflies.

77º Sunny. Road hunting(less than 50 yards from truck). Giant Swallowtail was on my farm. It wouldn't stop fluttering to get a picture.

Not many flowers besides the clovers and alfalfa. Lower 70's with a 5-10 mph breeze. The Eight-spotted Forester kept taking off and landing in the same 10 square foot section of grass, for over an hour.

At least 3 to 4 spotted per day for the last 2 weeks

Despite sun, light winds and temps in upper 60s, not many butterflies on the Ridges Trail or near HQ

Not a lot of butterfly activity here today.

Used a different route today. Late arrival gave me only a couple of hours to butterfly. Strong winds also limited sightings. 6+ yellow swallowtails did not give me an underwing view. One very large sulphur went by but did not give me a look. Size stood out.

Fun day! Dorothy took the photos of Porcupine and flying Pink-edged Sulphur. The dragonfly turned out to be the scarce Sioux Snaketail. This is only the 2nd one I have photographed.

It was first on a hydrangea leaf, then on the dianthus next to the bush. It looked like it loved the dianthus flowers.

Saw the butterfly clinging to the post on our front porch.

A geometer moth flew up as I walked by and was quickly snatched up by a dragonfly. I got a photo as it stopped to eat.

Warm and Sunny. Woke up feeling good and put in 4 1/2hrs this aft. Pair of mating Pearl Crescents. Found 2 Red Spotted Purples perched 10' up in Cherry trees watching the trail. Saw 2 Whites I couldn't ID. Haven't seen many lately. Bronze Copper wouldn't sit still for a pict., but gave me great looks with the binocs. Not getting good looks at any of the other Grass-Skippers or comma-types I have seen.

Roadside with trefoil and Shasta daisies . Pearl Crescents quite common, but European Skippers scarce and just emerging for the season. They were not observed until today, despite daily searches for them since early June.

Thanks for Karl and Dot for opening up this healthy prairie habitat to my awareness.

Warm, Humid, Sunny to Partly. Mating pairs of Common Ringlets and Monarchs.

While watching a giant swallowtail moving from flower to flower, I saw a speck of orange out of the corner of my eye and walked over and spotted this skipper.

I saw the one pearl crescent early in my walk, then no butterflies for a very long time. Then I came across an area where there were many "summer" spring azures flying all over. Some were even kind enough to pose for photos. Seeing the skipper and getting some good photos was an added bonus.

9:30-11:30am. Summer is much more advanced here than in Milwaukee by the lake.

Bronze Coppers along the new wheelchair accessible boardwalk built by US Fish & Wildlife. Trailhead west of Harvey Rd. Lupine, shooting stars, baptisia alba, blue flag, downy phlox, tiger beetles, dot-tailed whiteface, eastern forktail.

Milkweed's getting ready to bloom.

I went home thinking I'd seen only 2 butterflies at Stricker's Pond, a cabbage white and a monarch. To my surprise, when I looked at the 5 photos I took of the cabbage white, there was a skipper in one of the five photos, just passing through it seems.

The sun came out shortly before I had to leave for the rest of the day, but I managed to get in about 20 minutes of butterfly watching. I had originally gone out just to see if I could find the Karners, but was surprised at how many butterflies were out.

New species for me!!! Sat nicely for me to study and memorize. Diminutive little guys

81º Sunny 12:30-2 PM. Was somewhat concerned that I wasn't seeing anything on the 200 yd. flower covered trail in. As soon as I got to the first meadow a Monarch, ET Swallowtail, Giant Swallowtial and Pearl Creascent changed that. 2 small areas contained the 3 large types of butterflies. 1 pair of mating Monarchs.

Stunning numbers of E. Tiger Swallowtails, especially on mud puddles by the barricades at the mouth of the hollow. Also lots of Red-spotted Purples all up and down the road.

The Hobomok Skipper became a meal for a goldenrod crab spider. I took the picture of the Laurel Sphinx moth last night. A pair had been nectaring in my garden all week after dark.

About noon, after working all morning, the fog cleared and I looked for butterflies for about 45 min. I got this photo of a handsome little moth.

The eastern tailed blue looked smaller and more worn than most individuals I've seen before.

Very few species on wing, only four observed in an hour, with Pearl Crescents the most common.

Despite sun and warm temps, there were few butterflies

81º sun to part sun. Saw the Swallowtails, some crescents and Satyr in the AM. Saw the rest while mowing the yard. Had to stop to shoo them out of the way a few times. 1 pair of mating Monarchs and like all the rest they accended to the tops of hardwood trees after being spooked.

I saw these while doing yardwork today.

81º Sunny in the AM, Partly cloudy PM. Head still spinning from the PVC SNA outing I had butterflies crowding my parents gravel driveway. Skippers galore! Too many to count.

Perfect weather. Except for European Skippers, all species continue to be scarce with Monarchs notoriously so.

Haven't seen this kind of butterfly around here before.

Great SWBA field trip! 29 species total. Thanks to everyone who joined us today.

