Butterfly sightings for September 2015

Found this spread wing butterfly in my backyard in the Town of Middleton this morning (9/2).

Hot, humid, and sunny; great weather for insects. The gardens were abuzz with hundred of bees. Besides the butterflies, I saw a beautiful Metallic Green Sweat Bee (Agapostemon sp.) and a Ailantus Webworm Moth. There were dozens of Grasshopper also, of at least 4 different species.

81° Sunny 1 1/2 hours

Trails out of Homestead Hollow. Also saw the Pandora Sphinx moth caterpillar.

A large flock of about 70 cranes (I imagine Sandhill Cranes) also circled overhead.

Very foggy this morning so just a few butterflies on our birding trip. Still I got the best butterfly photo I ever took with my iPhone but creeping up to a cold Clouded Sulphur on the wet grass. This photo is uncropped. Also rescued a caterpillar from a busy sidewalk. I think it is a Great Ash Sphinx moth.

Sunny afternoon light wind at Wind Point Wisconsin lighthouse park. Spotted this bedraggled butterfly. Images are not clear. Used my cell phone camera.

10am-2pm, mid-70s to 80, overcast and some sun. Nice area, lots of flower, not a lot of insect action this day.

Lots of bee activity today at both Lapham Peak State Park and Retzer but not too many butterflies. Also saw a Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillar.

Overcast and very warm. Noon-12:45. Stopped here on a whim, not expecting to see much, but there were monarchs everywhere. A few other butterflies too.

Hot, humid and a bit breezy. Very large tiger moth caterpillar seen on liatris. Not sure of the species.

Warm Sunny Afternoon. Easter Tiger Swallow Tail seen in three locations along lake from center of town to Dekovan Center. One Monarch at Dekovin Center.

I saw a few sulphurs on this trip, but they were on the move and I could not get any pictures or ID's. The Mustard Whites were on Rock Lake Trail Road not far from the lake. I only got one not-so-great picture of my Lifer Northern Crescent, but still happy with it.

Also picked up two lifer Tiger Beetles near Washburn on this trip; Cow Path and Common Claybank

Just like last year--a Compton Tortoiseshell was poking about under the eaves of the cabin, most likely looking for a protected spot to spend the long Wisconsin winter. [Yikes!! That's coming up?]

I saw over 5 of these frogs, I think they are the state endangered Blanchard's Cricket Frog.

Near 80 degrees and still humid with clouds moving in.

Many resting in trees just at the edge of Dodgeville. They have been there for two days now, according to the owner of the yard.

Saw this little guy at about 5 pm after some heavy rains in the a.m.

High 70's, sunny, humid. Fresh looking Meadow Fritillaries, worn Great Spangled.

Short walk on the boardwalk. Viceroys were most plentiful.

Eighteen species. Best finds were Little Yellow, American Snout, Common Buckeye and Wild Indigo Duskywing. Scads of Clouded Sulphurs, every where we looked! Couldn't get closer to the Snout. Dorothy's photo of Buckeye. Still some Scissorsgrinder (cicada) singing in Potosi, Cassville and Lancaster.

Brief sun about 3pm on this rainy and cool day brought out a couple of butterflies to the garden. I am always amazed by how from underneath, the Red Admiral is a strange combination of camouflage and gaudy color.

2:00-4:00pm.

77 degrees, sunny. Quick stop on top of the ridge to see the view resulted in new species for me.

I came across this common buckeye while walking through the tall grass prairie.

12:15-2:30. 60 degrees, mostly sunny, and windy. 80 of the Monarchs were in a single area less than 100 yds long that was sheltered from the wind, and had lots of asters which the Monarchs were using almost exclusively for nectar.

63, windy, part sun. The few butterflies were more than I expected.

11:30-11:45. 57 degrees, very windy, and partly sunny. I was very surprised to see a Common Buckeye.

Not many butterflies here this summer, I was happy to see the three monarchs enjoying the cup plant.

68-70 degrees and mostly sunny. 2:30-4:15.

12:00-1:30. 67 degrees and partly sunny. No grass skippers!

65 degrees, mostly sunny, breezy at times. First Silver-spotted skipper I've seen this year. Also saw 2 first instar Eastern Tiger Swallowtail caterpillars on wild cherry.

12:30-3:00, sunny, low 70s. A nice variety of butterflies, with viceroys taking the prize as most numerous. An added bonus was a very tiny green frog which agreed to sit on Sylvia's hand.

The Purplish Coppers and some Bronze Coppers were along the disused part of Harvey Road north of the gate. Several other Bronze Coppers were near the pond east of the parking lot south of this gate.

Near 80 degrees, sunny, windy and humid. The Downy Gentian is blooming. There were also a few whites. I got a good look at the Snout but couldn't get the camera on it before it was gone.

Also seen on September 15

Temp low 80's, sunny and a bit breezy. The Painted lady was a surprise. The past 2 years we've had so many of them, but this year I've only seen a couple.

These were spotted while collected prairie seeds.

Low 80's, sunny, humid and very windy. Could only get one poor shot of the Snout. (One more than I could get yesterday.) Plus three Tiger Beetles.

Lower 80's, dry and windy, so not a lot flying. Puddles are dry. Second Mourning Cloak in two days, but NO commas. Also, two Punctured tiger beetles and a big(ish) robber fly.

I wish I had gotten a photo. It was very windy, and we were in a crowd on our way to look at some prairie remnants, so I didn't stop long enough to try. It's the first of this species I've ever seen.

