October 2018 Sightings

2-4pm, 75 degrees, mostly overcast

75F & sunny.

Sunny and mild. Most of the butterflies were in the woods. The tiger swallowtail was a very battered dark one.

Applied Monarch Watch tag#s YLN940 - YLN947 to Monarchs

Williams Road Unit. 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Weather: 79-87 degrees; sun a.m. - 40%, p.m. - 70%; winds 8-12 with gusts to 18 mph. Nectar: thistle, liatris, carphephorus, pickerelweed, mistflower, elephant’s foot, pine lily, sunflower, lantana. LCooper

Monarchs mainly on Asters and Butterfly Bush and Tithonia, Snout on Goldenrod exclusively, Ocola mainly on Lantana, Fiery on Lantana also. Both Snout and Fiery were firsts here this year. Still waiting for Brazilians to show up as I have 200 feet of Cannas Planted here.

80, partly sunny

Sunny, low 70’s

Hot and dry mid 80’s

Hot and dry conditions….mid 80’s

10am - 3pm, 78 degrees, sunny, NW wind 8-10mph, modest Monarch migration along the beach

Monarchs continue to filter through the garden.

1 dead small Monarch; 1 dead small Black Swallowtail found on Palisade Avenue at park perimeter not far from white Butterfly Bush.

Did half of the walk through the forest today. it was over 80 degrees. Most of the nectar plants are done blooming except asters.

Six days ago I counted 335 Monarchs over the same area. Since then it has cooled down considerably and this was the warmest day since then. It was 62 degrees today with cloudy skies and winds 15-20 mph.

(18-213) Good number of Long-tailed Skippers passing through, with many missing all or part of their tails.

After 5 days of drizzle, rain and cloudy finally the sun can out along with at least 20 mph winds. I was out for 2hr 25 minutes.

I walked from the dam to the county center and back.

Not much in spite of the abundant frostweed currently in bloom. One short walk out of the office produced the monarch and a Polydamas swallowtail, but several other walks today and through the week have been fruitless. I suspect mosquito spraying is taking its toll on the leps. Our currently lifestyle on this earth does not mesh well for all other life.

Warm, sunny with light breezes. Great day for Monarchs in the yard as by mid afternoon there were 80+ on the asters and the lantana. Most roosting tonight in the cherry tree. 5 species of cats and chrysalis continue in yard (BS, Spicebush Swallowtail, Monarch, Brazilian Skipper) Long-tail Skippers of past 4 days not seen.

From 10:10 AM to 01:10 PM; clear skies; air temperature 57-65 F; dew point temperature 48-51 F; wind gusts 4-9 mph from ENE. Survey with Della Wells.

Windy, partly cloudy. Liatris, pluchea major nectar sources.

hot and very dry conditions remain highs in the 90’s
Saw my First of season Zebra Heliconian

11:00 – 15:30 EDT. Cloudy (despite a better forecast), 73-80 deg F, wind 0-5 mph. 18 species, including a fine showing of Monarchs.

Annual Death by Skipper field trip. 9:15 a.m. - 4:15 p.m. 80-88 degrees. Sun a.m. - 40%, p.m. - 90%; winds - 8-10 with gusts to 15 mph. Nectar: liatris, carphephorus, pickerelweed, caesarweed. LCooper, VCraig, KDucham, SFarnsworth, KFerguson, AGrimm, DMcElveen, DRhodes, LRhodes, LWilliams.

75F

Applied Monarch Watch Tag#s 948 and 950 thru 952 to Monarchs

Annual ‘Bullied by Skippers’ field trip. 9:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Weather: 76-87 degrees, winds 10-12 with gusts to 20 mph; rain several times including hard rain. Sun all day 40%. Nectar: liatris, carphephorus, Spanish needles, Caesarweed, morning glory. LCooper, VCraig, KDucham, REpstein, SFarnsworth, AGrimm, DMcElveen, TPalmer, LWilliams.

With Jane Lampkin, Katie Mac Millen, Richard Stauffer, Julie Wert. 9-12 Sunny 80’s.

Sunshine, humid, 84 degrees. Very nice for early October.

Applied Monarch Watch Tag#s YLN953-YLN982 to Monarchs

2:30-3:05. 80 DEGREES. MOSTLY CLOUDY, HUMID.
For a quick stop, very good day in this garden for this time of year. Photos by Iphone.

This is at least the 5th Ocola Skipper this fall in Montclair. Common Checkered-Skipper is very rare around here (my 4th ever sighting in Montclair in about 20 years). One of the Buckeyes were super fresh.

Tiger S. Was a black form female

Just grab shots. White_M is rare and late. Deformed wing?

In spite of rain and very strong winds we were still able to count 33 species. We tried to find an Arogos Skipper but it looks as though their fall flight might be over in this area now. Seventy-percent sun up to 12:45 pm at which point it rained heavily and the sun became spotty the rest of the day; the outflow surrounding Hurricane Michael was influencing the day for sure. RWarner and EPerry from 9:20 a to 3:45 p.

