Butterfly sightings for May 2021

80+ degrees F. We surveyed Lyman Lake Bog and its roadside, Bear Lake and North Bear Lake Bogs, and Milchesky Road 1.75 Bog hoping to see Freija Fritillaries and Red-disked Alpines. The Mourning Cloak was near, but not on, a bog. Because we found so few butterflies we didn't survey the last 4 bogs on this route.

I went here after finding the West Virginia White to look for another possible location.

I had thought that these would be Mustard Whites but didn't have a camera nor binoculars when I first saw them, After counting 15 white butterflies I went back and took these photos of one. Almost all appeared to be laying eggs on Broad-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine diphylla) and I was only able to catch up to this one, which was more my speed. The next day I was able to see both Mustard White and Cabbage White so I don't know the exact numbers.

Very windy but 83 degrees.

Hot windy afternoon. Several stops on Hickerson and Stolte Rds. The Olympia Marbles were nectaring on sand/rock cress.

70F, sunny, very windy south; black swallowtail flying across the road.

Sunny, breezy, 80 degree day.

87degrees and sunny. But it was very windy making it very difficult to photograph. Relatively limited nectar sources.

1-3 Pm, Gusty Wilds, Sunny The temperature is climbing from 65 to by the time I am ready to leave Spruce Lane a high of 86 degrees! 42 spring azures divided into 3 different groups!

Thanks to Jeff Lang of the DNR who gave me a location in White River that had white pines as we were in search of pine elfins. We also saw eight six spotted Tiger Beetles

75F, partly sunny, calm; 3 six-spotted tiger beetles

82 degrees.

Cloudy 64 degree morning.

walked on southwestern pathways towards the prep academy and river. 8:32-10:15, 66 - 72 F, SW wind 10- 8 mph with gusts to 22 mph. 1.36 miles

There were around 12 duskywings - some were probably Sleepy Duskywings but we only identified the Juvenal's Duskywings for sure.

warm and sunny

The earliest we've ever seen a Tiger in our garden.

Walked the fourth mile from the south. Yesterday I walked the third mile and saw three Cabbages. The pic is from yesterday. Less wind today.

high 50s, partly sunny, breezy

high 50s, partly sunny, breezy

Mostly birding, was surprised to see a Black Swallowtail which was joined by another right after I took this shot.

about 60 degrees, mostly sunny, slight breeze

A beautiful May day. The Swallowtail was the hairiest swallowtail I've ever seen.

Sunny, breezy, 60 degree afternoon.

I have been observing the Henry's Elfin here for over 30 years at one of the southernmost locations in Wisconsin.

Two long-term elfin monitoring sites where we historically found Frosted Elfins, and one site that is mainly for Henry's Elfin long-term monitoring. We also saw 2 unidentified duskywings.

Four patches adjoining County Highway X. All have past Frosted Elfin records but the most recent was in 2010. We monitor these sites long-term for all 5 elfins and other butterflies. We also saw 7 unidentified duskywings. The Meadow Fritillary count is higher than usual for these sites.

Seen while birding before 11am.

Gravel road surrounded by a recent cut with upland pine-oak forest with undergrowth.

Very windy and cool.

Cool and windy

Temperature was a cool 48-52 degrees for the couple hours (3-5PM) spent on Crex. The few butterflies seen were in protected areas, e.g., north roadside of Klotz Rd. just east of James Rd., with an oak forest to the north to stop the wind. The Silvery Blue and Duskywing were seen here. Four Olympia Marbles were on the south-facing slope below Crex Ridge Road.

Partly cloudy, light wind

51 deg., overcast

First-of-year (FOY) Spring Azure

Walking the trail from the parking lot and spotted 4 flying and one landed for me to take a picture. It was 2PM when I saw them

Saw 2 cabbage whites on the way driving there. Overall, kind of a cool day. Only about 52 degrees. We stopped at the Cedarburg Bog on the way home but we did not see anything.

Late afternoon ,early evening ,cloudy ,light wind

Walking along the restored prairie and cut lawn I saw it land in the grass. Sunny, breezy, 55 degrees.

Swallowtail was on some raspberry blossom and shrub blossoms, unfortunately there was a lot of wood ticks .

