Butterfly sightings for May 2023

Sunny, 54 degree morning.

Sunny, breezy, but definitely not as windy as the last few days, with temps around 61 F between 2 and 3:30 p.m.

Hard to count the Cabbage Whites as most were flying and not landing. Also saw quite a few male Cardinals today. Beautiful sunny, 60 degree afternoon.

Although not directly in the conservation lands, the butterflies were seen feeding on vinca and pachysandra by the office entrance to the plant.

Calm, sunny day. Temps in the 50s. Wish I could have gotten closer or zoomed in with a better camera: All I had with me was my cell phone.

low 60s, mostly sunny with less wind than the previous days. Surprised to see the Black Swallowtail flying at the top of the ridge over the Wisconsin River. First time I have visited this state natural area.

low 60s, mostly sunny with less wind than the previous days

I’ve been to Spirit Lake and Mequon Nature Preserve but haven’t seen anything. 47 and sunny.

Warm (mid seventies), sunny, light wind to start -becoming windy. I was looking for olympia marbles and elfins. Evidently it is still too early, there was still snow in ditches in spots on Fish Lake rd.

Temperature in the high 60s. Mild breeze.

2:30pm-:30pm - Temperature in the low 70s with a moderate breeze. Strong wind gusts on the east bluff.

Butterfly was seen on walking trail.

Sunny 65 degree early afternoon.

mid 70s and sunny

Warm, sunny, late afternoon.

Happy to see two Black Swallowtails. I was surprised I didn't find any Red Admirals because I have been seeing them almost daily, so I went back out to a sunny spot near some pine trees and found five at 6:30.

Sunny, with a gentle wind, between 4:00-4:30 with temps around 75 F.

Beautiful SNA but a disappointing lack of butterflies.

Mid afternoon, temps in the mid 70s, slight breeze

first of the year Henslow's Sparrow

Went looking for Cobweb Skippers. It appears maybe a week too early

2:30 PM, temperature in the mid 70s with a slight breeze

Five happy Cabbage Whites have a 40-acre alfalfa field all to themselves (for now...)

9:00 am - 12:30 pm. 60 degrees to 72 degrees. Breezy south winds.

My first visit here. Partly sunny with temps near 70. 10:30-12:00. Several Eastern Towhee were calling and ignoring me. My first of the year Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Blue-winged Warbler.

first of the year Bobolink.\

All butterflies were along the creek about 13:30 in the sunshine. One darker colored blue not positively identified.

Admirals were everywhere today!

sunny, calm and near 80 degrees. All Red Admirals except one were headed north. The Orange Sulphur was a female laying eggs.

3 hr 39 min, 2.19 miles starting at 6:53 AM

All Red Admirals were headed north fast.

Went out looking for Cobweb Skippers. None were seen, spent 2 1/2 hours in the barrens. The Lake is as high as I have ever seen it, after decades of being WAY down. This site has freshly been burned, appears a planned burn as it is tilled all the way around the edge. About 1/3 of the property was burned

Seven sites that we monitor for elfins

Single Mourning Cloak seen above Stolte Road on Fish Lake SWA. I checked several spots on Crex Meadows but saw only a single butterfly, and that was flying rapidly by. Only forb in flower was the occasional Prairie Buttercup. Sighting highpoint was the King Cobra Wannabe, aka Puff Adder or Hog Nose Snake on the road right at the Crex Visitors' Center.

First azure was on a dead raccoon--a visceral butterfly.

First day of seeing mustard whites in the area, on blooming Am. yellow rocket flowers

Three Six Spotted Tiger Beetles. Wood Anemone, Prairie Smoke were blossoming with Golden Alexanders starting to show yellow.

Five patches in the Park and one nearby. We also saw two unidentified duskywings.

Black Swallowtail in home garden.

Looking for the southern spring azure (Celastrina ladon) which has yet to be documented in WI, but occurs in adjacent states near our borders (including Winona Co. Minnesota). No luck this time.

The apple tree blossoms were very popular today. Kept seeing the Swallowtails, but they were not cooperating for photos. Went back to try again around 6 p.m. and was successful! Also spotted my first Monarch of the year. This is five day earlier than last year for me.

