Butterfly sightings for August 2011

I have seen more hummingbird moths this summer than ever before.

Just had this beauty hanging out at our bee balm plants.

Cloudy, breezy, 74F, between storms. 6 pm. Observed in the leaf folds of a canna lily in my backyard.

87º Cloudy and Humid. 10-Noon. Had 1 Monarch hatch out in the house before I got up. Went looking for giants. May have seen more than 2. Found 1 male ET Swallowtail on the trail with a bad forewing. A female was circling above him.

87º Cloudy and Humid. 2 hrs. ET Swallowtail with a deformed wing. Butterflies everywhere. 2 ET Swallowtails Black Form. you can see her tiger stripes through her wings. 7 mating pairs of Monarchs. Found 1 dead Giant along the road on the way home.

Clouded over with sprinkles. There was a lot of ambush bug activity today, I included a photo of a bumblebee with 2 ambush bugs feeding on it.

Sighted in the morning, as it was visiting dog doo!

I have seen many of these in the past 2 weeks, have only seen them occasionally in years past.

I was working in my gardens when I saw this amazing butterfly and had to get pictures. It was enjoying the purple coneflowers. When I walked by another patch of coneflowers, there was another one. I could tell they were different butterflies because the first one I spotted was missing one of its tails.

Hot and Humid. Got out for a 1 1/2 hour stroll. Trying to get a better pict of a Harvester and try to find more Juniper Hairstreaks. Same 2 JH's as yesterday, just one tree to the east. Harvester on the same bush as Aug 1. 1 E.Tiger Swallowtail (Blk form) in a different field. Wished I had more time. Many more I saw on the way out that I didn't ID or count.

Cloudy and rainy today with some sun in late afternoon.

Hiked from the trailhead in Menomonie, about 1 mile south and back. 5:45-7pm. Sunny and warm weather conditions, although this stretch of the trail was very shady at this time of the day. Sightings were nearly identical to my hike on the trail about 2 miles south of here 2 days ago. I also observed one unidentified orange-ish butterfly that repeatedly harassed a giant swallowtail, but I could never get a decent look at it. I was thinking some kind of fritillary, or possibly a comma.

Stopped right after the rain stopped and spent about an hour looking around.

I was surprised when I spotted this Luna moth on the brick wall at the drive up at Citizens Bank in Wautoma

Walking aourd my house trying to catch a glimpse of butterflies I caught these guys fluttering around.

06:15-07:25 88%RH, 77F. Wind 0-1. One mile loop. Casual observation. Probable Eyed Brown and Pearl Crescent also seen. Personal high count for the mustard white.

We did considerable roadside butterflying. The Little Yellow was seen near Cassville. Its the only one we have seen this year. The Russet-tipped Clubtail was at Nelson Dewey St Pk.
American Snouts at two different places.

I hadn't planned on stopping but there appeared to be lots of Admirals along 54 so I decided to stop and see how many there were along Wildcat Rd. It was the most I have ever seen. Over 100 Admirals/mile! (4 mile road)

Hike along the earthen dam in Spring Valley, no clouds, warm, slightly breezy. Everything I saw was very active and it tested my patience in trying to get photos. Eastern tailed blues and a duskywing were extremely abundant.

Right after seeing 2 Tiger Swallowtails I saw a Red-Spotted Purple this morning on my deck. It was trying to feed off of a flower pattern on my cushion. I have never seen one before. It was beautiful and in good shape. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera:( These are mostly seen further south. Later in the afternoon around 2pm or so I saw a Giant Swallowtail.

Garden in front of my house. Near a small woodlot that has been cleared and maintained with some native grasses and wildflowers.

Two of the Tiger Swallowtails were black form

I have really been observing some interesting "pecking order" in butterflies this year. the Giant Swallowtails are at the top, followed by the Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, with the Black Swallowtails at the bottom, when it comes to who gets a food source for their own.

A Giant Swallowtail flew in front of my car then headed north so I couldn't get a pic. Darn it! White Admirals and Viceroys where everywhere on the gravel roads. Least Skippers were nectaring on Blue Vervain. Saw about 5 dark form female Eastern Tiger Swallowtails.

