Butterfly sightings for June 2013

There was some wind on and off, so the butterflies seemed to want to stay low in the prairie. Some Six-spotted Tiger Beetles were seen on wooden boardwalks and in the rock garden. I also saw a sulphur butterfly (probably a clouded sulphur), but I was too far from it to identify it (30 ft min distance).

Got a few good pics before the rain came. Saw a few swallowtails but didn't get any pics.

3:04-3:17 pm, 69 to 65 degrees F, 0% sunshine, wind west 0-8 mph

We were delighted to watch a monarch ovipositing on our milkweed (she visited the A. incarnata, but the only eggs we found were on the A. syriaca).

10:32-2:39 pm, 69 to 78 degrees F, 55% sunshine, wind 0-10 mph. The Henry's Elfin was in Wazee County Park. I'm attaching a blurry photo (by Ann Swengel; we are learning to use a digital camera) of our 1st Phlox Moth (center of picture) of the year, seen June 2 in Jackson Co.

Also saw two tiger swallowtails

My first Monarch, flying at 7:15 a.m.

I was in the heavily wooded south-west corner doing my breeding bird survey.

4:28-4:48 PM, 68 degrees F, 10% sunshine, wind2-8 mph. This is barely the fastest Karner Blue site in our study, but this year it is faster than Jackson County by an even bigger margin than usual. We saw no Karners in many surveys June 2-3 in other places.

My first Monarchs of the year.

85° HUMID & Sunny. The Giant was pestering the Hobomok like a Great Dane and a Chihuahua.

overcast, 60F. All observed around the perimeter of the lake.

Mid-70s...sometimes windy, cloudy, with breaks of sunshine.
Two photos of same Red Amiral, wings open and wings closed.
One photo of Big Sand Tiger Beetle, numerous and seen daily.

First Monarch of the year for me.

First Mottled Duskywing seen. Abundant bearberry on east side of Gomulak Fire Lane, and Hoary Elfins were fairly common. No brown elfins, or anything else, seen at bog just north of Namekagon River on Namekagon Trail.

Cool, slow start at Crex with group of nine observers. No elfins seen. Dreamy and Sleepy duskywings were often grouped as "undetermined."

11 - 2:30 weather good. Sunny, light winds. Clouds moved in and by 3:30 butterflies mostly hidden. Silvery Blues and Dreamy Duskywings a mix of worn and fresh. Very few Juvenal's this season. Still no Karners.

65 - 70 degrees and partly sunny. Saw a juvenile Frosted Whiteface (dragonfly).

Partly cloudy but a little too cool and windy. 11:30 to 1:45.

Silvery blue was a first for me.

Egg superbly camouflaged in paramedian position on the underside of a Pearly Everlasting leaf. I would never have found this had I not been lucky enough to observe her ovipositing while I was gardening.

4 pm, 70F, sunny, calm.

Turned cloudy and cool upon my arrival. I was thinking with the late phenology I might still get Freija or Frigga Frits but no dice, and the Juttas only further suggested I was too late! Also a few Ebony Boghaunter dragonflies here.

3 pictures of a single Sachem, which seems to be early according to "Butterflies of the North Woods" field guide. Taken around 5 pm with Temps around 70.

This indeed does break the early record set last year on June 18. That record was a whopping 41 days earlier than the previous record! Mike

45 minutes, two individuals seen. 67F, sunny, calm.

These were seen while doing yard work.

Fluttered into the yard, then made a beeline for the Common Milkweed.

The Six-spotted Tiger beetle was eating ants.

Emmons Creek Barrens SNA and the Ice Age Trail. 1:00 to 3:45 overcast and chilly till about 3:15. Was supposed to be sunny. The two largest butterflies that I saw were both shivering. Took video of one and put it on YouTube.
(http://tinyurl.com/n926l3w)
The last time I was here I got just 5 ticks with no spray. Today I had more than 25 and I sprayed and resprayed.