Calm and beautiful sunny afternoon with temps in low 70's.

Not really much in flower except blue-eyed grass sp., but I did see one patch of my Violet Wood Sorrel and on flower of Fringed Puccoon.

Finally saw a few butterflies after 4 days of cleaning up the many branches and trees down on our property from all the winter storms. Things are starting to green up, but just a few nectar sources, such as bloodroot and hepatica, are available. Sunny 68 degree afternoon.

Observed while birding. The Snout was a nice surprise!

I didn't see a single duskywing!

Sites along Bauer, Brockway, Hunter Haven, and Stanton Creek Roads, at Dike 17, and one other area. We walked 14 miles of transects at elfin monitoring plots. The Olympia Marble count is not very high for that much effort, but maybe the brood is well pre-peak. We also saw at least 19 unidentified elfins and two unidentified duskywings.

We found the Frosted Elfin for a 5 Elfin day!!!

Excellent day walking the Barrens! Jacob and I walked this area for almost 5 hours. It was sunny and hot! We are 99% sure we had a Silvery Blue, but never got to see it still.

74° south wind at 12 mph. Butterflies seen in flight throughout conservation lands.

Sunny and 72

Warm weather finally! 77° mostly sunny.

With the sighting of Frosted Elfin completed a 5 Elfin day!

Incredible numbers of Marbles and Elfins

Sunny, in the 70's. The Columbine Duskywing was seen while while observing a sunning timber rattlesnake. At one point the butterfly landed on the snake (see photo). The Butterfly was first seen around 11:00 am constantly landing/leaving on columbine plants (laying eggs?) I tried to get a picture of the Butterfly on its host plant, but could not because of it constantly landing/leaving (laying eggs?), and vegetation obstructed views.

Biodiversity surveys at The Ridges; filtered sun hampered butterfly activity. Good potential for other elfins.

Disappointingly few BFs on a perfect day. But the Grady Tract itself continues to improve with removal of trees and underbrush and the creation of open savannah areas - should evolve into great butterfly territory in the years ahead.

My first Monarch of the year! Laying eggs on Whorled Milkweed?

Parked 1/4 mile east of Co. F on Larson Road, walked south onto old field vegetation. Saw 6 Olympia marbles in 6 minutes. Several patches of Antennaria were coming into bloom. Checked SW corner where Larson Road turns north, saw two FOY elfins, positively identified one as a Hoary Elfin. Saw 2 more Olympias here.

Monarch, around noon at Shefford and Carnwood

81° sunny and south winds 6-10 mph.

Checked ROW under power line, north side of Co. O just west of East River Road. Saw two FOY Olympia marbles in flight. Saw no butterflies anywhere along Stolte Road. First Arabis lyrata, first violet, first strawberry blooms, but these few and far between.

My husband, Bill, came home to tell me he had already seen four Monarchs today so we needed to go try to spot one more before the day was over. Around 6 p.m. we spotted one and found ten eggs on Milkweed shortly after.

Late morning was Cloudy, scattered rain showers, 65 degrees. I didn't see any butterflies early. After going to Crex Meadows I drove down Stolte on the way home at around 5 PM it was drier and warmer. I saw the silvery blues and one "spring" spring azure puddling on the road at that time.

Cloudy, scattered showers, looking for Olympia marbles and elfins. I saw one monarch fly by.

Partly sunny and 68.

Cloudy, cool, occasional rain showers. My 1st visit to this site. All butterflies were seen during a brief 1/2hr. break in the clouds late in the afternoon. I also saw two unidentified elfins and one unidentified blue.

late afternoon, the only lep I saw was this well-worn Question Mark

While working in the garden, I noticed two Eastern Tiger Swallowtails visiting my blossoming apple tree about 2 pm when the sun was trying to peek out and the temps rose to about 70. The butterflies visited separately but in close succession to each other and both moved quickly and efficiently from blossom to blossom. My blueberry bushes are also blooming in the same general area(see pic). I have my electric fence up to fend off the deer, but I'm not counting on apples or blueberries just yet.