Saw a Monarch while driving during rush hour. Temp of 83 degrees and sunshine. The past couple of weeks have had gloomy overcast skies with rain and much cooler temperatures. The white cabbage butterflies continue to appear throughout the area.

Leaderless Walks - 8 members. Cloudy and overcast with southerly winds.

Brazilian Skipper caterpillar on canna leaf

66 degrees and sunny!! Fresh female Fiery Skipper. Also only the eighth report this year for Painted Lady in Wisconsin this year compared to 380 reports in 2017. Also probably only the seventh individual reported this year since there were two reports that included one on two consecutive days, and only with one report with two individuals.

Sunny, light winds and 86 degrees when observing

From 12:00 AM to 02:15 PM; mostly cloudy skies; air temperature 74-82 F; dew point temperature 71-72 F; wind gusts 2-14 mph from SES. Survey with Della Wells.

by entrance to Bob’s Discount Furniture.

Was sunny with temperature of 80 degrees when a Monarch came to visit certified garden #2490.

80 and sunny

Monarch Tagging program.

Applied Monarch Watch Tag#s YLN983 thru YLN998 to Monarchs

Had 5 straight days of cloudy weather with 3 straight days of rain. Finally turned sunny today but with only a high of 50 degrees and early morning 39 degrees. We were out for two hours starting at 1:15

Tropical Storm Michael came through during the night…minimal wind and rain
Good butterfly day! Cloudy and gray skies with some sun later in day…very humid and hot

Butterflies seen around the property of the museum building and off the observation deck boardwalk today. Frostweed is the nectar source in bloom currently being utilized.

Seen at the Volvo dealership service center.

9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Most of day was in old Audubon section of the park with only 2 hours along Military Hwy in main section of park. Weather: 78 to 87 degrees, winds 3-5 mph; sun a.m.-20%, p.m.-50%. Nectar: liatris, carphephorus, pickerelweed, rayless sunflower. Ranger KFerguson, LCooper.

EPerry & RWarner from 9:34 a to 3:45 p. Major nectar sources are Liatris, Frostweed, and pickerelweed.

2:30pm-4:00pm

No tags on Monarchs.

Field Trip of the Florida Birding and Nature Festival
With co-leaders Robert Epstein and Paul Trunk, and 10 participants. 1-3:30; sunny mid-80’s

EPerry & RWarner from 9:30a to 4:45p. Major nectar sources are Liatris spp., Carphephorus spp., Ironweed, Coastal Plain Honeycomb Head, and Pickerelweed. East Loop and Cemetery Road are the hotspots currently. This was a personal high count for Little Metalmark; the field at the end of first stretch of East Loop just before road meets forest was full of metalmarks. A good time was had by both.

A bit cooler this morning but heated up to 85 today….observed in backyard for several hours
Had 3 beautiful Cloudless Sulphurs visiting at one time! I was thrilled of course!

Also had what may have been a emperor of some kind.

Most fields have either been grazed over or mowed, leaving little nectar sources here.

After a cold front came through our temperature dropped 20° and with a strong NW wind although full sun.

I was sitting at a stop light between DeKalb and Sycamore and a Monarch flew in front of my car. Sunny and a temperature of 50 degrees.

Eastern Comma (Dark form) found perched vertically on radio station wall — along with several bees and moths — about 6:30 A.M., 45 degree temperatures!

I was unloading an apple tree that I had just bought and saw the butterfly fall (?) off the tree leaves and land ‘lifelessly’ in the cargo area of my Jeep. The weather had just turned from hot/summer-like (70s and 80s) to more seasonally cool (40s to low 50s), rainy, and windy. It was past dusk, raining harder, and turning windier and colder - far from suitable for a butterfly - so I figured I should try to save/revive the butterfly by keeping it inside. I placed the butterfly near a sunlamp and watched it fan out and warm (dry?) its wings and eventually ‘come to life’. I’ve now had it for more than three days. It is eating nectar (soaked in a cotton ball) and old watermelon.

Sunny, windy, cool. Variegated Fritillary usually abundant here late summer, however mostly absent this year.

only saw these three in a small patch of clover

On Oct. 14 we had over 3 inches of snow and then a low of 27 degrees so didn’t expect to see many butterflies if any today. We went out at noon and were our for 3 1/4 hours. High temperature of 60 degrees and no clouds.

Few nectar sources available.

Full sun, windy with temperature in the 50 s

I was surprised to find a fresh looking Long-tailed Skipper out with temperatures in the mid-50s.

