Butterfly sightings for April 2019

Yay! Excited to see my first butterfly of the season. Mid 60s, becoming cloudy and windy. With Pamela Hoyland.

Sunning on the side of the barn

Sighted around 12 p.m.

I found a maple tree with tons of sapsucker holes. The tree was gushing sap. This tree drew in a lot of insect activity including one Mourning Cloak and one Eastern Comma. It was a great day! Butterfly Season has begun!

Mourning Cloak was seen in a protected porch area off our kitchen.

Briefly caught sight of it flying away. Hard to mistake a Mourning Cloak, though. Possibly it had overwintered in our firewood pile? First butterfly seen this season for me.

Nectaring on scilla plants.

Sighted at 10:50 a.m. 55 degrees.

South of Downsville. Mid 60s, sunny and breezy.

Seen within 25 feet at the top of the bluff along with my first Common Green Darners of the season.

Most years my season starts with a Mourning Cloak. This year it is a Red Admiral.

Temps that rose to the low 60s really brought out the Mourning Cloaks but no other species seen.

On muddy ground, looking beat up but alive.

Singles of each species seen on damp sand/gravel of gravel road. Another Mourning Cloak also seen in flight. Lovely day--upper 60s, calm, sunny. Quite a welcome change from the last six days! Area is mixed aspen/oak/maple/pine woods.

We saw a Red Admiral today -- our first butterfly of the season!

12:50 p.m. under sunny skies

Nectarine on hyacinth

First butterflies of year for me.

The Red Admiral was nectaring on early blossoms of hellebore ("Lenten rose")

45 degrees and sunny

I did a count on about 4 miles of County Rd O on the south border of Fish Lake. I had to slalom down the road to avoid the Mourning Cloaks. This is probably one of the best butterfly spots in the area but I still haven't seen any other species yet.

Individuals noted are from both the east and west side of the SNA. Lots of tiger beetles too!

Sunny, windy, 55 deg.

My first butterfly of the year.

First sighting this year. Red Admiral didn't sit still long enough for a photo. Windy, sunny 59 degree afternoon.

One admiral nectaring on willow; Lady laying eggs.

First buttefly sighting this season! Two Red Admirals sunning and dancing in our yard on a beautiful day.

Windy day, but bright and sunny. The Red Admirals were out in big numbers today--at the park and in the backyard.

Late afternoon. 57 degrees.

First butterfly of the season

Also many Common Green Darner dragonflies.

Common Buckeye was a nice surprise!

Warm, sunny day. The Pachysandra is blooming and there were butterflies everywhere I looked. My estimates are conservative.

This one has been flitting around my grape hyacinth and daffodils.

I wasn't able to get a photo because it flew by so fast and wouldn't sit still, but it was flitting about an area of the prairie that contained a large brush pile. This Red Admiral had been on the original inventory for Moely Prairie several years ago, but wasn't seen in 2018. We're happy to have found one on the property again.

We saw a couple of other butterflies, mainly smaller and orange in color flying on the prairie as well, but we didn't get close enough to see them clearly for ID purposes.

American Lady. About 2:00 P.M. in blooming scilla along the edge of a yard and an unplowed field.

A half-dozen Red Admirals nectaring on pussy willows, and more along the trail. A Ruby-crowned Kinglet hunting for insects in the pussy willow. The Red Admirals in the pussy willow seemed very small to me. Two Common Green Darners.

The Red Admiral looked fresh - not worn. Sunny, low wind, upper 50's

Nectaring on squill

About 2:00 pm today a walk through the yard, I flushed a Red Admiral near some blooming Blood Root, don't think it was on the flowers and in the back yard off of the trunk of a Red Oak tree an Eastern Comma!
My first butterfly sightings for the season.

The Mourning Cloak ignoring the peanut butter I smeared on tree bark. The Lady puddling in the dirt where I had raked leaves. The two Red Admirals spiraling in a courtship dance.

Around 7 p.m. I observed an American Lady butterfly resting on a large branch on my maple tree. A few minutes later, two more were flying in and around the branches. Sunny and 75 degrees.

14:00 - 15:44, walking my dog 4.0 miles. About 70 with light winds.

One butterfly nectaring on wood anemone was not positively identified but ir appeared to be a various shades of orange, probably a comma.

Seen on native Dutchmans Breeches in my yard. Large population of Red Admiral - and several American Lady also.

Near 70 F with low winds. 2 observers walked 0.7 miles into the preserve along main path from 10:45 - 11:31. One stationary observer.

Red Admiral - saw at least 3

The Red admiral was depositing eggs on stinging nettle

Spotted the Green Comma April 20 shortly after noon at the front of our house. It was darting around close to the ground on a warm and sunny day. First butterfly sighting this year.

Sighted on Asthma Hill at Lapham Peak Unit. Temperature was 79 degrees.

There were about 20 Red Admirals flying around.

The two Red Admirals were still dancing; I'll stop reporting them now, because they will likely be here all summer. Surprise of the day was the rather early appearance of a Cabbage White.

While doing a small area bumble bee survey

Nectaring on plum blossoms

Cool morning, light breeze. Saw two mourning cloaks and many red admirals.

Fluttering by our salon window!

The Arboretum continues to improve its grounds. More of the invasive non-native vegetation has been removed, and now they are thinning out the trees. Should result in increased numbers of spring ephemerals blooming next month - and more BFs?

Resting on the ground in the sun. 55 degrees.

Five Red Admirals present in the back yard this morning with three of them sunning themselves on the rocks.

The Painted Lady was quite worn.

I found 2 American Ladies among the violets in the yard. One spent over 2 hours flying from flower to flower. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a clear picture with my phone. First ever sighting in my yard. Also a number of Red Admirals.

Stopped at my favorite gravel parking lot mid morning. The Red Admirals were sunning along the drive and the spring peepers were in full chorus.

Red Admiral estimate likely low

Observed today at our Sussex residence in the afternoon three different butterfly species. Between 3-5 Pm.

About 11:30 Am a walk through one of our wildflower production areas i observed American Lady's and Red Admirals, busy visiting Willow flowers in bloom!

About 1:30 in the afternoon 75 degrees, sunny and windy My first discovery is a American Lady on a blooming Pasque Flower, but she escapes the camera and moves to a patch of Pussy Toes "Antennaria" to lay eggs. Red Admirals & Eastern Commas don't appreciate Kodak Moments. Lots of Lucerne moths in the greening grass areas today!

Saw many American Ladies and a few Red Admirals flying around the prairie today.

66 degrees. Sunny. Noon.

5pm, sunny, 50s

3PM, sunny, 55 degrees, slightly breezy.

Painted lady collecting minerals from soil at community garden.

One nectaring on flowers high in a tree.