2:00-4:30. Mostly sunny to start but by 4:00 it was cloudy. 80 degrees. Purplish Copper was a female east of the pumphouse.

80's, sunny and breezy. After 4:30 pm, the New England asters and Stiff goldenrod were just loaded with assorted bees and wasps and a few butterflies! The Easter tiger swallowtails were faded and tattered.

I was passing through the garden on my way to meeting, the only camera I had with me was my phone, but I got a photo that should serve the purpose. I went back an hour later with my camera but did not find it - it appeared to be on the move.

The azure looked very ragged.

2-3:30, overcast, ~80
There were also 2 unidentified blues.

Came home from work today and saw at least 7 monarchs nectaring on New England asters. All appeared brightly colored, not worn at all. Thunderstorms are coming in tonight, hope they do well.

Caught sight of this grass skipper in a neighbors yard.

64 degrees, sunny and calm

Low 70s and sunny. 4:10-5:20

2:30-3:30, 66 and sunny

11:30am-12:15pm. Upper 60s, sunny, breezy.

12:40 - 4:00, sunny, 60s

Seen while birding

Sunny, low 70s. Nice to see a skipper.

1.5-2 hours Fifteen of the 17 Bronze Coppers were nectaring on white asters (not Heath Aster) and Rigid Goldenrods along the southern half of the road bisecting Sprague-Mather Flowage.

1 fresh example..looks like a female. Nectarng on dwarf zinnia.

(5th record this year and 15th ever! Mike)

Barely 70 degrees, sunny and windy. There were two coppers, but one had perished in the grasp of an ambush bug.

2:30, 60, sunny

flew and landed on the beach...2 dark butterflies flew over while I was walking the day before, and made me wonder if they were this species

Seen while seed collecting for about 30 minutes with the Buckthorn Busters.

Caught sight of this very ragged looking swallowtail (black) in my backyard.

My first Milbert's Tortoiseshell since 2012!
Sunny, low 70s, plenty of nectar, but few butterflies.

First tortoiseshell I've seen this year. Also had a comma fly through the yard but couldn't id it. They are too quick.

Beautiful walk in the prairie area.

11-1:30. Mostly cloudy and in the mid 60s. The sun was just starting to show as we were leaving.

Relatively few butterflies encountered during several hours of driving and hiking this huge area, especially considering the warm sunny weather and the abundance of nectar sources available.

I briefly saw a sulphur or 2 but they moved on too fast for me to ID

2:45-3:30. Sunny and low 70s. Also two white form, female Sulphurs.

5:30 pm

I caught sight of this Crescent while walking through the wildflowers in my backyard.

Mostly sunny and low 70s. Walked all around the lake on the Ice Age Trail and didn't see a butterfly until I saw one flying over the mowed grass by the parking lot. My goal was to see Fringe Gentian so it was still a good day.

Saw this little beauty while on my Biogeography field trip to Necedah Wildlife Refuge!

Warm, dry, and sunny. Besides a few butterflies, I found a handsome caterpillar, probably some kind of Tiger Moth.

Orange Sulphur spotted while flying, never did see it land anywhere in sight

3:15-5:00. Looking for Downy Gentian which I last saw here in 2009.

Believe one is an Eastern Comma and the other is a Gray Comma.

(The Gray Comma has, for this species, a non-typical silvery comma. Mike)

The Common Buckeye was very worn.

The most sulphurs I have seen at one time this year. They were nectaring on asters which were abundant.

walked the gated part of the road and the boardwalk

Sunny and warm, a bit breezy. Several cabbage whites and clouded sulphurs. Male and female monarch on asters.

Quite a few sulphurs but has declined. Little Yellows conferring over a mud lunch.

Peter Fissel and I made a morning visit to the park. Our one butterfly hot spot was at the north end of the Wildlife Trail loop where a sickly tree was oozing sap, which attracted Viceroys, Gray Commas and Eastern Commas.

The White Admiral was feeding on a mum at a produce stand.

Tiger beetles seen include 1 purpurea, 1 repanda, 1 formosa, 2 scutellaris, and 6 tranquebarica. The habitat shot is where all the tigers were found.

Looking for tiger beetles, and saw three species. I saw 50+ repanda, 4 scutellaris, and a pair of duodecimguttata (lifer!).

Mostly cloudy afternoon.
(16th WI record ever and 6th this year! Mike)

visited a few private properties

Very windy and cool in the morning but it warmed up nicely. I was surprised to see the Monarchs this late in the year up here. Nevada Buck moths are quite common now.

Around 3:30pm. Low 70s. Partly cloudy with a few breaks of sun.

Urban butterflies. Lots of asters on this large parcel of undeveloped land on Madison's west side Stopped there briefly between errands.

Our last Monarch eclosed this morning, briefly nectared on asters, then headed south. It was a good year for us, with about 120 flyaways.

My first tagged Monarch ever! I emailed the data in but does anyone know where the tag might come from?
(TNT 727)

I hiked the paved trail north of Priem Road. I also saw a little brown snake cross the trail. The snake was not much larger than a night-crawler.

Barely 60 degrees, sunny and breezy. There were a few of the red dragonflies. Also, saw a few FOS Dark-eyed Juncos.

60 degrees. Sometimes bright sun, sometimes cloudy. Nice to see the American lady--not able to get a good photo

~2:30, 60s, sunny