Butterfly Field Forecast for the Week of 2017 May 20

A terrific image of Southern Cloudywing from the lower Eastern Shore of MD showing so well the white “bends” of the antennae that are characteristic of this cloudywing. On blackberry (or related bramble), naturally. [2017 May 17, photo by Jared Satchett]

Headliners this week are skippers again:  More Northern and Southern Cloudywings, a banner Common Sootywing flight, and FOY Dun and Tawny-edged Skippers.  Dusted Skippers are still out for those who have not seen them yet, Common Roadside-skippers were regularly seen, and Frosted Elfin has finally been reported locally.

The Eastern Shore of MD brought double-digit sightings of Common Sootywings in a single location, but sootywings were reported throughout the region this week.  Northern and Southern Cloudywings were both observed on the lower Eastern Shore (on bramble flowers, of course, exactly where you would expect them).  Singleton reports of both Dun and Tawny-edged Skippers came in, supplemented by widespread reports of Peck’s, Zabulon, and Sachem skippers.

In addition to the Frosted Elfin sighting (also on the MD Eastern Shore), a few straggler reports of Eastern Pine Elfin and Brown Elfin trickled in, but these will probably be the last we see until next year.  A new brood of Gray Hairstreak is flying, Red-banded Hairstreaks are well on the wing, Eastern Tailed-blues are peaking to abundance, and clearly the first generation of Summer Azure was fecund because a big flight of new azures is emerging now.  Just to our south, a new brood of Juniper Hairstreak is out.

Pierid reports this week were unremarkable, except for a rapid uptick this week of the new brood of Small (Cabbage) Whites.  This is the time of year we often see our first Checkered Whites, too, typically considered a “ruderal” species — a butterfly that colonizes disturbed lands, so its population in any one spot is inconstant at best. Check out any darker-looking Small Whites that look “lost” on roadsides, new subdivisions, and last year’s construction sites.

More Little Wood-Satyr reports came in; likely Carolina Satyr is mixed in among them in some locations.  Carolina could show up just about anywhere in the area these days.

Except for scattered reports of Variegated Fritillaries, the fritillary list is quite sparse this week.  Red-spotted Purples are around, but certainly not in a large first brood.  Viceroy should be reported this week.  Monarch singletons continue moving through en route to the parasite-free milkweed fields of the north.  Anglewings were in short supply.

New Zebra Swallowtail adults should be emerging in numbers in the next two weeks; Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is mostly between flights.  Dark swallowtails are most likely to be either Pipevine or Spicebush, both of which are out in various stages of wear; fresh Black Swallowtails are beginning to emerge.

Moth Report:  New sphinxes are showing up, Pawpaw and Lettered Sphinx among them.  The strikingly patterned Scallop Shell Moths are on the wing, as are early season tiger moths (Arctiidae).  As I noted last week, Tuliptree Silk Moth was probably out, and indeed it was reported this week.

Notable Nectar:  Brambles are still going strong in some locations.  Various clovers are going now, and dogbane is budding out and even beginning to break bud in some locations (note to lepsters:  always check even unopened dogbane flowers; hairstreaks in particular probe these mature buds for nectar or extrafloral carbohydrates).  Virginia Sweetspire should be checked for Great Purple Hairstreak.  The great showstopper, of course, is mountain laurel, of particular interest to swallowtails.

It’s a dicey weekend coming up for butterflies; there will be some sunspots but overall it will likely be more cloudy than not through most of the region. Night lights for moths may be much more productive, especially as the moon wanes.  If you find anything of interest before next Friday,  please let us know for the next Forecast. You can leave your sightings as a comment here at  https://leplog.wordpress.com/ or by posting to Google Groups at MDLepsOdes.

Butterfly Field Forecast for the Week of 2017 May 13

Pepper and Salt Skipper, Montgomery Co MD 2017 May 10. Photo by Andy Martin.

Despite cool temps and a good amount of rain, several new species make the FOY list this week:  Little Glassywing, Little Wood Satyr, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Least Skipper, Hoary Edge and Pepper and Salt Skipper (locally) among them.  In addition, second generation Summer Azures are flying, female Zabulon Skippers have emerged to mix it up with the males, and more Common Roadside-skippers were reported.