Sunny, light wind lower sixties, One very quick stop to check the corner on Larson Rd. that Dean Hanson mentioned in his 5/11 sighting. The elfins were on some small patches of bearberry Southwest of the corner.

Late morning, 61 degrees, sunny, light wind. A couple quick stops on Stolte Rd.

RA was sitting on the flag pole!

Sunny, 69 degrees, observed while taking a late afternoon walk in the woods.

First Monarch Butterfly of the Season!

My first American Copper and Pearl Crescents of the year. 11 of the Crescents were males.

quick stop to check for Wild Indigo Duskywing. There is much more Crown Vetch here than when I first saw them at this location. Saw my first Eastern Forktail of the year.

Sunny 65 degree late morning.

My earliest monarch ever!

Sunny, almost 80 degrees and breezy. Noticed the Duskywing in a flowerbed sunning around 10 am. Spotted the rest along my driveway about noon. This is the first time that I've spotted and photographed an Olympia Marble!

First Swallowtail and first Tiger Beetles for the year.

Went looking for Cobweb Skippers did not see any, but one skipper looked promising as it dove into the grasses but then escaped through the woods which is not a Cobweb trait. Quite a bit of the central barrens had been burned in the last couple days, looked like a planned burn as crew was still present and tilled around edge. Four six spotted Tiger Beetles. My first sightings of Henry's Elfins ever. Several sightings of species that I did not know but they were camera shy

A few individuals were spotted along this gravel road -- landing on the gravel in sunny spots and tilting to the side, apparently to catch the sunlight.

Noon to 2:30pm. Sunny, 75 deg, NNW winds at 15 mph. The prairie is starting to come to life.

Quick swing down Stolte Road, late afternoon. FOY duskywing skipper at damp road gravel. Blueberry flowers opening, and some very nice patches of birds' foot violet also in bloom. Saw just a couple single hoary puccoon blooms, then saw a surprising patch in full bloom. Several "blues" refused to land long enough to be photographed or even positively IDd.

Filtered sun and wind hampered butterfly activity

This was the 17th annual NABA Spring Butterfly Count at Bauer Brockway Barrens and Black River State Forest, in Jackson County. It is conducted by Ann and Scott Swengel and the Southern Wisconsin Butterfly Association (SWBA), a chapter of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA). The temperature was 63 - 79 degrees. The sky was whitish "smokey-sunny" due to high smoke from Canadian forest fires. Eight observers in 4 parties used close-focusing binoculars and cameras to identify 885 butterflies of 22 species. 885 is the 2nd highest of the 17 years. The 22 species is exactly average. The most abundant butterflies were Olympia Marble, Spring Azure and Eastern Pine Elfin. (All 5 species of Elfins were seen.) Scarcest butterflies were Cabbage White, Black Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur and Meadow Fritillary.
Thanks to counters Ann and Scott Swengel, Mike Reese, Douglas Buege, Donna Williams-Richter, Pam Skaar, Karl Legler and Fred Dike.

Transitional morph (?)

Filtered sun hampered butterfly activity; insect phenology appears well beyind that of plants and degree days. All Freija were fresh males.

Sunny and 65 degrees; 12:30-2:00. Also heard my first Dickcissel and Bell’s Vireo of the year.

Traveling Survey; Duration: 1 hr, 31 min; Distance: 6.44 miles. Filtered sun, 5mph, 60F, bumble flower beetle 1; unknown tiger beetle (either six spotted or northern barrens) 1; Sand cherry open in some patches but just starting to flower overall, bearberry full bloom, blueberries starting to bloom some got hit by frost last night.

Filtered sun, 61F, calm

Filtered sun cause smoke, calm, 50F

Sunny, gusty winds, mid-70s. Took a leisurely hike through our woods and spotted a wide variety of butterflies. It seems to be a very good year for the Azures. I positively identified 2 that lingered on the ground but witnessed at least a dozen other blues flying too high to ID. The Admiral was a nice surprise, the first this year. No Olympia Marbles today. I've also included a picture of a predatory insect that visited my garden yesterday.