84 degrees and Sunny. Took my wife to see her first Giant Swallowtail. We were out about an hour. When we stopped the 3 wheeler it was like being at a circus. 6 Commas juggling, the Giant and Eastern Tiger passing by multiple times, Mourning Cloak, R.S. Purple, Satyr family and even a Mustard white. All within 15' of her front row seat.

81 Degrees and Sunny. The heat from this last week must have fried the Karners.

Swallowtails were nectaring on Joe Pye Weed and puddling. The Horace's Duskywing is far north of its normal range.

84 degrees and sunny. Looking for Regals. Got there at 10 AM. The butterflies were either cruizing/not stopping or buried in the chest high grass/plants.

Also possibly spotted a viceroy and black swallowtail but unable to verify.

82 degrees and partly cloudy. 1 hour in the marsh and boardwalk. Hoping to see a Tawny Emperor. Had 4 Giants on swamp milkweed on all sides of me at one time.

80 degrees, humid, no wind. 1 ½ hrs. Upper field/meadow.
Found a dead Giant on the road.

Two of these Milbert's Tortoiseshell butterflies spent considerable time in my back garden yesterday. I live on the edge of city limits.

In my garden center on the Black eyed susan flowers

dozens of them on 17th avenue between 4th and 5th street. Mostly landing on the gravel road but also on any sweaty clothes left out to dry.

Mostly sunny, warm, slightly breezy, mid-day. The prairie was full of Monarda, Agastache, Silphium and Ratibida. Butterflies were everywhere!

The immigrant Southern Dogface passed by on its way to someplace (Nova Scotia?) but fortunately landed long enough to get some photos. Note the "poodle face" showing through the forewing.

I've never seen a Question Mark colored like this. Stunning.

Cloudy, 3-4 p.m. The female Sachem was a different individual than the one I saw about a week ago.

Nectaring on marigold in our backyard

American Snout flitted into my yard and perched for about 5 seconds, about 10 feet from me. First example seen since July 27, 2004 near Sussex, Waukesha Co.

Late start at 11am. Very warm and mostly sunny until around 3. General rule today was yellow and fresh = Pink edged, worn = clouded. Numbers are dropping. Eastern Tailed may have had some western's mixed in. 20+ Summer Azures at one puddle. Pic of the day was Sandhill Crane chick walking down road. Nearly 3 feet tall now.

Eastern Tiger swallowtails and Monarchs finally emerged about 9 days ago and this morning, our first pair of Giant Swallowtails have been seen.

Spotted in our gardens.
One yellow and black Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
One black form Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

86º Partly sunny. After watching a parade of Swallowtails(Giants and a ET) while mowing the yard, then stopping to show daughter her first Giant, I had to see what else was flying. Harvesters were on bushes 15' apart, and would chase Commas and a Giant. 3 mating pairs of Monarchs and 1 of Mustard Whites.

The Red-spotted Purple Admiral is mainly found in southern WI so I was surprised to see it just outside my home about 3:00-3:30 PM on a very warm sunny day.

In addition to a huge millipede migration, the extended period of heat and humidity seems to have brought out an abundance of butterflies. Hackberry Emperors were so numerous some were hitching a ride on my head & back as I walked.

I had the pleasure of observing my first giant swallowtail and it was a large specimen.

American Lady sighted on sunny mid-day at Wild Rose Fish Hatchery along gravel on north end of hatchery

I have never seen so many silver spotted skippers in one spot before.

Tons of White Admirals and Red-spotted Purples on the road; the Little Yellow was in the field past the flowage

Before the rain moved in. Silver-spotted Skipper is rare this far north.

Geocaching with the family, so I wasn't paying too close attention to butterflies, but I saw a viceroy stop long enough to make a positive ID (black line through the middle of the hindwing).

Got a good look at the Variegated Fritillary on the Jackson County side of the road just before a car came by and it vanished in a cloud of dust

The Great Spangled was actually along the road farther south

Red-spotted Purples and White Admirals everywhere on the road and on coyote scat

15:30-18:30. 2.2 miles. West of Hwy P.

has been observed several times in the last wk

This butterfly was really enjoying the phlox. It flew around and was feeding on it for quite a while.

There were over 8 Giant Swallowtails in a private fields

I spent a couple of hours walking up and down the entire length of the road this morning. This is the first Snout I've seen since 2007.