Scary, weird, ...absence of butterflies persists. The female Tiger swallowtail overwintered as a pupa and emerged yesterday, June 7th. Egg was laid on Ash in my backyard last August. Worn Cabbage White is probably a representative of the end of the first spring brood.

11:30 to 12:45 (overcast and cool), and 3:30 to 4:30 (partly cloudy). Just one Hobomok on the first visit.

Almost gave up at noon when dark clouds rolled in with only 7 species. Good thing I hung around. At 2ish clouds broke up enough. East side of the meadows was very productive today. First Hummingbird clearwing.

Single male in flight in fairly open tamarack trees. First for the year for me.

From the Outagamie County line south 1.75 miles and back. Partly sunny and windy. 1:15 to 3:00.

I went for a walk through my prairie restoration just before it started raining and I kicked these up out of the grass.

75 3-3:30 partially overcast

77, 2:30 - 3:00 partially overcast
My first harvester

74 degrees and cloudy. 1 hour.

79, 3:00, overcast, humid

75, 2:30-3:00, partially overcast
Still lots of Gorgone Checkerspots.
.

These were the first grass-skippers I've seen this year.

This is more than 3 weeks later than my sighting of this species last year.

76 degrees and part sun. Driving to Hwy 22 and back home.

This was mainly a bird watching trip, but I did spot a few butterflies and a 3+ inch long millipede.

Overcast and cool turning partly cloudy and warm. 12:30 to 2:30. Pretty slow.

Saw my first Eastern Tiger Swallowtail this year flying up over the house and into the trees. Later in the afternoon saw 2 monarchs flying around the prairie habitat. Found only 1 monarch egg on common milkweed so far.

Was there the 9th-11th. The sightings are an accumulation of the three days, but most were on the tenth. Also saw a Nessus Sphinx Moth.

Two hours and a total of six adult butterflies!

Spontaneous sighting while stopped at a business. Black form female!

A Good Day for Butterflies at my house!

Warm but cloudy, sun came out around 6pm. Still no Karners on the lupines. Butterflies were scarce. LArgest number was gorgone checkerspots at Fish Lake Road/Stolte Road intersection mineralizing on the road.

10:30 to 1:15 Conditions very good till the clouds rolled in later. Very slow the whole time though. Checked many different areas.

I was pretty excited to find my first-ever Sleepy Duskywing on a fresh wolf scat, pictured here next to a Juvenal's and Dreamy for easy comparison. Also my first C. Roadside Skippers, which for some reason don't seem to make it up to the northern Bayfield County barrens.

Prairie looks much richer this year than last. Still saw more moths than butterflies. I did see more pollinators than I've been seeing elsewhere.

All sightings are from Lake Farm Park southeast of Madison except for one mourning cloak seen in northwestern Dane County.

Watched a clubtail attack, capture and eat a Northern Crescent. I had a photo but I deleted it by mistake. 11:30 to 2:45.

I've been doing a breeding bird survey in an area of about 25 acres at SANC which is heavily wooded and very wet which might explain why I've seen few butterflies lately. So today it was a pleasant surprise to find such a nice group about 10 am on a sunny path in the woods.

I saw my first Six-spotted Tiger Beetles (2) this location today, which makes five total tiger beetle species for this unique habitat.

Most butterflies were puddling at the intersection with Cty. P. I saw a Common Roadside-Roadside Skipper land on the Mourning Cloak at the top of its folded wings. It didn't stay there long enough for a photo.

On 4 acres of smooth brome/old field vegetation, same as in many previous years. Wild raspberry in bloom

First sighting of the year in Wisconsin. Sunny day, little breezy about noon. Sumer Azure on my friends Bridle Wreath bush.

7:10 am to 4:15 pm, 58-82 degrees F, 60% sunshine, wind 0-12 mph. We only surveyed dry places that had phloxes (most had lupines). Also saw 5 unidentified Tiger Swallowtails. We found 45 Phlox Moths too, a high number for them. Their behavior and the Downy Phlox phenology suggested that Phlox Moths were still pre-peak on this date. Gorgone Checkerspot and Dusted Skipper numbers were above average.