Seen between 2:30 and 3:30, low 70s, sunny, winds 14 mph. The prairie has exploded into bloom since 2 weeks ago. Lots of hoary puccoon and shooting stars. The Black Swallowtails liked being on top of the hill. They seemed to enjoy being near each other, but fought when they got too close to each other.

Haushalter Ln.

2:15 hours. 5 sites in the park and 1 near the park. We saw no butterflies at the site near the park. This is possibly our highest Pine Elfin total for these sites, especially the 16 found on one long survey walk west of Hastings Road. The Tiger Sw. was a dark form.

11:26 - 12:53, 1.84 miles

Hazy and 68.

4 barrens patches. 40 minutes.

A group of 12 butterfliers hit Crex Meadows Saturday morning.
Olympia Mables were fairly common at all five stops. A dirt road leads south from Reed Lake Road to a landing on Reed Lake. Some animal--beaver, muskrat, whatever--leaves deposits of dung or castor (?) near the shore, and this consistently attracts butterflies, as with these Duskywings. Several Sleepy/Dreamy Duskywings went undetermined. The Persius was a positive ID.
No Commas, Question Marks, and Tortoiseshells were seen.

8 Six-spotted Tiger Beetles

a bit windy out!

Some toothwort in area.

9:21 - 11:17, 2.2 miles, sunny and windy

The Pearl Crescent's found a dead raccoon.

An unnamed two-track "road" leads east from Dry Landing Road just north of where the latter crosses Clemens Creek. We checked extensive stands of bearberry to the north of this road and saw no butterflies. We then stopped by some large red pines on the south of the road, and here we were able to find elfins courting. I think that the large pines somehow make this spot a "butterfly lek" of sorts--over several years I have consistently found butterflies courting here when they were not seen on larval host plants or nectar sources elsewhere nearby. Site is at 46° 08' 06" N, 92° 04' 58" W. Check it out. We also saw two undetermined moths and a single "Lady" who refused to land and be IDd.

Warm, sunny, Light wind becoming windy. I quit counting and identifying duskywings and blues early as they were slowing me down. I was looking for frosted elfins. I think I did manage to find three using the black dot near the tail as an identifier. I saw a lot of elfins that went unidentified.

All were seen in and around a large field of lupines next to the Turtleville Trail.

8 bogs: two north of Moose Junction, 1 on Foxboro-Chaffee Road, two on Milchesky Road, two "Bear Lake" bogs on County Hwy A, and Lyman Lake Bog.

2 areas with two patches each

Brown elfins and a two species of moths were present on the bog or on the sand of Namekagon Trail. Photos by Brian Shapiro.

Sightings while doing yard work from 8:00am-2:30pm.

My wife and I took our dog for a walk in the woods next to our home and saw a female flying in a large patch of Dame's Rocket.

Sunny, near 80 degrees. Mostly along bike path from the beltline north to Glenway. 2:00-3:15

Also saw 20 Red Admiral cats.

Shoutout for Creeping Charlie also known as ground ivy! I saw a Monarch visiting it for nectar! I have also seen a Red Admiral doing the same. With limited nectar sources it seems to be one that butterflies use!

Forgot to add these.

FOY Monarch, Black Swallowtail and Silver Spotted Skippers. The Monarch was flying due south at a high rate of speed ???

Both The American Lady and the Wild Indigo Duskywing appeared to be laying eggs. There was limited Cream False Indigo blooming but tons of Golden Alexander and Columbine that no pollinators seemed to be visiting.

Sunny with a light wind with temps around 80.

7:36 - 9:58, 0.9 miles

10:27 - 11:53, 1.5 miles

77 degrees. Sunny. In our yard.

9 bogs 12 to 16 miles east or ESE of Fifield whose locations are described on page 3 of the butterfly site guide “Butterflies to Log in and near Northern Wisconsin’s Bogs” by Ann Swengel at the Southern Wisconsin Butterfly Association website http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabawba/watching.html Neither today nor on a repeat attempt here May 28 did we get any traction on Freija Fritillaries; we think they and red-disked Alpines are having a low fluctuation year. Both of these species are usually less abundant after very snowy winters, as was 2022-23 here.