We live near a restored prairie so we see butterflies often. I was graced by the presence of this butterfly while sitting on the deck reading a book.

In a small area of wild flower many butterflies, 4 Black Form Eastern Tiger Swallowtail were seen. It was about 3:30 PM on a bright sunny day. Very little wind in the area as it was surrounded by woods.

Another Reakirt's Blue! This one a beautiful fresh male, perhaps the offspring of the female I saw here on June 29 (http://wisconsinbutterflies.org/butterfly/sightings/6918)? Also multiple Black-tipped Darners, including the pictured female.

Late afternoon. Almost 7 P.M., Partly cloudy but warm about 82. Tortoiseshell was one of 6 fighting over a woodpile on the edge of the woods. Northern Cresent was on the edge of the woods in tallk grass. Eastern tigers and Giant Swallowtails swirling overhead in the woods.

The 23 White Admirals were scattered along a gravel road in a wooded area, the 8 Cabbage whites in and around a vegetable garden, and Milbert's Tortoiseshell in the front yard.

Beautiful day about 85 degrees. Butterflies all over the pond, woodlot, large woods and surrounding savannah, and marshy areas.

It was a sunny warm day with a slight breeze. Found this species sitting on honeysuckle leaf in mottled sunshine/shade of a hedgerow.

18 species in two hours but alas no Reakirt's Blue today...

70s & Sunny. Very Dry. One area I went to should have had ankle deep water. It was an 1/8 acre area of blooming Swamp Milkweed over 6' tall. Least Skippers were flying nose high to me. That area held many of butterflies.

The White Admiral was one of the largest butterflies that I've seen taken by an ambush bug.

I think I could run around and just take photos of butterflies on blazing star all day. Wait, I did; well at least all afternoon. Still a lot of Karners; some very fresh and some not so fresh.

10 AM flying around the trees.

4:30 - 5 PM Hackbery Emperor in lilac bush with big black ants. White Admiral & Red-Spotted Purples around a chinese elm stump that was recently cut. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail flew through the yard.

71 degree Sunny. Karner Blue Count. Karners are almost done for the season.

77º Sunny. Zinnias where a big hit in the yard. Giant and ET Swallowtails, Monarchs, Am. Lady, Silver Spotted and Pecks Skippers, and a surprise Sachem! All at the same time.

Northern Crescents spent most of sunny 79 degree mid-day on black-eyed susans and butterfly weed in garden outside visitor center. One crescent stopped on my jeans to visit.

Most swallowtails I have ever seen here. Surprise was the Banded Hairstreak nectaring on that great nectar source Bouncing Bet.

12:30 PM Sunny & windy.

Two Giant Swallowtails were observed feeding on thistles along the road (in front of my Mother's home).

Behind our house, mid-afternoon, sunny.

Casual observation -- Black is not a common species here in the north.

Today's sighting of the Fiery Skipper is 6 weeks earlier than my previous early sighting for this species. It skipped from flower to flower faster than what my camera could auto-focus. The Least Skippers also seemed intent on chasing it away anytime it got too close.

Hot and Sunny. Peck's Skipper came back to give me some better looks. My mystery skipper opened up it turned out to be a Dun. Haven't seen one in a while.

A giant swallowtail was scoping out my wife's flower garden.

Seen on a butterfly bush in our backyard.

Hot and Partly Sunny. Was blown away at the number of ET Swallowtail variations I saw. Pale, Med yellow, half black, see thru black, . . . Watched a female lay eggs on Choke Cherry leaves. Also a GS Frit with a black spot on each forewing. First Gray Comma for me in Marquette Co. 2 Monarch and 1 GS Fritillary mating pairs.

There's one patch of liatris on one of the trails that the monarchs just love. I count on finding them there every year. There were still black swallowtails in the area where I saw lots of them a week or two ago.

There were several hanging around the river's edge.

Stayed on lily for approximately ten minutes.

Just sitting on the deck and he wandered by.

Seen on a Wisc. Natural Resources Foundation field trip. It was a soggy morning, but our trip leader Armund Bartz did a great job intoducing us to this wonderful SNA, and did find us a couple of "Karners" to view.

