Butterfly sightings for September 2023

9:15 to 10:45 a.m., 67 to 71°, sunny.
Only one of 3 spots had anything flying, where there were lots of rough blazing star in bloom, with many Leopard's skipper on them.

I was so pleased to see so many Monarch's. I traveled to the left instead of my usual route and found a number of Monarch's in a tree line. Definitely the most Monarch's I have seen at Borah Creek. They seemed to be enjoying the shade. I was also was very pleased to find the variety of butterfly species that I did. Liatris was blooming in the far field but only found one butterfly. Lots of other nectar sources, too. The Giant Swallowtail caterpillar was a fun surprise. Since I have traveled with others who think Robber Flies are interesting I added this good looking guy to my photos. Note the Common Checkered-Skipper photo with the fossils behind it. Borah Creek is worth a trip right now!

Sunny and windy with temps ranging from 78-82 F from 1:00-4:30.

The Dainty Sulphurs were a lifer!

Surrounded by all those acres of blooming flowers, four of the Monarchs were found on the three very small clumps of Liatris ligulistylis we saw.

While on the Lake Park Bird Walk today, spotted some really cool butterflies.

A property that is normally impassible because of the amount of water, could walk anywhere today because it is so dry

Breezy, sunny, 78 degree morning.

Walked around some paths by the woods and saw nothing. Glad we tried the gardens. These were in the Trial Garden.

Hot windy sunny

1:40 to 4:00 p.m., 87 to 91°, sunny and breezy

We surveyed the two sites in the Park and one outside the Park that are more reliable at producing higher numbers of Leonard's Skippers ("Leos") than the other two sites on this route. All of the Leos we found today were inside the Park.

Incidental while gardening

Landed on my deck

Sightings for Lake Park, Grant Park, Bender Park, and surrounding areas.

Sunny, 70s

The Common Ringlet was not expected. It didn't fly like other ringlets and appeared smaller. Perhaps we are experiencing a second brood, driven by drought or relatively chilly nights and hot days. I find this disturbing.

Afternoon.

Breezy, sunny, 90 degree afternoon.

Incidental while removing invasive plants from the SNA. Also saw one 12 Spotted Tiger Beetle the second segment of the SNA where we have seen this species

We went looking for Leonard's Skippers and were not disappointed. All other finds were a bonus! Although we did find some Leonard's on Blazing Star they were not being picky at all about their food source. We drove and stopped and walked mostly near the road to anything that looked like it might yield butterflies and then drove again! Thanks to Steve Kinyon for the location information! We only spent time on the 16th Lane. Signed in on Quarry Hill Road at a Hunting Kiosk right off Hwy 21.

From 10-1:30 with temp's between 81-95. Sunny and windy enough to make it a bit of work to get photos!

5 mile loop walk along roadsides.

The Red Admiral was drinking moisture from the laundry that I had hung out on this hot, dry day.

10:45 to 11:15 a.m., 83°, sunny. First time to visit this Mississippi Valley Conservancy area. Nice to see a Little Yellow, hard to get close to it. A half mile west on Highway 35 there is a large alfalfa field in full bloom, with hundreds of sulphurs and nothing else to be seen. I estimate about 75% were Orange Sulphurs, the rest, Clouded Sulphurs.

Sighting of the morning was a Gray Hairstreak flitting along the edge of the restored oak savannah. Can't recall having seen one before. Only managed a grainy cell phone photo.

Biked along the Wiouwash Trail. Turtlehead just finishing blooming. Semipalmated plover, Virginia Rails and American Pipits, plus several other more common birds in the mudflats

12:00-1:00. partly sunny and low 80s.

2:15-3:20. Mostly cloudy and near 90 degrees.

mostly cloudy, 81, S wind 18 mph, 1.6 miles, 11:01-12:21. Monarchs must be migrating along the river. Not much green or blooming in the paths due to the drought.

While watering my gardens, I watched 3 monarchs enjoying my flowers, a goldfinch eating coneflower seeds, and a hummingbird sipping nectar. Breezy, mostly cloudy, 74 degree early afternoon.

1:35-2:20. Cloudy and mid 70s.

10:50-12:55. 4 miles (north trail and road to parking lot), cloudy, mid 70s. No Monarchs!

Walked from parking lot to Hwy 133. Cloudy, and high 70s

8:44 - 10:15, 2.17 miles, 76 - 74, mostly cloudy and humid, Variable gusty winds. Drought has reduced the flow from many of the springs. The Monarchs were concentrated in an area of tall blooming plants next to the river.