I have never stopped here but this place was really surprising with a good sand blow, a nice wetland (beaver lodge in the photo) and so much red cedar that there just has to be some Juniper Hairstreaks here. This is just west of the Sleepy Orange area.

I didn't see many butterflies but I did get my first Giant Swallowtail of the year. If you go straight past the gate you eventually get the the bluff in the photo. I think it should have some good insects here and it does have a large group of prickly pear at its base.

5:45, sunny, 78

The road is also County Hwy I. An attempt to find Chryxus Arctics at 2 usually good patches, but we only found one at a 3rd patch we don't usually survey. The location of some historically good Chryxus Arctic sites at Parkway (County Hwy I) Barrens and Dunbar Barrens State Natural Area are listed on page 5 of “Butterflies to Log in and near Northern Wisconsin’s Bogs” by Ann Swengel at the Southern Wisconsin Butterfly Association website http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabawba/watching.html

A bog north of Wolf Lake along Forest Road 2182, and one other bog (where we saw one Freija Fritillary and 24 Brown Elfins). Wolf Lake Bog is also called Bailey Lake Bog (e.eg. Kyle Johnson's May 17 posting). Our Freija Fritillary count of 5 at Wolf Lake was disappointingly low, but it was our best Red-disked Alpine bog this year.

8:30 am to 10:45 am, 62 to 72 degrees, light S winds. Also 1 unidentified duskywing, likely Juvenal's.

This was my first Dusted Skipper in Grant County.

Fantastic spot--still wet while dry elsewhere! No comma slam but feels like hitting six homers.

I walked the western trail well back into the woods and then back. On the way I saw five Monarchs but on the way back I saw eight! Lots of Six-spotted Tiger Beetles here.

An attempt to find Chryxus Arctics. Includes 5 patches owned by the state and one county forest site.

All were seen between 6:30 and 8:00 pm. Sunny and in the upper 60s/lower 70s. They were all extremely friendly and curious and kept landing on both me and my dogs whenever we'd pause to hang out!

Saw one unidentified hairstreak

83 F, sunny, light breeze. Butterfly was observed resting along gravel path in forested area.

4 survey transects in 3 general areas where we have seen Chryxus Arctics before. We saw a white that was probably a Mustard White.

The Dusted Skipper was seen in the grassland area near the parking lot closest to the SNA nectaring on Hoary Puccoon. My first Hobomok Skipper of the year.

The deer and I met while I was rounding a red cedar.

9:00 am - 10:30 am. 68-74 degrees, SSW winds at 5 mph.

Almost all of the migrant Red Admirals have perished by now. But they left many presents! Almost all Common Nettle had several caterpillars on it.

70's, breezy, mostly sunny

I keep hoping I will see a Dusted Skipper that was seen there in 2016. Missed twice now. There is a lot of Puccoon in flower, both Hoary and Fringed.

Sunny, but windy and cooler with the highs in the upper 60s. 2:30-4:45

Windy, Hazy sun, 73degrees, Late afternoon. Surprised by how few butterflies I saw. I did see one unidentified tiger swallowtail at the Willow River State Park. I assume it was an Eastern but I did not get a good look at it.

The best finding was the Common Nighthawk nest. Jay flushed the nighthawk, it it did a broken wing display, and settled down in the grass away from the nest. Jay spotted the two eggs in the nest. We later flushed a different pair. Jay found the first Karner of the year. Photo of the Karner by Jay Watkins and the photos of the Northern Cloudywing were by Elizabeth Braatz.

Pretty reliable annual visitor to our gardens; perhaps a little earlier than usual this year

Incidental while removing parsnips from SNA.

9:00 to 10:30 a.m., 72°, sunny. Northern Cloudywings were nectaring on Hoary puccoon and sunning on bushes.

Many of the Gorgones looked rather old which is surprising for this time of year.

The lupine fields that were very poor last year were full of lupines, probably 100 acres of lupines all in bloom. The fields are drying up fast. One Festive Tiger Beetle. Four Duskywings in the lupines that were very dark, I got pictures of three of them. One may be a Persius, the others look like a Juvenal's. Mike your thoughts?