Finally a perfect day for butterflying. Little wind, no clouds and between 55-60 degrees. We had snow and freezing temps on Sunday so great to see anything. This was our weekly walk through Lauritzen Gardens. Today saw a Gorgone Checkerspot for the first time in the gardens. That makes 4 new butterflies for the garden this year.

previous night temps. in low to mid 30’s
temp. at time of observations 50
observed from 3 to 3:30 p.m.

1:30 - 1:40 PM

Morning low temerature of 31 degrees with a heavy frost. Afternoon high of 58 degrees under partly sunny skies.

EPerry & RWarner from 9:15a to 3:45p. Hot with 75% sun. Cemetery Road proved the best spot and a return afternoon look at it before leaving produced the two dotted skippers and three more Meske’s Skippers. Major nectar sources are Coastal Plain Honeycomb Head, Carphephorus spp, Liatris spp., Summer Farewell, Pickerelweed, and Bidens alba. No Arogos Skippers to be found.

First sun today since Monday’s cold front. 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. 70-74 degrees, northerly breeze. LCooper

Survey is part of the Conservation Florida Bio-Blitz that occurred at two places in Florida on this day. Rachel and I counted the butterflies with some tips from Linda Cooper (she couldn’t attend since she is in Texas!). Another Ranger from Myakka River State Park also added in a couple species he observed—he knew his butterflies. Survey started at 8:30 am and went to 5 pm ending at the Audubon Tract of land where were excited to see four Berry’s Skippers in a matter of 20 minutes! EPerry, RWarner, Ranger MStandfield, and Ranger KFerguson; a good time was had by all!

NABA Sarasota Chapter event

72F

We saw a female Goatweed Leafwing in our backyard in Bellevue, NE following 2 days of strong southerly winds. It was perched on fallen leaves in a sunny spot. Our last sighting of this species in Nebraska was about 30 years ago also in October.

55degrees and sunny around 330pm.

60 degrees and sunny, 2:00-2:45

Surprised to find an American Snout this late. A storefront windowbox with Sweet Alyssum attracted the Snout as well as a Painted Lady & Cabbage White. Others were on or near a Buddleia bush at the Lititz train station (visitor’s center).

In Parking lot basking in the sun
2 fresh individuals, 1 worn
This was a waterfall field trip with Sullivan County Audubon Society

Later in the day when the winds picked up a lot.

Very surprised to see a very fresh Common Checkered Skipper

Overcast, 63F, later afternoon, 1 hour of observation.
Monarchs very large compared with those in home garden in Venice FL.

A very exciting day butterfling at Lauritzen Garden. Today we saw the first ever Goatweed Leafwing at the gardens. This is the 5th new butterfly for the gardens this year. We also saw the first Dainty Sulphur of the year. Surprised to see it so late.

recent frost killed most nectar sources

sunny and 70

(22-242) Not much was in bloom. My first Mallow Scrub-Hairstreaks at the park since late July. Surprises included a Queen, an American Lady and a Mangrove Skipper.

2 - 4 p.m. Weather: 80-84 degrees, light winds, full sun. Many flowering plants; site very lush. LCooper, SMoore, RSpink, NWilson, BVolkle.

10 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. Weather: 70-77 degrees, light winds, first full sun in one week. LCooper, SMoore, BVolkle.

Desert Broom (Baccharis sarothroides) that everywhere is about at its peak flowering

EPerry & RWarner from 9:30a to 4:20p. The day started out cool but warmed up by afternoon, however the winds picked up considerably. Things started to hop a little in the afternoon and just before leaving we were pleased to find a couple of Dotted Skippers and several Meske’s. We were surprised not to see a single Viceroy, Zarucco or Horace’s Duskywing, or Queen for this area. A good time was had by both.

1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Weather: 84 degrees, light winds, mostly sunny. Lots of crucita in the butterfly garden as well as other nectar sources. LCooper, SMoore, BVolkle.

Saw the Milbert just shy of the Pass (9960ft). Sunny and and the near 50 degrees.

Male Mourning Cloak in good condition, female was rather worn.

the Monarchs were all feeding at goldenrod and a tall bush with small yellow blooms. The skippers all were fresh.

Species seen during a field trip for the Memphis Horticulture Society native plant conference.

Parking area

Estero in the a.m.; Rio Rico in p.m. Weather: 82-91 degrees,full sun all day. Guava Skippers at Estero, White-striped Longtail at Rio Rico. LCooper, SMoore, BVolkle

2 - 4 p.m. Weather: 85 degrees, sunny, winds to 18 mph. LCooper, SMoore, BVolkle

9:45 a.m. - noon. Weather: 75-85 degrees, mostly sunny, winds to 18 mph. LCooper, SMoore, BVolkle.

sunny windy 60°

9:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. Weather: 80-87 degrees, partly cloudy, very windy. White Angled-Sulphur was at Pump House, Polydamas was at Alamo Inn. LCooper, SMoore.

Warmest day here in two weeks. 55 and sunny.