Butterfly sightings for October 2022

So many cabbage whites!

Cloudy until around 1:30. It warmed up nicely after the sun came out and the butterflies were active.The Southern Dogface were on the north ridge and nectaring on New England asters.

Sunny, light breeze, 68 degrees. All species feeding on New England Aster which is just past peak bloom. Quite a surprise to see the Veriegated Fritiallary.

Incidental while helping on a seed collection workday

Arrived around 11:30 to cloudy weather so butterflies were scarce initially. As the temps increased and the sun finally came out to stay there were more butterflies. My husband was the first to spot the Bronze Copper -- a new butterfly for us both! I have not seen either the Black Swallowtail or the Great Spangled Fritillary in the past few weeks so was pleasantly surprised to see more than one of both species. The Monarchs were very intent on fueling up. Nectar sources seem to be good at this location.

No wind, with temps ranging from lower 60s -70 F.

Early morning, cool but sunny. Not a lot of flowers left.

Drove the whole route. There were many Clouded Sulphurs in a couple of alfalfa fields, while others had none.

Two Compton Tortoiseshell butterflies were sunning themselves along the hiking trail by the falls. The other two were on an old log building near our picnic table and going in the cracks in the logs checking out possible shelter for the upcoming winter. Mostly sunny, 68 degree early afternoon.

about 70 degrees, mostly sunny, slight breeze

Bit of a drive but it was worth it! Sunny and 70. Beautiful hiking spot.

Sunny, 65 degrees, late afternoon. Just one skipper spotted in the zinnias along the house today.

Found on New England Aster, wetland woodland edge, wildlife gardens

Perfect day; light wind, high 60s, sunny. Thought I'd see more butterflies.

Compton Tortoiseshell butterfly was checking out spots to shelter under the eaves of our cabin. The Clouded Sulphur was enjoying the sun on one of our trails. Very few nectar sources still available. Mostly sunny, breezy, 68 degree afternoon.

2:30 to 3:30 pm, sunny, 70°

sunny and clear. about 65 degrees.

I saw four Southern Dogface all nectaring at the same time.

The Frost Asters were very popular and very beautiful today.

Mostly sunny with slight breeze and temps between 65-70 F.

While birding. Before 11am.

about 10 AM, sunny, 64 F. One of the blues was a female.

about 70 degrees, mostly sunny, slight breeze

Stopped for a few minutes to see what might be sampling the asters.

Sunny, 70 degrees, around 4 pm. Spotted the Monarch on the edge of a bean field while biking. Still plenty of Cabbage Whites around.

74 degrees, a beautiful day. If you can find blooming Hoary Alyssum you can probably find Purplish Coppers. The problem this year is finding Hoary Alyssum with all the mowing and brush cutting.

11:45-12:30

Conducted survey in large prairie near silo on the south end of the conservation lands. Sunny and 73 F, with SW wind 8 mph. All butterflies feeding on New England Asters that are well past peak stage. Tagged all 10 Monarchs that were present. 6 females, 4 males. The most Monarchs seen in the last ten days.

First time I have stopped here. All sulphurs were seen in the alfalfa field.

Partly sunny, about 73 degrees, slight breeze

73 degrees and mostly sunny. Not a lot of nectar sources here now, but it was fun to see a familiar Black Swallowtail on the hill.

Didn't really expect to see much for butterflies today because it was windy, chilly and cloudy for most of the day. Around 2:15 the sun came out and the wind died down momentarily, but 'Butterfly Weather' didn't last long. Temps were in the lower 50's F.

50 degrees and sunny and not even the grasshoppers were active, but this little guy was flying along the ground.

Sunny, mid 50s, windy. The hard frost last night killed most of the remaining flowers in the garden. Just one Eastern Comma spotted while on my walk in the woods around 3:15 pm.

Windy, mid-50s, partly cloudy. Open woods.

Had a hard freeze last night. 53-60 degrees and sunny.

54 degrees, mostly sunny, and windy. The commas were warming themselves in the sun near the parking lots at both tracts. The clouded sulphurs were active in a ditch bordering a hay field next to Tewksbury. The mourning cloak was at the Buffalo Skull tract.

Osprey have migrated south but a pair of Sandhill cranes joined us along the trails. Nice to see a few butterflies in the prairie areas. Partly sunny breezy 67 degree afternoon.

55-64 degrees and sunny. My latest ever pearl crescent.