Very conservative estimate on Juvenal's Duskywings- they were all over the forested parts of the trail

While birding, all before noon. One Swallowtail verified Eastern by binocular view. (One more flyby seen.) Plus FOY Tiger beetle.

I believe it is the first SS Skipper and PL. Very windy and impossible to take a picture.

Saw our first Pearl Crescents of the year!

58 deg., mostly sunny

Partly sunny, breezy, 50 degree afternoon.

8.25 hours. We also saw 1 unidentified blue and 203 unidentified duskywings. Most sites have past Frosted Elfin records and are sites in our long-term monitoring for Frosted or other elfins. We also chose some sites to survey especially for Cobweb Skippers. Sites were Dike 17, North Brockway East, Cemetery Road near Lichtner (or Seils Road), Bauer-Brockway Complex, Stanton Road, and west of Hunter Haven Road. Frosted Elfins were found in 9 different units, including 2 within 1/2 mile west of Brockway Road 2 along Stanton Road and the pipeline ROW next to it, and 5 west of Hunter Haven. Most of the Henry's Elfins were within 1/2 mile west and 1/2 mile south of the Bauer Road/Brockway Road junction.

One Eastern Tiger Swallowtail sighted on my property 5:00pm. , feeding on dandelions.

Sunny, windy, 50 degree afternoon.

Sparsely vegetated sandy/gravelly field with small clumps of grasses, mosses and lichens

Gravel roads at Crex were dry, not attracting any butterflies. Animal scat at Reed Lake certainly was, however. Numerous (over 50) flighty duskywing skippers went unidentified. I have never seen as many Henry's Elfins in a day before. Sites where Eastern Pine and Brown Elfins were seen in years past were barren. I checked extensive stands of bearberry north of Clemens Creek Firebreak on the Namekagon Barrens but saw no Hoary Elfins. Mostly sunny, temperature in low 60s.

Primarily doing a dragonfly hunt, but enjoyed some active butterfly activity. I had both kinds of Boghaunters, both in fact side by side on a log! I had at least four Ebony and about a dozen of the Ringed. Also had a few American Emeralds and a gazzilion Hudsonian Whiteface, along with a few Beaverpond Baskettails, a Common Whitetail and a few Common Green-Darners.

4 patches. We also saw 1 unidentified duskywing.

2 patches. 4 patches. We also saw 1 unidentified duskywing.

Bear Lake and North Bear Lake Bogs along County Hwy A, Milchesky Road 1.15 Bog and roadside, Milchesky Road 1.75 Bog, and Lyman Lake Bog and roadside. North Bear and Miclhesky 1.15 were by far the least productive of the bogs for Freija Fritillary sightings today, but we saw 1 Red-disked Alpine on North Bear. Mostly sunny, except for when we surveyed the long-term best bog (Milchesky 1.75) for Freijas and Red-disked Alpines. On Milchesky 1.75 we saw 20 times as many butterflies per minute when the sun was shining or partly shining as when it wasn't shining. For us, seeing one Freija Fritillary (usually we see zero in that unit) on our Lyman Lake bog roadside survey was unusual.

The Gorgones are finally out! Males emerge earlier than the females. Black swallowtails were also all males.

Also my Virginia ctenucha emerged.

most of the sulphurs were along the access along Hay Rd.

The numbers reported are for confirmed sightings. There were several duskywings, a few likely Spring Azures, and most likely just one Silvery Blue. Also saw FOY Six-spotted Tiger Beetle.

Sunny becoming mostly cloudy, upper 60s, light wind

Mostly sunny, 65 degree afternoon.

Saw three six spotted Tiger Beetles and documented a Yellow Bumblebee which is on the DNR Special Concern Species List

This butterfly was on the ground in one of my pollinator gardens.

2 patches.

This trail traverses multiple habitats. 3.4 miles, 10:35-14:25, variable wind direction 9- 5 mph, fair to partly cloudy, 64 - 68 F. The Pine Elfin and one Olympia Marble were nectaring on garlic mustard. The Mustard Whites were on it before they flew but I don't know if they were feeding.