When I got home from work, my husband said he saw one of those black butterflies with a bit of blue on the hind wings checking out the Queen Anne's-lace growing by the garage. I checked the plants and found 2 Black swallowtail eggs. Also saw a lady sp. later in the afternoon.

6+ hours on the meadows. Mostly cloudy at first but warm enough. Clouds did lift later. Butterflies all over the meadows in small numbers. Dusted skippers everywhere. Karners are out. Still picking up species that should be done. Blues numbers way down. Slender Clearwing.

11-1, ~75, mostly sunny. There was also an unidentified fritillary.

74 degrees and sunny. 2 hours. Trails and roads. No ID on a yellow swallowtail in flight. Black Swallowtail laying eggs at the park entrance.

2PM, mid 70's, sunny.

Two hours walking in bright, warm sunshine, with lots of nectar sources nearby. The paucity of butterflies is getting a bit spooky.

1-3 pm

sunny, 74F. Got about 3x as many ticks as butterflies.

4-5:30 pm...sunny 82 degrees. The Silver-spotted Skipper was very cooperative on photos, the Eastern Tailed-Blue was not.

7:53-8:32 am, 60-63 degrees F, 100% sunshine wind 0-5 mph

4:10-4:42 pm, 75-79 degrees F, 70% sunshine wind 0-8 mph. Among sites that have Bog Fritillaries, this one is always phenology fast. In traveling between Lincoln and Oconto Counties today, we found Jutta Arctics on 8 out of 8 bogs surveyed in Oneida, Forest, and Marinette Counites.

Mid-day...sunny. Only briefly saw one other butterfly, no specie ID, some type of Checkerspot or Crescent.

A very small orangish butterfly played hide and seek with me in the bog interior, and I couldn't get close enough for a clear shot without leaving the boardwalk.

12:30 to 2:00. Perfect conditions but very slow.

The Red-spotted Admiral was dark, like a Red-spotted Purple, but had more white on the forewing than normal, probably an intergrade.

10-1, mid to high 70s, sunny
Unable to get photos of butterflies, but there were a lot of other interesting things there.

Seen during a brief post-lunch walk. Also glimpsed either a Least or European Skipper.

How nice to have a day with so many butterflies.

FOY for European Skipper, within a long standing colony.

Still working on my breeding bird survey in the woodsy, swampy, mosquito-filled area. My first Little Wood-Satyr of the season.

Mid-day, Mostly overcast.

Six of us braved the mosquitoes and ticks on a cloudy day.

If I hadn't happened to see the Black Swallowtail ovipositing on the rue, I never would have spotted this extremely well camouflaged greenish-yellow egg on the greenish-yellow inflorescence.

Sunny, 75F. The cloudywings and red-spotted purple were along Oak Ln., hobomoks in the forest.

4-7 pm, Sunny and calm: Great place, first time visit. Only saw the one butterfly.

Also saw an unidentified tiger swallowtail.

Sunny, slightly windy, about 4:00 PM . Temp in mid 70s. several Summer Spring Azure, one Mourning Cloak on the bark of a maple tree and one cabbage white.

8:15 in the morning and first one I see--elfin. Didn't see any more after that. But the place was jumping with butterflies!

Lots of northern crescents. Probably a tawny in there somewhere but I couldn't find it. I could barely make out other species in the proliferation of n crescents.

Saw 2 monarchs flying around the prairie, found 1 monarch egg on the Asclepias incarnata. The Black Swallowtail was basking on the roof of the house. Also spotted an orange grass-skipper, unknown sp. Haven't seen a red admiral yet, but did find 2 tiny caterpillars on the stinging nettle.

sunny, 80F. Took about 45 minutes of searching the thick patches of lupine to finally see the 2 karners. Also saw a few skippers I could never get close enough to ID.

Also a half dozen small blues (?azures, ?tailed). Good variety, but not abundance despite warm sunny weather and lots of nectar sources.

9 am...sunny.

