December 2017 Sightings
Jeanette Klodzen
White Rock Trail (Antelope Island)
Davis County, UT
- Clouded Sulphur 2
Jim Egbert
Week Bay NERR, Mannich Ln, and Bay Rd E. Magnolia Springs
Baldwin County, AL
Cloudy AM but Sunny earl afternoon.
Wind was light and Northerly
Temps. started the day in the lower 50s, and warmed to mid 70s.
When the sun came out,and warmed up butterflies became very energetic.This made getting a good photo very difficult, which is the reason I have nothing to show.
- Checkered White 1
- Cabbage White 8
- Clouded Sulphur
- Cloudless Sulphur 7
- Little Yellow 3
- Sleepy Orange 5
- Red-banded Hairstreak 1
- Gulf Fritillary common
- Phaon Crescent 1
- Painted Lady 5
- Common Buckeye 4
- Carolina Satyr 1
- Monarch common
- Long-tailed Skipper 12
- Common Checkered-Skipper 5
- Clouded Skipper 1
- Fiery Skipper common
- Ocola Skipper 3
Ron Smith
Fort De Soto Park
Pinellas County, FL
Many of the leps feeding in one field on the abundant and blooming sleepy morning. Obscure prefers Carolina sea-lavender
- Cloudless Sulphur 2
- Barred Yellow 23
- Gray Hairstreak 2
- Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 18
- Ceraunus Blue 33
- Gulf Fritillary 9
- Phaon Crescent 13
- Common Buckeye 2
- White Peacock 17
- Monarch 16
- Long-tailed Skipper 1
- Dorantes Longtail 3
- Three-spotted Skipper 1
- Clouded Skipper 1
- Southern Skipperling 2
- Fiery Skipper 1
- Obscure Skipper 2
Steven Rosenthal, Harry Zirlin
Orient Beach State Park, beach/playground parking area
Suffolk County, NY
around 12:15, temps in upper 40s, bright sun
Monarch was a fresh male.
- Orange Sulphur 1
- Monarch 1
Amelia Grimm
Yard on Big Pine Key.
Monroe County, FL
Seen flying back and forth in yard for about 10 minutes and then across the street and into the pineland area. No nectar plants blooming today.
- Monarch 1
Jim Egbert
Bon Secour NWR
Baldwin County, AL
Sunny by noon
Wind; light and from the NW
Temp; mid 70s
Monarchs are still come here on the beach, and they are still filtering in.They were seen inland from 10 to 15 miles from the coast,yesterday.
- Cloudless Sulphur 4
- Gulf Fritillary 4
- Painted Lady 1
- Common Buckeye 3
- Monarch 9
- Long-tailed Skipper 3
- Ocola Skipper 3
Amelia Grimm
Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden
Monroe County, FL
2:30pm - 4:00pm. With Leigh Williams. Partly cloudy, 82 degrees. Lots of large trees down and more open area. Many nectar plants blooming, including White Sage, Fire-bush, Saltbush, Bidens, Joy-weed, and Schefflera.
- Giant Swallowtail 1
- Large Orange Sulphur 2
- Cassius Blue 6
- Gulf Fritillary 2
- Monarch 5
- Fiery Skipper 2
Amelia Grimm
Saddlebunch Key roadsides
Monroe County, FL
With Leigh Williams. 1245pm - 2:15pm. Sunny, 82 degrees. Saw 10 Monarch’s along the road on Sugarloaf Key prior to getting to Saddle-bunch Key. This is a first for this area.
- Large Orange Sulphur 2
- Little Yellow 5
- Ceraunus Blue 4
- Gulf Fritillary 2
- Mangrove Buckeye 12
- Monarch 3
- Fiery Skipper 1
Karl and Dorothy Legler
Resaca de La Palma State Park
Cameron County, TX
84 degrees. Partly cloudy. Found 33 species. Dorothy took photos of the Band-celled Sister, Julia Heliconian, Blue Metalmark, and Giant White.