Four bogs along Forest Road 137, one long bog route south of FR 136 less than a mile west of FR 505, and 1 bog in northern part of FR 505. 30% sunshine, 65-72 degrees F. We also saw an unidentified white (we think Pieris sp.) flying over the bog west of FR 137 1.2 miles south of Highway 70. South of FR 136 we sat for 42 minutes waiting for the sun to come out in the best opening we know of for Red-disked Alpines (RDAs) and Freija Fritillaries. When the sun came out we saw 12 RDAs and 15 Freijas in the next 14 minutes.

When a large cloud came it it blocked the sunlight for around an hour and very few butterflies showed up after that.

Incidental observation while gardening.

Somer's Prairie & Savanna: A mix of clouds and sun throughout the day. Temperature reaching 68 degrees. occasional winds. Three different butterfly species today and one Chickweed Geometer Moth!

The swallowtail was on mud adjacent to the mowed field.

Nectaring on a dandelion

One county forest patch in southern part and 4 state-owned patches further north. 30% sunshine, 68-75 degrees F.

2 patches in powerline and ATV ROW east of County I that are 7-8 miles south of U.S. Hwy 8. 65% sunshine, 72-76 degrees F. Usually the more southerly patch here produces more Chryxus Arctics than the 2 today (we saw zero on the northerly patch), but we can't tell much about where the species is in its flight based on seeing it only on one day this year. We also saw one unidentified duskywing.

In the Nicolet NF east of Three Lakes we surveyed bogs along Forest Road 2182 that were north of Wolf Lake (best one for early spring specialists), east of Wolf Lake, and 1.4 miles east of 2182's jct. with FR 2176. Near there in the Nicolet NF we surveyed a bog west of the southern part of FR 2414. We also surveyed 2 bogs outside the Nicolet NF. Mostly sunny, 59-71 degrees F. Brown Elfins are at a very low point in their 4-5 year bog population cycle across all of the bogs we've seen this year: see Figure 2 of Swengel and Swengel 2015. Assessing abundance patterns of specialized bog butterflies over 12 years in northern Wisconsin USA. Journal of Insect Conservation 19:293-304. Full-text is open access at the journal website or at Ann or Scott's ResearchGate pages. The Freija Fritillary total was lower than usual. Nicolet NF bogs are the wettest in the last 20 years. One bog we stopped surveying in 2019 would be a swimming pool across our entire route now. East Wolf was so deep that no boots would be high enough; Ann took off her water-filled boots out in the bog and the mud suction was so strong that her shoes came off too--she surveyed in her socks.

Cool, breezy, partly cloudy. Looking for butterflies while doing the birdathon.

Rained in a narrow band the night before. Many duskywings and blues puddling at every stop. Light wind scattered showers later in the afternoon.

14th annual Crex-to-the-Barrens butterfly trek had nine guests. The rain that had brought butterflies to damp road gravel for Terry Mortier on Saturday had dried enough by Sunday that we did not see the swallowtail, Gorgones, or Roadside Skipper that he had seen. Olympia Marbles were present at nearly every stop. Duskywings were plentiful, but flighty and hard to ID. I did capture and check two small males for the diagnostic hair plume (or not) on the hind tibia; one had it, one did not, so that's one Dreamy and one Sleepy Duskywing positively ID'd. Nice to see that the past few days of warm weather had brought out Eastern Pine Elfins on Springbrook Trail, Brown Elfins on a bog just north of the Namekagon River, and Hoary Elfins on an unmarked firebreak just north of Clemens Creek on the Barrens. See last photo--the tall trees and low shrubs seem to attract mating elfins. Let's call it an Elfin Lek. All photos except the mating Henry's Elfins, group shot, and Lek were taken by Brian Shapiro. Thanks Brian!

Bushwacked for 3+ hours without much, then found most species along Gates Lake Road, at a small stretch of roadside edge.

Sitting on the deck when a Tiger Swallowtail flew by.

My first Tiger Swallowtail.

A small number of these butterflies were spotted on the trail near the Headquarters in the southern portion of the Refuge.