Around 1 pm...sunny and windy. Today's today's Giant Swallowtail was on the move and was unable to get a photo; but I do have a photo of one from the same location Aug 15, 2011.

85° Mostly Sunny. Saw most of the butterflies at Summerton Bog 3:30-4:30 PM, and 2 fawns on the trail with me, 2 woodcock and a red bellied snake.

7-8 pm, 72F, partly cloudy, breezy off the lake. Not a whole lot of action this evening in the restored prairie.

Mudpuddling near the boat launch: Red Spotted Purples, Mourning Cloaks, and Hackberry Emperors.

Sunny, slight breeze, about 13:10 and temperature in low 80s. Stopped for lunch at this little two picnic table park on the water front. Cabbage Whites, the only butterfly species evident, were most entertaining, along with the red wing blackbirds, other birds, gulls, mosquitoes and biting flies. I didn't stay long.

(I am not sure what is going on here with the Cabbage White. The markings on the hindwing are unlike any that I have seen on this species. Mike)

12:30 to 4:00. Sunny and a little windy. Pretty slow other than N. Crescents. Spotted a Sedge Wren singing the praises of restoration.

74 degrees and sunny. The prairie is lush and vibrant with color. KBs 9-male and 2-female.
This was the lowest total species count for June, July or August for the last 3 year.

Juvenal's, right?

lunch hour walk, sunny, 75F. Lots of little wood satyrs in the woods along the paths. also, 1 possible n. cloudywing, but couldn't get a 100% confirmation.

sunny, 75F, lunchtime walk.

Flying through my backyard

Several Hackberry Emperors attracted to a damp dirt road surface.

That's right -- five Cabbage Whites! I wandered around for 45 minutes after lunch on this sunny, not-too-hot day and all I saw were five Cabbage Whites. I actually saw more odes (three species) than I did butterflies. Those of you in the north: please send some butterflies our way!

Wow! Amazing! I noticed Ms. Edlebeck had a good day here last week, and I needed one of those badly so I thought I would try it, but I never dreamed it would be this good. Very nice. 9:30 to 4:00. Lots of unidentified Tiger Swallowtails. It's been a long time since I saw so many butterflies that I couldn't keep track of all the numbers. Many roads flooded and some closed.

4 pm, partly cloudy, 82F, about a 0.6 mile stretch of the Red Cedar State Trail.

Several Common Ringlets flying, but no other species seen. Butterfly numbers seem to be very low in this area.

I saw these late in the day while mowing my walking trails.

Nothing at my regular haunts until today.

82 degrees and Sunny. Riding around on the trails on the Ranger on and off 11-2 PM. One Little Wood Satyr landed briefly on my daughter's eyelash.

Found a Jutta Arctic and it kept trying to land on me making it difficult to get a photo.

The Little Wood-Satyrs never stayed landed long enough for me to get a photo. They just kept flying.

Not many on a long hike on a hot sunny day. Seeing just one Cabbage White next to a farm field of clover is like finding just one cockroach in your kitchen.

12:30 - 4pm Covered about 1/3 normal area. Windy! Sun came out and it got Too Hot. Butterflies too active and unsettled. Found a spot full of fresh N. Crescents and Silvery Checkerspots. Only able to get pic of one of several sulphurs.

After 5 pm. Cloudy with occasional drizzle.

Considering that there was plenty of nectar sources there were not many butterflies here. There were many largeflowered beardtongue here, in fact, the most I have ever seen in one place.

12:33-12:49 pm, 0% sunshine, wind 1-3 mph. Ann found the Frigga a few meters from where she found our first of this year on May 27, but I also got to see both those individuals. This is a complete list of what we saw.

78° Mostly Cloudy. The Hackberry was alive when I first saw it, then a car hit it. Positive post mortem ID in my hand.

1:00 to 3:00.

3:19-4:12 pm, 78-85 degrees F, 50% sunshine, wind 0-10 mph. We saw a Speyeria that flew away before we could ID it.