3 pm Hot, humid and sunny after rain storm earlier. Feeding on Cosmos flowers

Around 6:30 p.m. we went to check for butterflies. Several Monarch's were flying around a Maple tree. After watching for a bit we could see that they were landing together in a roost that will see early morning sun. Thirteen landed fairly close together with three moving around a bit longer. We watched for about 30 minutes and did look for more roosts but did not find any.

It wasn't butterfly weather but we did one survey anyway

Right after it rained we tried a survey to look for wetland butterflies. Then as we drove south on Elm Road we saw 400 Cabbage Whites in 5 minutes even though it was neither sunny nor warm.

64 F, partly cloudy, calm

9 to 10:30 a.m., 59 to 63°, cloudy.

Sunny, no wind, 3-4 with temps around 73 F.

And an unIDed comma that flew over the pond.

Warm, windy, mostly cloudy. Oak Savanna trails

Things have definitely slowed down. All Frits were faded with varying degrees of wing ware.

A perfect sunny and 75!

11:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., 70 to 74°,sunny. Same spots as yesterday, when I saw just a couple of Monarchs. Thanks to sun and warmer temperatures.

Eastern Tailed-Blues strongly attracted to sweat, even on walking stick and backpack.

Most butterflies seen along bike path between the belt line and Odana Rd. Most Monarch and Fiery Skippers were nectaring on Ironweed.
Sunny and low 70s, 1:15-2:55.

Lots of nectar sources for the butterflies. Monarchs were every where. Pleased to see so many Variegated Frits. Stopped Counting ETB because it was taking too much time.

Sunny, no wind, temps from 65-72 F, between 10:00-1:30

8"37 - 10:20, 62-65 F, partly cloudy, 1.5 miles.

We surveyed 3 plots for late Regal Fritillaries (8 females), and one roadside with a deep ditch for wetland species. Two Eastern Tailed-Blues were mating.

2 Roadside surveys to look for Purplish Coppers. All eleven coppers were along Apache Road east of Cty W--10 of them were on the south ROW.

Beautiful day - sunny and 70 degrees.

Temperature from 69 to 74. Sunny and wind about 5 mph. 17 species found. Above one of the Little Yellows was a vast swarm of Common Green Darners and above them was a flock of a dozen or so feeding Common Nighthawks. Apparently the 2 groups were migrating and feeding on a concentration of other small flying insects.

Monarchs were mostly on the goldenrod on the lower hill. I haven't seen this few Black Swallowtails since they emerged earlier this spring.

Lots of tiger beetles, robber flies, and other insects active as well!

Sunny, 4:30-5:30 pm

Butterfly feeding on sedum flowers.

2:05-2:55, upper 70s. 1.3 miles around the outside. I was surprised not to find any Fiery Skippers.

Lots of Monarchs nectaring on goldenrod and asters.

Great Spangled Fritillary weaving its way along the path at the north end of the park.

Not much blooming here. Sunny, 9:15 - 11:13, 1.8 mi, 66 - 72 F, SSW wind, 5 mph. One of the Cabbage Whites was flying over the lake.

While birding. 70 degrees, mostly sunny, breezy, beautiful. Many asters and bottle gentian in bloom.

2:30 - 3:30 p.m., 72 - 75°, bright sun between clouds.

16:54 - 17"31, 66 F. sunny, calm, 0.8 mi. Skipper was in the rain garden near the locks.

Cloudy and chilly. These small butterflies are tough.

Butterflies spotted throughout the day incidentally. 65 F and mostly sunny.

This is the most Variegated Fritillaries that I have ever seen in one day in Wisconsin.

Most of the butterflies were on a large planting of Zinnias. Sunny and about 65 degrees, around noon.

The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail was a black form female. Also saw Sandhill cranes, geese, ducks, a green heron, and two red-tailed hawk. Sunny, 68 degree late morning.

partly cloudy, upper 60s

3:00 to 4:45 p.m., 71°,sunny

Season is coming to an end. Delighted to still find a Bronze Copper.

2:35-4:10, high 60s, partly sunny. When the sun was out the butterflies were, but when the sun went behind the clouds, the butterflies were few and far between, One beat up Black Swallowtail laying eggs. More Great Spreadwings than there has been this year. Shadow Darner was laying eggs above the water.