One of the best finds of the week was a Montgomery Co (MD) colony of Pepper and Salt Skippers.  To my knowledge, MoCo has only historic records of this species; I have not yet been up to Gambrills SP to see how the colony there in Frederick Co. is faring.  Silver-spotted Skippers are emerging in numbers.  The first Little Glassywing (in a perplexingly worn state) was also reported from Patuxent North (Anne Arundel Co., MD).  Both Northern and Southern Cloudywing have been reported in the region (predicted, as I noted, by the blackberry bloom).  Both Hoary Edge and Hayhurst’s Scallopwing were picked up in northern VA (Fairfax and Rappahannock Cos., respectively).  Least Skipper was reported in PG Co., but I suspect is widespread this week.

The Little Wood Satyrs were picked up on a scout mission I did in Worcester Co. for an ANS trip this weekend that (needless to say) won’t be happening; they were fresh but in good numbers so I suspect they will be flying closer to the metro area this weekend (if they don’t drown first).  Numbers of Red-spotted Purples were out, and new American Ladies in their second flight were beginning to show up.  Pearl Crescents seem to be having a meager first flight.  Common Buckeyes, on the other hand, are having a strong early flight, in contrast to last year.  Summer-morph Question Marks have emerged.

Eastern Tailed-blues are having a rather poor early flight, too.  Red-banded Hairstreak numbers are building.  Fresh Summer Azures are on the wing on the Eastern Shore; these have to be second flight specimens.

In the Great Dismal Swamp to our south, the next generation of Zebra Swallowtails is just coming on, so I suspect we should see long-tailed summer forms on the wing locally in the next week or so.  Palamedes Swallowtails were everywhere (and probably are flying along the Pocomoke River in their one solid spot in MD); none of the expected — and hoped for — butterfly cane specialists were out yet so I had to content myself with fruitless chases of taunting Swainson’s Warblers.  This week marks the beginning of the normal Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail flight period; in the higher elevations and western counties check for large, lemon-yellow swallowtails with a slow, kite-like flight and then check for the diagnostic markings.

Nothing new on the whites & sulphurs front; we’re between flights of Small (Cabbage) Whites, and no new reports of Cloudless Sulphurs came in this week (probably because winds have not been favorable for migration).

Moth Report:  Not much reported; most of the night light work has been a casualty of the rains.  Small-eyed Sphinx and Nessus Sphinx lead the moth list this week; Emerald Moths of various stripes are out as well.  I was lucky enough to see Sweetbay Silk Moth in the Dismal; I suspect that means both Promethea and Tuliptree Silk Moths are on the wing.  Hummingbird/Snowberry Clearwing Moths have been reported also.

This weekend looks like a washout for Saturday and nice weather for Mother’s Day if you can get her to go out in the field with you.  If you do, please let us know what you find for the next Forecast. You can leave your sightings as a comment here at  https://leplog.wordpress.com/ or by posting to Google Groups at MDLepsOdes.

 

Butterfly Field Forecast for the Week of 2017 May 6

Dusted Skipper from the Cash Lake area of the Patuxent South Tract 2017 April 3 [photo by Kathy Litzinger]

The butterflies of summer are starting to show up now, with reports of Sachem, Peck’s and Zabulon Skippers, Red-spotted Purple, and Harvester all coming in this week.  Dusted Skipper is flying also for its univoltine star turn.  Indian Skipper has made an early entrance in the VA highlands.  The northward push by Cloudless Sulphur appears to have started early.

Appalachian Azure made its first appearance in reports for 2017 this week, and as predicted Red-banded Hairstsreak sightings came in from a number of locales.  Juniper Hairstreak continues to be sighted.  Elfin numbers have dropped precipitously, so we are at the end of their season (at least locally; in NJ the late-emerging Hoary Elfin is still flying well, as is Frosted Elfin on the Eastern Shore).  Spring Azures continue to be reported this week, although no Summer (spring brood) Azures adults were noted locally.  These will probably switch off again in the next two or three weeks, when the only azure flying except for the limited populations of Appalachian Azure will be Summer.  Hessel’s Hairstreak, by the way, is still on the wing in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

Harvester first brood is out.  Harvesters have a more or less continuous flight through the summer, depending on where in the area you are and on the populations of woolly aphids there.