Mostly cloudy. 3.23 miles 10:19-13:19, SSW wind 5 - 8 mph, 59 - 65 F. Very large numbers of migrating birds. Blooming geraniums, Shooting Stars, False Solomon's Seal.

around 60 degrees, slight breeze, mostly cloudy

West off of S Cemetary Road in a clearing, South east of Hatfield

This specimen was flying around in the parking lot. Fortunately there were few people and cars around. The temperature was around 60 degrees with a partly cloudy sky.

Partly cloudy, breezy, 72 degree afternoon.

Disappointed in the absence of Olympia marbles. Also, this is my first Roadside Skipper. Many sulphur females were “Alba” form.

Tiger swallowtail was a very strange specimen. Very small, only around 3 inches. Eastern Pine Elfin was a lifer. Also many tiger beetles. Also found a few dragonfly nymphs and a newly hatched individual.

Prescribed burns in the area kept me on the northern-most stretch of FR-236/Ino Rd.

Compton Tortoiseshell was my lifer look at one, though it was a quick thrill, as it zipped right at my head, flashed gold/black and it's pattern, but kept on going straight away.

Very good numbers. Duskywing counts are conservative to the masses of them seen. Any scat or damp areas seemed to swirl with them.

Not a lot of butterfly variety but there were some nice flowers. The shooting stars are abundant and still going strong but there are plenty of other plants in flower.

Sunny becoming mostly cloudy. Mid 70s, windy. Low butterfly activity.

Low 70's, partly sunny. There were at least 10 Pearl Crescents on the feces at one time. All Black Swallowtails were identified in flight.

This butterfly was on a plant in my pollinator garden

Sunny, upper 70s. Generally low butterfly activity. Duskywings, probably Juvenal's, were the most abundant.

Mostly cloudy 75 degree afternoon.

first monarch adult sighted

Ron Endres spotted our first Monarch of the year.

I believe I had a hatching! Newly emerged and working hard to pump up those wings in my window well!! Moved to some flowers.

Happily, I have lots of nectar sources and milkweed. It is the first one I have seen this year.

Damp foggy start at a Douglas county forest bog. I got rained shortly after arrival. Worked my way back south through the Namakagon Barrens and Crex Meadows. The sun came out and the weather improved greatly at the Barrens. Early evening at Crex but sunny light winds. Brown elfins were in Douglas Co. bog, Hoary and Eastern Pine were in the Barrens , Henry's were in the Barrens and Crex.

Area was flush with lupines in bloom

A unique color variation for an Eastern Tailed Blue

My first Monarch!

Finally some sun after getting rained out three times at this site. Mostly sunny hot afternoon. Freija fritillaries were very active ovipositing on cranberry plants. I also saw a handful of unidentified duskywings on the way into the bog

12:03 - 13:12, 79 F, S wind 6 mph, butterflies in the alfalfa prairie areas

Female Black Swallowtail was looking for a place to lay her eggs but didn't find it in my garden.

Sootywing was a nice surprise. The tiger swallowtail was large dark form. I saw a Silver-spotted skipper lay an egg and I found it. I will try and rear it.

Between GG and Grimson in the afternoon. Three of the skippers were on the prairie remnant. The MCs and skippers were scrapping for territory. Not good for picture taking.

Incidentally seen while birding

80s, breezy sunny

Black form female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on lilac.

Annual Spring Count. 83 degrees, mostly sunny. 32 species which is above average for this count. 10 counters in 3 parties. 3 of us saw a Woodcock cross the road with three chicks -- she has the MOVES! Thanks to counters Mike Reese, Ann and Scott Swengel, Fred and Kate Dike, Emily Hjalmarson and Brett, Karl and Dorothy Legler, and Dave Hogg.

The tiger swallowtail was unusual. It must of enclosed oddly. It’s back right wing was folded over and partly deformed. It was very large and seemed healthy.

Hot sunny, late morning, very short walk.

First Monarchs of the year.

A Monarch flew through the yard making a short stop at some flowers. Just caught a quick glimpse this morning.

I was gone this past week, but returned to find that the Monarchs has definitely found the abundance of milkweed on Moely Prairie. The weather was very humid and pretty windy, but I still managed to find a few other varieties of butterflies on my walk.

