Sighting for October 26, 2020
Roy Cohutta
Big Ben WMA, Spring Creek Unit
Taylor County, FL
- Zebra Swallowtail 1
- Palamedes Swallowtail 1
- Southern Dogface 1
- Barred Yellow 1
- Little Yellow common
- Sleepy Orange 3
- Red-banded Hairstreak 1
- Ceraunus Blue 1
- Gulf Fritillary 9
- Zebra Heliconian 5
- Pearl Crescent 10
- Common Buckeye common
- White Peacock 10
- Viceroy 5
- Carolina Satyr 1
- Queen 5
- Long-tailed Skipper abundant
- Tropical Checkered-Skipper 1
- Fiery Skipper 1
- Tawny-edged Skipper 1
- Sachem 1
- Ocola Skipper 4
Ceraunus Blue
Southern Dogface
White Peacock
Tropical Checkered-Skipper
Palamedes Swallowtail
White Peacock
Southern Dogface
Ceraunus Blue
Ceraunus Blue
70s, breezy, partly cloudy.
09:30 AM - 16:00 PM
Drove and walked over 18 miles.
Mainly taking photos of butterflies;
An actual survey would have yielded a much higher count.
Habitats: Swamp, Wet flatland forest, Dry Sand Hills, Salt Marsh
The single male Southern Dogface appeared to be patrolling a very large area. I chased him for about an hour. Many times I lost him for several minutes in the thick underbrush, but thankfully he came back around.
A male Ceraunus Blue looked fairly fresh and was photographed in flight.
The single Palamedes I saw/photographed looked beat up. It was nectaring on the only blooming/fresh Horrid Thistle (Cirsium horridulum) I saw all day. The rest were bloomed out.
While on the topic of Swallowtails, the lone Zebra Swallowtail looked in good shape, but I did not chase it or get a photo.