Also saw a Snowberry Clearwing.

Sunny, afternoon, mid-seventies, clouds of gnats, Large numbers of Brown elfins. Freija fritillaries were very active, rarely landing for more than a couple seconds, making it very difficult to get photos. Adding insult to injury one of them landed on me as I was walking out. (: I also saw one unidentified Duskywing.

Same spots as on May 20.

Same 4 patches as on May 20.

9:00 to 10:30 a.m. 70°, sunny.

Same 8 bogs as on May 20, plus we added the Frigga Fritillary specialty bog we call "Bear SW", where we found our only Frigga today. Because we found a lot more Freija Fritillaries today than on May 20, it was disappointing that we found no Red-disked Alpines today (3 found May 20). The Milbert's Tortoiseshell was way out on the bog that fronts Foxboro-Chaffee Road.

Sunny, breezy, 70 degree late morning.

Sunny, lower 70s, between 2:30 and 4:00 pm. The Black Swallowtails were in the same spot they love, on top of the hill. The Clouded Sulphurs stayed busy nectaring.

72 F, sunny, calm. Butterflies were observed throughout conservation land flying, resting, and nectaring. The checkerspots and crescents were also observed in dances and mating.

Sunny, low 70s. Little butterfly activity

No photo opportunities as butterflies were all flying. First Clouded Sulphur sighting of the season. Also checked out prairie area at Schefelker Park in Stoughton, but only saw about 20 dragonflies there with several pairs mating. Breezy, sunny 74 degree early afternoon.

short stop of 45 minutes. In a field with lots of Sheep Sorrel I saw no American Coppers.

Very few butterflies, but did enjoy seeing a young buck crossing the trail. Blue phlox was in full bloom all along the trail and into the woods. Sunny 74 degree late morning.

77 deg, sunshine, damp sand beach.

10:00-12:30. Sunny, high 60s to low 70s. Also 13 Monarch eggs

Sunny, light wind, 80 degrees

"Butterfly Lek"--see May 20 posting. A few flighty Erynnis went undetermined, but did ID a single Mottled Duskywing.

Only saw two Brown Elfins walking the bog. Sand/gravel of road was generally dry, rare damp spots only attracting a few flighty Erynnis and a couple Brown Elfins. No Jutta Arctics yet.

Olympia Marbles still in flight, but area was dry and there were no spots of damp sand/gravel on the roads to attract mineralizing butterflies. Roadside lupine coming into good bloom; Arabis still in bloom. Saw no butterflies nectaring of hoary puccoon, lupine, or violets. Presumed Canadian Swallowtail was just seen in flight. FOY Dusted Skipper (on Crex Ridge Road) was a treat. A dozen flighty Erynnis went undetermined.

11:30 a.m. to 2:30 pm. 72°, sunny, to see what is flying mid-day. Tried spitwads and urine without success in attracting anything. The Gorgone Checkerspots were swarming around a patch of white sand near a stream. Curious to see ants near several of them (see photo). The Common ringlets were also common, but didn't perch where I could get close.

4 survey transects in 3 general areas where we have seen Chryxus Arctics before. We also saw 2 elfin sp., 1 blue sp., and 2 unidentified duskywings.

Between Brooks and Y.

Sunny, 74 degree morning.

Late morning/early afternoon, sunny, low seventies light wind. I checked a lot of the lupine patches and puddling spots. It is very dry again. I saw several sleepy/dreamy duskywings puddling.

Monarch butterfly spent some time behind the Spring Green General Store.

Morning, sunny, 63 degrees, light wind. Prairie smoke and lupines were in full bloom.

4 sites near Sandhill Wildlife Area. Ann found the Gray Hairstreak (we both got to look at it up close) on a Wild Lupine flower bud. Every Gray Hairstreak we have seen in spring in a barrens the past 35 years was associating with lupines. The Henry's Elfins were spiralling together at a county forest site before landing to be ID'd. The Karners were 1 female and 21 males; all but one of them were at the fastest site out of the >35 sites that we regularly monitor for them.

3.68 miles, 1:06-2:16 PM

The frit was a surprise.