The commas were enjoying all the fallen apples.

Got here late but still 67ish and sunny. I thought all the dogface where killed by the deep frost. But a member of my party said they saw some. I can’t say for sure.

Always pleased when a beautiful butterfly day provides a few surprises. I have not seen a Silver-spotted Skipper in over two weeks and have only ever seen the Gray Hairstreak once before, and in another county. Sachem numbers were definitely higher than expected, too.

Sunny with a light breeze, temps between 68-72 F from 1-3.

One Monarch flying along the edge of the parking lot. Sunny, warm, light wind, late afternoon. Tempted to call in "sick". Lol

Early afternoon. Hungry monarch feeding on purple asters. Several small bumble bees also on the asters.

Upper 60's and sunny. Both Fiery Skippers were females. Both Sachems were males.

Sunny 68 degree afternoon.

Sunny and 70 degrees after morning temps in the 30s.

A few butterflies seen feeding on New England Asters in Giant Prairie area.

Incidental while picking apples and trying to recover from COVID

1:30 to 2:30pm, sunny, 64°, windy. All records were seeing either flying or close to, or on the ground. The Fiery skipper shown was on a very short dandelion.

Timing and weather are so important! A rainy morning suddenly became sunny around noon and the butterflies seemed to be out just enjoying the sunshine. I have never seen so many Red Admirals at once. I was also pleased to see the Painted Lady and the sharp new looking Pearl Crescent. Around 2 p.m. it became very cloudy and windy and the butterflies disappeared. It was nice to see these butterflies today but considerably less numbers than a couple of days ago. Temps between 54-60 F.

Nice to see a butterfly after the 32 degree low temperature this morning. Sunny, breezy, 50 degree afternoon.

Sunny spots near the apple trees but out of the wind seemed to be more of a draw today that the apples themselves. I did check the field with the Frost Asters but very cold and windy and didn't see any butterflies. Most of the other flowers have succumbed to the frost so food supply is definitely getting less but very happy to see the 'Butters' I did. Sent the Praying Mantis on his way because I think he was looking for a butterfly lunch. Around 4 pm. still some butterflies out enjoying the warmth of the sun.

Around noon with temps in mid 50's F.

Things seem pretty dead in the southeast part of the state. I haven’t seen any of the usual late season nymphalids.

My latest CW sighting I think.

A few Brave Butterflies! With the temp at 41 F (burrr!!!!) a Red Admiral and an Eastern Comma were finding sunny, protected spots out of the wind at 1:00 p.m. I wasn't quick enough to catch a photo of the Orange Sulphur that surprised me by landing on my leg momentarily. Hoping the predicted warmer weather will mean one or two butterfly surprises before the 2022 season ends in Wisconsin.

40s, sunny

upper 50s, sunny

56 degrees and sunny. 11:15-12:15

59 degrees, little wind, and sunny. Both skippers were males

Only nectar source left is the Frost Aster. The True Brushfoot (Nymphalinae) were quite active today. Included a 'seek and find' photo of the Eastern Comma in the leaves. The white butterfly photo is either a Clouded or Orange Sulphur.

Sunny, no wind, with temps about 60 F at noon.

sunny, 50s

Sunny, temps in the 50s.

1:30 to 2:30 pm. 70°. Female was dinner for some insect.

70 degrees and sunny. I only had my cell phone to take photos.

77 degrees, sunny, but windy.

Sunny and beautiful and over 70 F. Very strong winds gusting to 30 mph from the SW, but diminished rapidly during the afternoon. First Monarchs in two weeks were seen.

at 10:30 it had warmed to almost 60 degrees on this sunny day. Still many far asters blooming.

Most of the butterflies were on the few remaining purple asters. Sunny, breezy, 75 degree afternoon.

Saw all of the same butterflies as posted on October 20th. Butterflies today with higher numbers than yesterday were the Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulphur and Eastern Comma. The Question Mark, Painted Lady and Red Admiral were the same number as yesterday. Pleased to find a couple of skippers and surprised to watch the Mourning Cloak crawl in and out of the rock pile. Hope it found a spot to spend the winter! There must have been 2 dozen Celery Looper Moths finding nectar today. I think this moth moves very similar to a skipper so they really kept me on my toes.

Sunny, windy with temps in the low 70's F around noon. The Sachem was spotted around 3:30p.m.

Incidental while gardening.

sunny, breezy, around 70 degrees

Sunny and 76!