Overcast, but thinned somewhat after 30 minutes; temp mid-60s F

There wasn't even a hint of sunshine today, so I decided to clear some briars out of my Lilacs. The satyr flushed out while I was working on the briars.

Also saw a couple of skippers that went by too quickly to ID and a dragonfly that posed nicely for a photo.

Even fewer butterflies here, but did see a black-form female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and my first Coral Hairstreak of the season.

Spent about two hours here, but not many butterflies around. Partly sunny and in the 70s. A nice day.

68º Cloudy light breeze. About 3 hrs total. Mulberries are turning red. 50+ Pearls on the path at Muir. Still no Monarch cats. Big Frass in the Am. Lady nests, cats gone. No whites or Sulphurs. Barrens, hardwoods, sedge meadow, marsh, paths and field road. Had one Satyr fly into the side of my head. Guess that is what I get for wearing camo.

Sunny day about 70°

On road along woods and fields

All sightings were spotted on a flowring bush in the garden with fragrant white flowers in Black Earth. The swallowtails and monarch all appeared at the same time. The bush is a butterfly magnet.

I saw the swallowtail when there was a clearing between the scattered thunderstorms.

We had a group of 4 Red-Spotted Admirals on the concrete steps just outside our door. Two landed on my son! Walking down our road (Hager Rd.) we saw a Giant Swallowtail, so beautiful.

This boat launch is a favorite for many species. From late May on, various species sit side by side on the gravel near the lake. This cluster of blues reminded me of grazing cattle.

Warm, Humid and Partly Sunny. 6-7 PM. 1st trip to the bog. 1/2 my time I spent slogging thru the flooded woods. The other half was spent in the meadow counting butterflies.

Hot/humid day after torrential overnight rains. Observed near the playground on a mowed walkway.

Lots and lots of interesting dragonflies. Only one white admiral circling the bog. Other butterflies were near parking spot.

70º Partly Sunny & Humid. 8-10:30 AM
Most of the Monarchs are faded. Still no Cats. Have checked over a 500 milkweeds today. Called a fawn come within 5'.

70s and sunny. Rained at noon. 2:30-3:45 PM
Found an Am. Lady Cat. 1st Orange Sulpher on the the farm. Chased that big guy for quite a ways before getting a shot.

The sun was out and I've been waiting for good weather to check out a new location, but the sun was gone before I even left my place. It started raining soon after arriving, but I was surprised by what I saw in only about 20 minutes. The white spot on the American Lady's forewing is the largest that I've ever seen.

No sun again and most butterflies were seen during a light rain. The habitat that I check for Least Skippers also had some Europeans, so I had to closely check each one.

Should have been a really bad butterfly day but it stopped raining and warmed up enough to bring some of the insects out. Still overcast.

Noon to 1pm. Saw my first Red Admiral today--funny that by this time last year I must have seen about 100 or more. The poor E. Comma that I got a photo of was very battered. Besides the butterflies, I saw 3 moths: another White-spotted Sable (Anania funebris), a Ctenucha virginica, and a Celery Looper.

61º Cloudy and wet. Slogged the "swamp" to explore some more area. When I came back out the butterflies were waiting.

I went back to Glocke on a wet overcast day. This is all I saw.

I had 8 species before I left the parking lot, but not much in the next two hours.

67º Sunny 1/8 mile of gravel road and I got tired of counting Skippers. Went to Observatory Hill and it turned cloudy. Saw a Cabbage White and a Satyr. Dragonflies were acting drugged. Had 3 on my fingers. Left shortly after that.

9-12. Not the greatest butterflying but I was anxious to get out. Saw my first Hill's Thistle in bloom.

A bit cool on arrival but once things warmed... Most butterflies were puddling rather than nectaring. Clouds thickened around 4 and activity fell off. Surprised to find a few badly worn Duskywings and Karners.

69º Cloudy to Sunny. They were everywhere when the sun was shining. Found a colony of about 60 Mourning Cloak Cat.s. One Question Mark was nectoring on Locust sap. Both were the largest I have ever seen.

Also saw a nice Clearwing Hummingbird Moth right by the parking area

I actually didn't see it in my backyard. The swallowtail was on my neighbor's lilac tree over the fence. It's been seeming to attract butterflies lately.

11:30-12:30 Overcast and cool. Few Butterflies but did see this lovely Common Spring Moth. Then I found a female Red-eyed Vireo sitting on her nest (which is made of curls of bark attached to the branch by spider webs).

Overcast, but saw lots of butterflies, moths, dragonflies, and damselflies. Pearl crescents and skippers were our constant companions on our walk.

Most of these sightings were from late in the day.

The Harris' are my first of the year, I was starting to think that I wasn't going to see any. The Variegated Frit flew up way ahead of me and headed out into the swamp without a good look at it. I went out after it but saw nothing where I thought it landed. I took a different route back and it flew up right by my feet this time, giving me a good look at it. I was glad I made the extra effort to go looking for it.

Great place. Butterflies are mostly from the Bullgrass Trail. Saw my shadow for first time in days.

All species were seen puddling. I walked some along the flowage but didn't see anything besides what I'd already seen on the road.