- Great Southern White 1
- Giant White 1
- Cloudless Sulphur 6
- Orange-barred Sulphur 1
- Lyside Sulphur 1
- Boisduval's Yellow 3
- Little Yellow 3
- Mimosa Yellow 1
- Silver-banded Hairstreak 1
- Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 1
- Dusky-blue Groundstreak 1
- Ceraunus Blue 2
- Blue Metalmark 2
- Gulf Fritillary 4
- Julia Heliconian 4
- Zebra Heliconian 1
- Vesta Crescent 3
- Phaon Crescent 2
- White Peacock 5
- Band-celled Sister 1
- Common Mestra 2
- Queen 4
- Brown Longtail 1
- Sickle-winged Skipper 20
- Tropical Checkered-Skipper 2
- Laviana White-Skipper 3
- Fawn-spotted Skipper 1
- Clouded Skipper 2
- Fiery Skipper common
- Whirlabout common
- Sachem 1
- Common Mellana 2
- Eufala Skipper 1
William D. Beck
Hugh Ramsey Nature Park in Harlingen
Cameron County, TX
Was very happy to get out to the park (before the cold front) and saw TWO White Scrub-Hairstreaks!
- Silver-banded Hairstreak
- Gray Hairstreak
- White Scrub-Hairstreak 2
- Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak
- Lantana Scrub-Hairstreak
- Clytie Ministreak
Allen Belden
Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock State Park
Monroe County, FL
Sunny; high 62 — about 15 degrees below normal. The Three-spotted Skipper was at one point nectaring entirely with the tubular portion of an Oceanblue Morning-glory (Ipomoea indica) flower.
- Large Orange Sulphur 1
- Cassius Blue 4
- White Peacock 1
- Monarch 1
- Hammock Skipper 1
- Three-spotted Skipper 1
- Brazilian Skipper 1
Steve Walter
Crocheron Park
Queens County, NY
40 degrees. I think that’s the coldest temperature that I have ever seen a butterfly flying.
- Orange Sulphur 1
Jim Wilkinson
Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center
Queen Anne's County, MD
flying on a sunny afternoon two days after snowfall
- Eastern Comma 1
Allen Belden
Everglades National Park -- Long Pine Key
Miami-Dade County, FL
Sunny; high 66 — about 12 degrees below normal. Portions of Long Pine Key trails under water. Only common butterflies seen, but I did see a larva and two adults of the spectacular Faithful Beauty moth (Composia fidelissima).
- Palamedes Swallowtail 2
- Large Orange Sulphur 5
- Gulf Fritillary 10
- White Peacock 2
- Monarch 1
- Queen 2
Karl and Dorothy Legler
Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park
Hidalgo County, TX
We have had a few days with miserable weather: lows in the 30’s, strong winds, rain and even some snow in the Valley. Many ratty butterflies at end of season. 26 species. Dorothy’s photo of Snout.
- Orange Sulphur 1
- Lyside Sulphur 2
- Little Yellow 8
- Reakirt's Blue 1
- Fatal Metalmark 2
- American Snout 4
- Gulf Fritillary 1
- Zebra Heliconian 1
- Vesta Crescent 6
- Phaon Crescent 10
- White Peacock 5
- Common Mestra 1
- Queen 31
- Sickle-winged Skipper 1
- White-patched Skipper 1
- Funereal Duskywing 1
- White Checkered-Skipper 2
- Tropical Checkered-Skipper 3
- Laviana White-Skipper 2
- Fawn-spotted Skipper 1
- Clouded Skipper 2
- Southern Skipperling 1
- Fiery Skipper 2
- Southern Broken-Dash 1
- Sachem 2
- Eufala Skipper 3
Brett Badeaux
Huntington Central Park
Orange County, CA
Warm and sunny. 1 unidentified phoebis sulphur
- Cabbage White 2
- Cloudless Sulphur 1
- Gulf Fritillary 12
- Mourning Cloak 2
- Painted Lady 3
- West Coast Lady 1
- Red Admiral 6
- Monarch 30+
- Fiery Skipper 3
- Barred Yellow 1
- Atala 2
- Gulf Fritillary 2
- Zebra Heliconian 3
- White Peacock 10
- Queen 5
- Dina Yellow 1
- Gulf Fritillary 9
- Zebra Heliconian 9
- White Peacock 1
Allen Belden
Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park
Broward County, FL
Sunny; high 60 — about 10 degrees below normal.
- Atala 1
- Gulf Fritillary 4
- Mangrove Buckeye 2
- Monarch 4
Allen Belden
West Lake Park and Anne Kolb Nature Center
Broward County, FL
Sunny; high 68 — about 10 degrees below normal.