Easter Tiger Swallowtail feeding on my Anise Hysop and then a beautiful black form female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail allowed me to photograph it! I am not a fan of the flowers that the butterflies keep feeding from but if they like them I guess I will have to keep them!

In our garden we have spotted and photographed a Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Black form female on our marigold on 08/12/2011 at 18:00

Dwarf zinnias and Butterfly Bush are consistently attracting butterflies to my garden.

Cabbage whites everywhere. They especially loved one particular plant, with 10 or more swarming around it at one time. Also lots of silver-spotted skippers. Saw one perched on a lily, not it's usual choice of flower. Highlight of the day was seeing a black form female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

In the Echinacea near the house.

Only the second Snout I've seen this summer - and the first photo.

Found the Red-spotted Purple in my garden enjoying the beans and corn.

1-2 PM 2 Eastern Tiger Swallowtails by Ace Hardware, The rest were in my yard in Brockway.

Fiery Skippers and Sachems! Both exceptionally rare here in far northern Wisconsin. Originally found yesterday by Dave Hanson and David Bratley. These are the first I've ever photographed here. What a treat!

Iowa and Grant counties. Led by Mike Reese. We found 24 species. Highlights were 16 Giant Swallowtails nectaring in one field, two (rare) Common Checkered-Skippers (photo by Dorothy Legler), Common Sootywings, Common Roadside-Skippers and Common Buckeyes. (All other photos by Stan Rehm)

Spotted this ragged individual resting on a beam on the fire tower.

The Eastern Tiger Swallowtails are out in mass in Milwaukee County.

Cool, partly cloudy day.

Gorgeous day, partly cloudy, approx. 80 degrees, slightly breezy.

This was the first time I've seen a partial second brood of Silvery Checkerspot (occurs regularly farther south). In the image, the male Monarch is using coercion to attempt mating with....another male. The fresh male could not get away, until an intervention occurred.

Buckeye was definitely a candidate for my over-the-hill butterfly photo collection.

Walked north from the canoe portage along the creek and then back on the dike. Saw only a single swallowtail.

Processing some old photos, forgot to submit this one.

Just back from 2 weeks in Florida and sat in the garden to enjoy the cool Wisconsin weather and the common Wisconsin back yard butterflies.

Eastern tiger swallowtails everywhere.

Took my wife for a short 20 minute hunt. First Mustard White on this property.

On the horse riding trails in the hilly terrain at HHH Riding Stables. Watering holes, hills covered with trees, open areas with native grasses and wildflowers. I only looked for about 20 minutes.

I almost didn't come here today because I didn't expect to see very much, but the Leonard's was worth it. The last time I saw one was 4 years ago, and this was my first chance to get photos. It wasn't very cooperative and I only managed to get one good picture.

Warm, sunny, southwesterly breeze 10-15 mph; I've never seen so many Bronze Coppers - had four at once (plus a Red Admiral and a couple of Least Skippers) on one swamp milkweed plant. The two Fiery Skippers were in the same spot I had two the previous week.

Checkered White was a heavily-marked female that wouldn't sit still for photos.

Spotted while hunting down a geocache here.

Not a lot of butterflies seen here today for all the walking that I did.

There was an admiral family reunion yesterday and today at the bait station out on my deck.

Sun and clouds today 30% sun 70% clouds. Temps were good, very light winds for the meadows. Several pitiful specimens, including a black form ETS with a missing hindwing.

Had to stop by again and try for the Sachems and Fieries.

The swawllowtails love the phlox which have been blooming for a month as well as as sphinx moths that comes to visit.

These sightings were made while bicycling along a gravel road through a wooded area, mid-afternoon and in the upper 70's.

This Red -Spotted Purple nectared for 2 continuous hours on my single buddleia bush.

85 degrees and sunny. One Giant was laying eggs.

It is always worth looking here, but today there were not many butterflies. Spent time on the beach but no robber flies or tiger beetles either. I did find American beach-grass (Ammophila breviligulata), a new species for me.

Beautiful Giant Swallowtail feeding from purple cone flower.

hot and sunny. Cleared an acre of thistle and mullen. Had a half black ET Swallowtail on a thistle head 3' from me when I didn't have the camera. Most ETS I have ever seen here.

Lens back from repairs finally!