11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 64 to 67°, sunny.

3-5 pm. 70 degrees and sunny.

Many Cabbage Whites were on the side of the i-41.

Partly cloudy, warm, windy

2 species of unidentified orange grass skippers. Not much variety in prairie nectar sources but good variety of marsh plants in several areas. Quite a few habitat types within the 320 acres. 10:24 - 14:20, 3 miles, 62 - 70, SSE wind 7 - 5 mph. This area is not open to the public.

Sunny, 70 degree afternoon.

Sunny, 70 degree early afternoon.

many Cabbage Whites in the last month , large increase in numbers vs earlier months.

If you're reading this and want to nominate a butterfly-of-the-year, email me at djbuege@gmail.com with your nominee and your reason.

Goldenrod, asters, and bottle gentian blooming in prairie areas. Watched 2 great blue herons take off from the swamp and an eagle soaring overhead before landing in a nearby tree. Sunny 70 degree late morning.

Monarch numbers are still pretty good! Many butterflies are starting to look pretty beat up!

Mostly sunny and warm from 3-4:30

Temperature about 77. Sunny. Moderate breeze. 14 species. Drought Monitor shows this area in "Extreme Drought".

9:15 to 10:45 a.m., 68°. Sunny till 10, then cloudy. Nothing seen after 10. On the night of the 14th, Sparta Airport in Ft. McCoy, just a mile away, recorded 31°.

15:53 - 17:21 The low Sun made the areas of sunshine in the garden rather small and isolated. 1 mile, 77 - 76, 5 mph wind from variable direction, fair to partly cloudy.

partly sunny, 70 degrees, few nectar sources. Highlight was a Gray Hairstreak.

64 F, sunny, breezy

The Monarch appeared to be newly hatched, which surprised me.

Partly sunny, around 70, calm wind, 11:30 am. Spotted while in the garden.

Mostly cloudy, warm, windy. Stolte road, Hickerson road, and Grettum dike road. 1:30 PM to 4:30PM.

One unidentified Anglewing.

Cabbage Whites were very busy. 1 lone Monarch very bright
color and attractive hue. Seen noonish. Sunny and calm conditions .

11:30-4:00. 65-70 degrees, partly sunny. Purplish Coppers we’re very common wherever white asters we’re in flower.

Party sunny to cloudy and 68 degrees.

Anglewings were abundant but extremely hard to approach.

Incidental while removing invasives and seed collection

9:30-1:30. 54-65 degrees, and mostly cloudy.

Mostly cloudy and mid 60s. Very surprised by the Monarch, but the best sighting was of Terry Mortier.

Cool, mostly cloudy, light wind.

Sunny, around 70 degrees, 1 pm. Spotted while out in the garden.

I thought it was an Atlantis from the underside view but amber eyes says Aphrodite.

Sunny, breezy, 70 degree late afternoon.

Sunny, low 60s. Monarchs were in the same small area near the end of the point.

I was hoping to find at least one Western White where I saw them last month in Washburn which would represent a new generation. I found one at the coal dock!
2:00-3:30, sunny and 66-68 degrees. Windy in the open with the wind off the lake.

While birding. Sunny, barely 70 degrees.

9:30 to 11 a.m., sunny, 67 to 63°
Marshy cow pasture on Waumandee Creek. Lots of flowers along the creek and the road, but not much on the wing. A couple of sulphurs too far away to ID.

Lots of nectar sources, but not very many butterflies. If you are looking for crickets, grasshoppers or bees there are plenty of all shapes, sizes and species to be found. The trail was baked dirt so this location did not get the recent rain we had about thirty miles away. We had rain again last night so maybe Russell Hill was lucky enough to get some, too. If so, that might make a difference in what butterflies can be found.

Sunny with slight breeze, 11:30-3:00 pm., temps 68-75 F

Late afternoon cloudy, windy.

Hoping to see more butterflies as there were many nectar sources available including white and purple asters, goldenrod, and black-eyed Susans. Saw two Skippers that flew off before we could ID them. Mostly sunny 68 degree late morning.

They mowed or were working on mowing the best nectar sources today.

Mid 70s, mostly sunny, breezy. No Monarchs until I saw one on the drive home. Hognose snake is always a great find.

4 to 4:45 p.m., 78°,sunny. Lots flying in small patches of clover and white aster.

Sunny, around noon spotted some happy butterflies! We had a nice rain last evening, so two measurable much needed rains in the past three days! The Comma and Question Mark look brand spanking new!!