Four of the sites are in the Park. I found all but one of the Dusted Skippers at Van Zelst barrens. This is the sixth year in a row that I've seen at least one ringlet in the Park.

Nectaring (or at least visiting) trillium on the edge of our back woods.

1 F Tiger Swallowtail, dark morph

Both at Field Edge of Frautschi Point. Both nectaring on Hesperis

This butterfly was on milkweed in my pollinator garden.

Lots of wild blue phlox blooming along the trail, but very few butterflies in the area. Saw my 1st Monarch of the season. Mostly cloudy, humid, 79 degree afternoon.

The monarch was flying around the lilac bushes and didn’t land. Attached is an inflight image.

80's F. partly sunny

About 7 barrens patches surveyed in and near Moquah Barrens State Natural Area. We used every minute of butterfly weather for this day, then it became too windy during the last 1/2 hour of our 2.2 hours. We also saw 2 unidentified elfins. This is the easternmost area in Wisconsin where we see Western Tailed-Blues.

Monarch found its way to my backyard. Spent a lot of time on my common milkweed. Hopefully laying some eggs!!

12:46-14:44, 2.29 miles, SSW wind 18 - 23 mph, 79 - 81 F.

From the parking area on GG. The Gorgones have shown up for a second year, this year very large versus the very small individuals seen late last year

Lots of clover and wild phlox blooming. Besides butterflies, enjoyed watching Osprey in their nest by the Yahara River. Mostly sunny, humid, 78 degree late morning.

This seems to be a good place for Sootywings.

I just got back from a week out of state.

Monarch Flying around the pond-milkweed and wildflowers are all around

4 small patches. 64-71 degrees F, 50% sun. We also saw 1 unidentified blue and 1 unidentified duskywing.

Jutta Arctic - first of the year

Partly cloudy, 70s

Saw my first monarch of the season near home yesterday; happy to see several at the state park amid a large patch of milkweed. The prairies were burned earlier this spring, so the nectar plants are limited currently, but will be plentiful soon.

While out documenting bumblebees we found a few butterflies and one Nessus Sphinx, 16 Six Spotted Tiger Beetles. In total we found 6 different bumblebees species

Lyman Lake, Bear Lake, North Bear Lake, Bear Lake SW, Milchesky Road 1.15 and 1.75, Foxboro-Chaffee, and Moose Junction West and East bogs. We found Frigga Fritillaries on all 3 "Frigga Bogs": Bear Lake SW, Milchesky 1.75 (N part), and Moose Junction East. The Meadow Fritillary was next to, not on, a bog. We also saw 5 unidentified duskywings.

This area has lots of Lupinus perennis (Wild Lupine) and is a good place to see Karner Blues

First stop was at a bog off Namekagon Trail, about 1/2 mile north of the Namekagon River. On May 16, our crew found Brown Elfins on the bog. On the 25th, a tromp through the bog found not a single Brown Elfin; they were, however, found sipping nutrients on the road gravel. Dozens of Duskywings that refused to sit still for a photo on the 16th were also much easier to photograph as they sipped on the damp gravel. One Dreamy Duskywing obliged with a shot of the "hair pencil" on its hind tibia. This is missing in the Sleepy Duskywing. Saw no Jutta Arctics and no bog fritillaries out in the bog.
Also saw no Henry's or Hoary Elfins at the "Elfin Lek" just north of Clemens Creek on the Barrens (see 16th sighting), nor were any Silvery Blues or Olympia Marbles seen at either site.

Single pearl cresent butterfly on my tomato plants

Came on quite a dense group of skippers while bird watching. Also 13 Six Spotted Tiger Beetles, one sphinx, and two unidentified duskywings.

total of 4 karner blues encountered

Spectacular day - sunny and 70. Many newly-emerged dragonflies, a Robber fly eating a click beetle, and pitcher plants starting to bloom.

I'm not confident on the identity of this species

casual observations while monitoring Bluebird boxes

Sunny, very breezy, 70s

74, sunny

Sunny, upper 50s, late afternoon

Upper 70's. Mostly sunny.

Upper 70's. Mostly sunny. The Hobomok Skipper had a striking bluish sheen along the edge of the wings.