The first really exciting day of this year, with a nice variety of butterflies. I didn't realize until I got home and checked my photos that I had both Eastern and Gray Commas, a pleasant surprise.

Temps in the mid 80's, sunny and humid. The Canadian Tiger Swallowtail was feeding at hawkweed and deposited an egg on quaking aspen nearby.

I only went on the short loop because I was worried about getting stuck in there in a thunderstorm. Cloudy and very windy 11:30-1:00. There were two places where water covered the road completely and you had to drive through considerable water. I was somewhat surprised they didn't close it.

The Eastern Tailed-Blue was laying eggs on birdsfoot trefoil. I also saw another duskywing whose wings were so worn I couldn't tell what it was.

First Monarch of the year. All butterflies remain
notoriously scarce.

On wooded slope above the river, 8.5 inches of rain in previous 48 hours.

11:49 am to 12:47 pm, 73-78 degrees F, 5% sunshine, wind 0-10 mph.

10:53-11:11 am, 75-77 degrees F, 5% sunshine, wind 10 mph. Later we saw at least 23 Pink-edged Sulphurs along County M south of Solon Springs.

The Giant Swallowtail observed on lilac, just feet from where the bear was seen, earlier in the day.

partly cloudy, 85F, very humid and breezy. Not surprisingly, only 2 hobomoks seen in this forest. 100s of moths though.

10:00 to 12:30 Mostly sunny, windy and hot.

What formerly were regarded as "trash species"
were treasures today.

Still rather quiet out there.

First Blue of the year, flying non stop, 10-15 feet above ground.

Not many nectar sources here this early in year. Mourning Cloaks and Hobomok Skippers abundant. No woodland satyrs yet. 18 species is decent but not great for this area. Also had 20 species of dragonflies.

10:15 to 2:15 minus travel time and a half hour lunch at DQ. Cloudy and windy to start, changing to mostly sunny and a little less windy. European Skippers are just about everywhere I go. The Silvery Checkerspots where near the Brillion Marsh Nature Center.

7:30 to 10:00 Filtered sun and little wind to start and cloudy and windy at the end. Not much at Collins Marsh but it was early. Mostly Least Skippers.

10:40 am to 2:35 pm, 74-82 degrees F, 12% sunshine, wind 0-8 mph. Karner Blues are past peak: saw 55% males, when 70-75% males is typical of peak in Jackson County.

N. Crescents everywhere. I did not attempt to keep an accurate tally. Wrote down what I actually counted. Probably saw well over 1000. Same with Silvery Checkerspot but number is closer to what was there. I have never seen these species in this number. Possible Eyed-brown but no pic so not on list.

sunny, 80F, lunchtime walk. Tried out a macro lens adapter on the Iphone. I need steadier hands.

Quick stop before 10:30

We live on over 100 acres of mostly wooded land with a clearing for our home. This butterfly is common here, and this one seemed to be soaking up the sun on the deck.

2 of the Hobomok Skippers were black form females.

4-6 pm. Most of the time was dark with heavy cloud cover, some rain, and ended with the some scattered sunlight.

Brief visit. Nice to see a Prince Baskettail (dragonfly). Two fresh Edward's Hairstreaks.

I'm seeing very few butterflies since I am daily slogging though the flooded woods where I am doing my breeding bird survey. There are lots of summer Spring Azures, and some Mourning Cloaks. Even the many Dragonflies can't eat the terrible numbers of ravenous mosquitoes. Had a funny moment when I spotted a pair of bucks so perfectly in line, they appeared to have 2 heads.

Surprised to find a bog in the barrens!

11:45 to 3:45. Lots of road kills. Mostly B. Checkerspots, but also a few N. Crescents and M. Cloaks. Moved the snake off the road, but left the scat, just on the edge. Couple of Tiger Swallowtail sp and other skippers that wouldn't still.

9:00 to 11:00. I really wanted to hike the sand ridges but my wife frowns when I bring home uninvited guests so I stayed on the roads and trails. Only four hitchhikers for the day. I had Green-winged Teal here for the Breeding Bird Atlas too.