Pearl Crescent numbers are up, and considerably better than last summer’s poor showing early in the season.  Several folks have commented on the large numbers of Silvery Checkerspot caterpillars currently consuming wingstem; while this augurs well for a heavy first flight we had the same situation last year with only a modest showing as adults.  The masses of American Lady tents on virtually every exposed population of pussytoes also suggests a booming second flight, barring weather, parasitism, or disease mortality.  Nettles locally also sport good numbers of Red Admiral cats.

Monarchs continue to move through, leaving eggs in their wake.  At least one local wildlife organization has expressed concern over this early migration (not really so early, as it happens) and hand wringing about the availability of milkweed.  Rest assured, dear readers – at least here in the mid-Atlantic, availability of milkweed regionally is not a limiting factor for Monarchs.  It might be for your yard or your neighborhood, but there are acres and acres of milkweed across Maryland available, far more than these migrants could ever use.  Plant milkweed plots for Monarchs if you wish, but realize that — as with bird feeding — in the mid-Atlantic this is more for your benefit in attracting these iconic butterflies than it is for their survival.  And of course, more milkweed is never a bad thing for other pollinators …

With Red-spotted Purple on the wing, Viceroy should be right behind.  Variegated Fritillary numbers are rising (whether from migration or local emergence is hard to tell).  Very fresh Common Buckeyes abounded on the Eastern Shore.

Cloudless Sulphur was reported FOY this week, an early start to what promises to be a good year for them, given widespread reports of northward migration from GA and SC (we’ll see if they are slowed down by the week’s cold temps and rain).  Nothing unusual from other pierids, although I expect Checkered White is flying now and just hasn’t been reported.  Cabbage White is at a lull.

FOY Dusted Skipper reports are trickling in; these should be flying for the next couple of weeks.  Cobweb Skipper is still being reported in its restricted habitats (and anywhere you see Cobweb you should look for Dusted Skipper).  In most locations, Wild Indigo Duskywing numbers are trumping dwindling Horace’s and Juvenal’s, and Sleepy and Dreamy Duskywing populations are falling off fast as well.  Silver-spotted Skipper emerged in abundance last week.  Male Zabulon Skippers started this week, as did Peck’s.  Means that Hobomok Skippers should also be on the wing (they typically replace Zabulon in similar environments — sunlit glades along forest trails — to the north, west, and altitudinally.

Moth Report:  The saturniids are well out now, with numerous reports of Luna Moth, Polyphemus, and Rosy Maple Moths on the various listservs.  Undoubtedly the Callosamia moths (Tulip Tree Silk Moth and Promethea) have emerged also, as has Cecropia.  This latter species seems to have dropped in abundance rather quickly in recent years.  Carpenterworm Moth is out as well, as are Azalea and Huckleberry Sphinx Moths.

Notable Nectar Sources:  Wild cherry is still in bloom, and a good hairstreak magnet, as are various clovers.  Blackberry is in peak bloom over most of the region and attracting most nectaring butterflies.   Various ragworts and rockets are also in good rotation by butterflies this week.

Unfortunately the weather looks pretty grim for butterflying, with weather more like March than May, but if you do make it out in the field over the next couple of days, please let us know what you find for the next Forecast. You can leave your sightings as a comment here at https://leplog.wordpress.com/ or by posting to Google Groups at MDLepsOdes.

Butterfly Field Forecast for the Week of 2017 April 29

FOY Harvester from Allegany Co. [photo by Kathy Barylski via MDLepsOdes@googlegroups.com. 2017 April 27]

Not a lot new to the list this week, but building numbers of the usual suspects including Pearl Crescent, American Ladies, and the various black swallowtails — Spicebush, Black, and Pipevine.  Of note was an FOY sighting of Harvester, and more Cobweb Skippers.  The first Northern Cloudywing of the season makes the Forecast this week, as does Common Roadside-skipper.

Falcate Orangetips are pretty much over, but West Virginia White is in fact flying in Garrett Co.  The first brood of Cabbage Whites is petering out, but judging from the ragged look of the mustard in the community garden we should be in for a fresh influx anytime now.  The recent rains also likely will spur a good second generation of Orange and Clouded Sulphurs, which have had one of their best of recent springs.