70s, sunny, very breezy

FOY Common Ringlet, highway shoulder vegetation

Many C. Swallowtails drifting around entire week (May 28-Jun 4).
Satyrium sp. caterpillar.

43-71 degrees F, Sunny, strong winds at first. At the start we surveyed 7 Phlox Moth plots when it was cold. Then we surveyed About 18 Karner Blue long-term monitoring areas (all also have Phloxes). The Burnett County Forest sites were all along Peet Post Office Road about1/2 mile from Crex Meadows. The Dusted Skipper total is the number we ID'd, not an estimate. We found 26 Phlox Moths, including 3 mating pairs, in 15 different survey units. We also found a Phlox Moth later in the day at Fish Lake WA, Burnett County.

Two Karner Blue long-term monitoring plots along Stolte Road. 25 total minutes. The Karner Blues were 7 males and one of unidentified gender.

cool windy late morning, Also saw 10+ unidentified duskywings.

cool windy late afternoon. 10+ unidentified duskywings

59 degrees, sunny and very windy. Not really butterflying but made one stop at the low spot on Stolte Rd. The Karner was blowing down the road in the wind. I also saw a Duskywing but it was blowing down the road too.

cloudy, very breezy, 80s

I saw this butterfly on the ground in my lawn.

2 monarchs sighted along ice age trail off of PD near Verona

Also one tiger swallowtail

Cool 56 F and cloudy. Two variations of Silvery Blue. The others are of a Meadow Fritillary.

cool windy afternoon.

Sunny, 56-69 degrees F. 4.5 hours. Five bogs along Forest Road (FR) 137 in the first 2.5 mile south of Highway 70, a long bog route south of FR 136 (between FR 137 and FR 505), two bogs east of FR 505, and a bog south of Highway 70 0.5 miles east of FR 137. The Meadow Fritillary was well out on a very wet bog. Both Red-disked Alpines were on the bog east of FR 505 1.7 miles south of Hwy 70, in the openest muskeg 0.25-0.35 miles from the road.

On the Oakridge section, incidental while removing wild parsnip. A lot of phlox blooming this year, but no phlox moths

A sunny coo morning 57 degrees, a dampness to the air, the gusty winds from yesterday still persist! Forty sightings between 10 Am and 12 Noon. A six spotted Tiger Beetle & a Northern Petrophora Moth!

12:30-2:30 Pm 62 degrees Gates Lake Road between Sailor LkRd & Riley LkRd winds have settled down although still present! What a difference five degrees makes from Am: 11 butterfly species and 76 sightings, also several moth species - What a great afternoon!

Mostly a sunny day, temperatures in the mid fifties, gusty winds carry away most of the butterflies flushed from the roadside, making photography difficult. One unidentified angle wing gets away!
A Northern Petrophora moth is flushed from the fire lane while enjoying the sun. A turkey vulture refuses to leave his lunch, about twenty feet from me, it holds its ground!

Sunny, 68 degrees F. Usually we find Freija Fritillaries here. It was late in the flight, but this bog has later butterfly flights than the Price County bogs where we found 6 Freijas earlier today.

North and south of Hwy G. Also saw a Nessus Sphynx and later what I think is a Rufous Geometer at Conservancy Park in the Town of Neenah.

FOY Giant swallowtail and hobomok!

1 unidentifiable blue.

3.24 miles, cloudy, 54-55F, WSW wind 6-9 mph, 11:45 - 14:55. The area had been burned this spring. Many Lupines were in bloom and they were quite thick in some areas along the road, which I did not explore.

Trails along the Wisconsin river. Sunny, mid 60's.

Temps in the mid to high 60s. Sunny with moderate wind.

Besides the butterflies, we also found an Eight-spotted Forester Moth and a White-spotted Sable Moth.

Mike I am not sure of the ID of the Skipper on the bright yellow-green leaf.

seen hanging onto blade of grass. plenty of lupine in the surrounding areas not blooming.

AutoTour: Monarch, Clouded Sulphur. There were along Dike Rd.

North and south of Breezewood. I think it's going to be a good S-s Skipper year. Also saw two White-striped Black moths and four Nessus Sphinx moths.