9:30 to 11:30 a.m., cloudy, 65 to 70°

Mostly sunny, 76 degree early afternoon.

The flora at this site was plentiful which is odd because down the highway about ten miles at the Oshkosh Larsen Prairie SNA the flora is down to the latest of the latest. This site is part of the Glacial Restoration program and is four years into the program, quite a few species for this time of year for our part of the state

Warm, windy, Sunny afternoon. The Fiery skippers and Viceroy were at the hospital in New Richmond. Two of the Buckeyes were at Oak Ridge lake.

78 degrees. Sunny. About 2 hours. 9 species. Along a small portion of the Area.

Both commas are darting around the tree line.

Stopped at a city garden along Hwy 8 that looked promising for a Fiery Skipper. A male, sunny at 72 degrees at 10:00.

Few nectar sources here.

Butterflies observed incidentally throughout the day.

Went out looking for bumblebees but did not find target species. Did find some butterflies

12:45 to 2:15 p.m., 80 to 84°, sunny. Clumps of white asters and some butterfly weed.

Mid-eighties, sunny, no wind. Grettum Dike Rd., Stolte Rd., Hickerson Rd., SW Dike Rd. A lot of Purplish Coppers and sulphurs (more clouded than orange)

Found the frit during a cloudy day. It was clinging to a Hackberry tree.

11:30 to 12:15, 74°,sunny. First visit here. Very few flowers, not much flying, so I went down to Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge.

Incidental while gardening

Thistles seemed to be the nectar choice of the day.

Started sunny but turned cloudy about 12:45 so didn't see much after that. Temps 72-73 F, 10:30-1:30

Mostly cloudy, 78 degrees, calm, 2 pm. The sun peaked out briefly while I was in the garden. A Giant Swallowtail visited the zinnias for the second day in a row. A Viceroy caught some rays on the raspberries.

4 pm cool 70 degrees and windy

Both the newest and oldest American Ladies in one day.

Sun quickly disappeared as a strong wind brought in storm clouds cutting our walk short. Saw a pair of Sandhill cranes along the trail. Windy, cloudy, 72 degree late morning.

Wild Ones butterfly and pollinator garden. All three were nectaring on the zinnias in the garden.

Out again looking for bumblebees and checking to see how many of the wildflowers produced seeds for replanting into invasive ridden areas of the SNA. Very poor production of seeds this year with the drought

Partly cloudy, mid-70s, breezy, afternoon. While working in my garden, I noticed 3 different Giant Swallowtails visiting the zinnias throughout the afternoon. One individual was well-worn and the other two fairly fresh.

3:45 to 5 p.m., 76°, cloudy and humid. Lots of asters and gravel between big machinery!

Butterflies were almost absent. Completely absent at Rahr Memorial School Forest. I saw 2 neat Great Spreadwing damselflies but my iPhone camera was not focusing.

Again, pretty quiet. I was hoping to find some fritillaries.

Mostly cloudy, low 70s, breezy, around noon. When the sun peaked out all 3 Giant Swallowtails started working the zinnias at the same time. A Fiery Skipper also came to visit along with numerous bumblebees and honey bees. The bumblebees like the zinnias and sedum. The honey bees seem to favor the sedum.

11:20-1:30, 4.5 miles on trails, cloudy and mid 60s.

5:45 pm 1 feeding on Butterfly bush in backyard another in the front yard

64 degrees sunny and light breeze

notes pertain to Monarchs (Cabbage White seen in the am )

Around 4:30 the Monarchs were busy every where in a field of flowers until a light rain ended the count. Although I saw a few Monarchs landing in the trees none seemed to be forming a roost.

Home sick with a cold, so just a couple of garden butterflies.

Some interesting changes since I last visited the Preserve 16 days ago. The most dramatic were Monarch's went from from 57 to 1 and Silver-spotted Skippers went from 44 to none. I also did not find a Pearl Crescent and last time I found 15. A few of the Monarch and SSS last time were found on Jones Road which had all the Red Clover that the butterflies were visiting mowed off. Two new butterflies this visit were the Sachem and the Azure. I saw 15 species last time and this time 12, so I was very happy about that considering that the weather was pretty uncooperative.

Cloudy and breezy with temps around 75 from 1:15-3:00.