Sunny, breezy 73 F. All species feeding were on New England Asters. Plenty of Sulphur butterflies, most were Clouded, but several Orange noted as well. Still a few Monarchs around after freezing temperatures and minor snow accumulation earlier in the week.

Saw it soaking up some sun on the boardwalk near the visitor center, it was too quick for me to get a picture of it unfortunately!

Sunny and 68-82.

Another beautiful day for butterflies!

With temps in the 70s and sunny, more butterflies today. Two of the Sulphurs were mating!

Near the locks going to Asters in the prairie gardens.

BEETOWN BUTTERFLY BLOWOUT BASH!
First to arrive, as usual, were the Red Admirals, a lovely party of four! The Admirals are always so friendly and are sure to make everyone feel welcome. A single American Lady strolled in and made many heads swivel! What a beauty! Next the Eastern Commas appear with their constant movement. Each and every Comma flies in, then out, making it impossible to know whether they are coming or going, and if they have the decency to land for a moment why must they gather their wings in so tightly so no one can see them. Why come to a party if you can’t stay or don’t want to visit with the other guests? On another note though, one Comma did provide a bit of comic relief as it grasped a fallen leaf tightly just when a gust of wind whipped the leaf and butterfly into the next county. More merriment ensued from there! Everyone was pleased to see another attendee, a Monarch, but she simply waved and flew on explaining that she had a previous commitment, the ‘Day of the Dead’ celebration further south and needed to take flight straightaway! A couple of Cool Dude Gray Commas strolled through just to make sure the photographers and everyone else saw their spots or lack thereof because that seems to set them apart from the crowd. The elegant Question Mark was a single party attendee. They seldom travel with others so it really wasn’t a surprise to anyone. Cabbage White arrived fashionably late, stopping to visit her children along the way. She shared that Cabbage Lane had been crawling with activity. Later that afternoon’s wild windy weather without warning ended the wingding! Oh well, there’s always another day in Wisco for a Beetown Butterfly Bash but more likely it will be in 2023!

Many snake species have been crossing the road. Question Mark was flying unusually high up.

4 to 5pm, mostly sunny, mid 70s. the commas were perching high on sunny leaves and tree trunks.

10:30 am to 2:30 pm, high 70s. Other than a few sulphurs, 2 commas flew by but could not get pictures. The Monarchs were seen on Highway 35 where you turn off to Rush Creek.

about 10:15 near the alfalfa field close to the parking lot, sunny, 66 F

Sunny, 75 degrees, windy, mid-afternoon. Spotted this fresh male monarch in my garden while I was digging out glad bulbs. He lingered on the dill weed and then moved on to a sunny spot.

Warm and very windy. I checked most of the parking areas along County Rd. C to avoid the wind. All the commas were seen in the parking areas. Everything else was seen at Russell Hill. I didn't arrive at Russel Hill until 2:45 PM. In hindsight I wish I had saved more time for Russel Hill despite the wind.

ptly sunny, breezy, around 70 degrees

In the prairie we have planted in our backyard. Next to Wicawak Bay (Lake Monona)

Quite a surprise seeing a Monarch this late. Weather still warm and sunny.

While it was a warm (70s) afternoon, I was surprised to see this Painted Lady because it was so windy and late in the season. It was the only butterfly I saw, though.

Expected to see Eastern Comma but what happened to the Red Admirals?

Sunny, no wind and 50 F around 2 p.m. Checked back around 3:30 and still a few butterflies. Definitely less butterflies than three days ago and less flying and more sunning today.

Cloudy most of the day. A short window of sun around 1:45 with temps around 57 brought some visitors.

50s, mostly sunny, slight breeze

Late blooming dandelions were about the only nectar sources available today. Sunny, 60 degree afternoon.

Very faded worn Clouded Sulphurs. Sunny, 65 degree afternoon.

One brushfoot but I could not identify, may have been a really dark buckeye. Incidental while preparing sites on SNA for replanting of seeds

Beautiful day. Hoping for more nymphalids.

Incidental while cleaning up garden and picking pears

One female Monarch landed on flowers and then flew south

Unseasonably warm, but New England Asters are fading rapidly and nectar sources are becoming harder to find. The sighting was an incidental sighting while conducting a bumble bee survey.

The Monarch was in good condition. Flying between a Cedar Tree and a Maple Tree in my backyard on Falcon Way in Sheboygan Falls