- Barred Yellow 1
- Gulf Fritillary 3
- Mangrove Buckeye 2
- Monarch 2
- Fiery Skipper 2
David H. Bartholomew
Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve
Santa Clara County, CA
Painted Ladies were hilltopping, Red Admiral was a fly-by. Warm for December, 74 degrees.
- Painted Lady 2
- Red Admiral 1
Revone Bauwens
Palm Springs
Riverside County, CA
1 female laid about 50 eggs, over about one week, on my Asclepias currasvica about Dec 1. Most eggs hatch,but cats die quickly - too cold at night? Only three remaining cats surviving now.
- Monarch 1
Ron Smith
Fort De Soto Park
Pinellas County, FL
Bright, sunny day. Teams at 75-80. Just two nectar sources available; bidens and sleepy morning.
- Cloudless Sulphur 1
- Barred Yellow 20
- Dainty Sulphur 1
- Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 8
- Ceraunus Blue 22
- Gulf Fritillary 14
- Phaon Crescent 6
- Common Buckeye 1
- White Peacock 16
- Monarch 6
- Queen 3
- Mangrove Skipper 3
- Long-tailed Skipper 1
- Fiery Skipper 2
- Obscure Skipper 3
Karl and Dorothy Legler
Estero Llano Grande State Park
Hidalgo County, TX
Temperature 82. Partly cloudy. 28 species. Photos are of the two most uncommon ones.
- Giant White 1
- Cloudless Sulphur 3
- Large Orange Sulphur 4
- Lyside Sulphur 7
- Little Yellow 14
- Sleepy Orange 1
- Silver-banded Hairstreak 1
- Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 4
- Ceraunus Blue 1
- Fatal Metalmark 2
- American Snout 5
- Gulf Fritillary 2
- Zebra Heliconian 1
- Vesta Crescent 2
- Phaon Crescent 1
- Red Admiral 3
- White Peacock 7
- Mexican Bluewing 3
- Tropical Leafwing 1
- Queen 5
- Sickle-winged Skipper 1
- Tropical Checkered-Skipper 4
- Laviana White-Skipper 1
- Fawn-spotted Skipper 1
- Clouded Skipper 3
- Southern Broken-Dash 1
- Eufala Skipper 1
- Olive-clouded Skipper 1
Karl and Dorothy Legler
Falcon State Park
Zapata County, TX
The surrounding area was 83-85 degrees but the Park was 70 because of the NW breeze across Falcon Lake! Not much blooming. 15 species. (Falcon State Park is also partly in Starr county.)
- Southern Dogface 8
- Cloudless Sulphur 1
- Lyside Sulphur 5
- Little Yellow 9
- Sleepy Orange 7
- Dainty Sulphur 5
- Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 1
- Western Pygmy-Blue 1
- Ceraunus Blue 11
- Fatal Metalmark 1
- American Snout 3
- Phaon Crescent 5
- American Lady 1
- Queen 4
- White Checkered-Skipper 4
Amelia Grimm
Big Pine Key, trail in pinelands
Monroe County, FL
83 degrees, clear skies. Golden beach creeper and Bahama Sennas only flowers today. With Leigh Williams.
- Cloudless Sulphur 10
- Large Orange Sulphur 9
- Sleepy Orange 2
- Monarch 3
- Florida Duskywing 1
Karl and Dorothy Legler and Douglas Buege
National Butterfly Center and wall at Retama Village
Hidalgo County, TX
Miserable weather for butterflying: heavy overcast, 50’s and low 60’s. Persistance got 16 species.
- Little Yellow 4
- Dusky-blue Groundstreak 1
- American Snout 1
- Texan Crescent 1
- Phaon Crescent 2
- Red Admiral 3
- White Peacock 1
- Tawny Emperor 1
- Carolina Satyr 1
- Monarch 1
- Queen 16
- Brown Longtail 1
- White Checkered-Skipper 1
- Clouded Skipper 12
- Southern Skipperling 1
- Brazilian Skipper 2
- Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 3
- Cassius Blue 2
- Gulf Fritillary 10
- White Peacock 1
- Fiery Skipper 2
Jim Egbert
James Rd. Foley Al
Baldwin County, AL
This was the last day before an arctic blast reaches the Gulf of Mexico;bringing a week of lows in the twenties.The day started sunny and mid 40s,and warmed into the upper 50s by early afternoon;then the clouds move in.
- Cabbage White 2
Quite a surprise but temps have been above normal and no snow yet.