Along with butterflies, bumble bees, and many honey bees seen. Honey bees very active. They really like the asters this time of year. Honey bees more numerous than earlier in the year. Before this, bumble bees were dominant species. They were active all summer. It was a good year for Bumble's.

Butterflies had a hard time flying and nectaring today with wind and rain. Windy, mostly cloudy, 68 degree mid-afternoon.

Mostly cloudy and 70.

Please check out the the Pearl Crescent photo that looks like this butterfly has spikes! Included a photo of the Archytas apicifer which is a species of Tachnid Fly that seemed to be on every Aster I stopped at to look for butterflies.

Late afternoon, 72 degrees, mostly cloudy, windy.

Rainy and chilly.

3:15 to 4:30 p,m., 68°, mostly cloudy after rain. One anglewing flew by.

1pm, cloudy, 65 degrees.

still cloudy, calm, and mid 60s

3-4PM 60s, overcast

After rain and some sunshine peaking out after lunch - activity noticed. Clouded up about an hour later and activity stopped.

At least 3 Cabbage White feeding. Spending good time on each flower before moving on to the next. More relaxed feeding than usually seen. Slower working the flowers than what I have normally noticed.

10:30-12:30 mostly sunny, 65-71. My first Sachems of the year, both males. They interacted a lot with the Fiery males so they didn't sit in one place very long. The photo is my best cell phone photo out of 20+ attempts. Also only my second tagged Monarch. Anyone recognize AHWX 770? I am going to submit it.

Was hoping to reach 100 Monarchs in the flower field today but didn't quite make it. By 3:00 when I checked back to see what was left in the field Monarch numbers were definitely reduced. It really seemed like the Monarchs had fueled up and wee moved on. The Common Checkered-Skippers were new finds at this location. Pleased to get photos since these little darlings really gave me the run around.

Sunny and breezy with temps around 75 F between noon and 3:00.

mostly sunny, around 70 degrees

A Compton Tortoiseshell was seen sunning itself on the side of a window around noon. Later it flew to a TV tower to again sit with wings open to the sun. Today was the first day of sunshine for several days. This was our first sighting of this species after living here since 1980.

2:10 to 3:30 p.m., 73°, mostly sunny. The Meadow Fritillary had died on the flower, so I took it off and photographed the ventral side.

Warm and Sunny. Monarchs sighted brightly colored

80s, mostly sunny, breezy

70s, breezy, mostly sunny

From 12 to 3pm. Filtered sun, temps in 70s to 80 by 3pm. Plenty of puddles due to early morning rain. Perhaps the 1st White-lined Sphinx moth of the year. (I don't recall seeing one this summer) Plus, a couple of Tiger Beetles to add interest. A great day to be out.

A quick stop. 1:00 PM t0 2:30 PM Mostly sunny, warm, Roads were wet and there was a lot of Eastern commas puddling on them. Other butterflies for the most part were nectaring on asters.

Sunny, 70s.

The butterflies were nothing special but the birds were special at least to me. Hundreds of American pipits, more than I had seen in my whole life all in one field. Then a call I did not know. American Golden Plovers! (according to Merlin). Heading out this morning with the spotting scopes to confirm as it would be a Lifer

Early on it was pretty quiet but 'butterfly business' picked up when we found the sweet spot with an abundance of Asters and Thistles. Haven't seen a Bronze Copper since last year at Hogback. YEAH! The Mourning Cloak was my first one to photograph this year even if this warrior has seen better days! YEAH! I thought I was going to have to say it was a "no skipper day" but the Fiery came through in the parking area and 'thank you Karl' for sharing some great advice! YEAH!

Windy, cloudy early in the day moving to mostly sunny with temps between 75-80 F from 11-2

12 noon to 4:15 p.m., 68 to 84°. Cloudy at first then full sun and much warmer. I've never seen so many American Coppers, (more than at Oktoberfest!). In some places, there were as many as 10 within several feet, all on white asters, sometimes 2 or 3 next to each other. Walked 2 miles: wherever there were asters, there were American Coppers. First time to see Closed Gentian flowers at this spot

73 to 80 degrees. Mostly sunny. 12 species. Sachem was the first butterfly found --- before we had a camera ready. 21 of the Eastern Tailed-Blues were in a puddling group.

lots of asters in flower but few butterflies, sunny, and 70 degrees, 10:50-11:45.

Warm and sunny.

Also found one large fat Monarch caterpillar on Milkweed in one of the flower gardens.

Mostly sunny, 80s, breezy