The yellow swallowtail du jour is still Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, although there were conflicting reports of what is on the wing in Garrett /Allegany Co just now.  Two observers to the same location (Finzel Swamp) reported different tiger swallowtail species on the same day:  one reported Appalachian, one reported Eastern.  My money currently is on Eastern; still a bit on the early side for Appalachian there but I expect to check it out myself this weekend. Spicebush Swallowtail has emerged in good numbers in a strong flight.

Lyaenids included reports of Northern and Spring Azure, the afore-mentioned Harvester, good numbers of Gray Hairstreaks, Eastern Tailed-blues and an American Copper or two.  The only elfin on the line close by this week was Pine Elfin, but Frosted Elfin and Hoary Elfin are out in NJ.  Juniper Hairstreak is flying well.  MIA locally so far this season is Red-banded Hairstreak, normally a common early spring hairstreak, but it is being seen in NJ.  Holly Azure made the reports of a number of NJ lepsters this week.

We should be nearing flight time for Viceroy and Red-spotted Purple, but they did not make the rolls this week.  There have been a surprising number of Painted Lady sightings, and an abundance of American Ladies, widely seen oviposting on pussytoes.  A few Red Admirals are around, mostly quite fresh.  Both Variegated and Meadow Fritillaries were reported from multiple locations in the region.  Common Buckeyes were reported from a couple of field observers.  Monarchs are moving through, often undetected except by the eggs they leave behind on emerging milkweed stalks.  It bears repeating to novice observers that we shouldn’t expect to see Monarchs hanging around here in midsummer; their absence is often cited as evidence of population decline.  It’s not.  They are genetically programmed to get as far north as possible in succeeding generations and we shouldn’t see much of them again until late summer after the current migratory wave pushes through and its progeny follow suit.

The three large spreadwing skippers — Horace’s, Juvenal’s, and Wild Indigo Duskywings — are all flying together.  Cobweb Skipper is out in numbers in its restricted habitats.  And right on schedule with the blackberry bloom comes the first Northern Cloudywing in Garrett Co.  Common Roadside-skipper was seen again this year in Green Ridge State Forest, one of the new go-to places for this lep.

Notable Nectar Sources:  Wild cherry is in bloom, and a good hairstreak magnet.  Fleabane is up and will be attracting a few species, but those that come are pretty specialized for flat flowers.  Clovers (field and sweet) are the best bet currently, and of course blackberry (and various other brambles) will attract a lot of butterflies in addition to cloudywings over the next couple of weeks.  Vetch and viburnum bring in some butterflies now.  And in the shaded woods where it grows, wild geranium can be a real draw for things like West Virginia White and Dusky Azure.  Privet, while noxious and invasive, can be a good place to look for hairstreaks.

Looks like a good weekend coming up; if you make it out in the field over the next couple of days, please let us know what you find for the next Forecast. You can leave your sightings as a comment here at https://leplog.wordpress.com/ or by posting to Google Groups at MDLepsOdes.

Hunting Bromeliad Hairstreaks in the Desert?

Big Bend Scrub-hairstreak, Strymon solitario, one of dozens hill-topping on a limestone mesa near Rio Grande Village in Big Bend National Park. [TX: Brewster Co., 2017 April 18, photo by REB]

As part of my long-planned foray to the Big Bend area of extreme southwest Texas, I’d been keeping an eye out for recent literature on any interesting leps being found there.  But as I’ll report in a longer LepLog piece, the weather gods did not favor butterfly hunting in April this year.  The spring came early with good rains and prompted an early bloom and flush of spring butterflies; by the time I got there last week most of the nectar sources had crisped up and withered away.  With them went most of the spring species I’d hoped to see.

So it was without a lot of hope that I decided to recover — after one particularly grueling hike day into the heart of the Chisos Mountains tracking the Colima Warbler — by driving down the following day to the relatively flat desert along the Rio Grande in search of one of North America’s most recently described butterflies.  I was after  Big Bend Scrub-hairstreak, named by Nick Grishin and Christopher Durden in 2012 from an area near Rio Grande Village called Boquillas Canyon in the far western reach of the national park [Grishin, N.V. & C.J. Durden. 2012. New bromeliad-feeding Strymon species from Big Bend National Park, Texas USA and its vicinity (Lycaenicdae: Theclinae). Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 66(2): 81–110.]  This new species, Strymon solitario, the Big Bend Scrub-hairstreak, has a limited distribution in exceptionally arid, rocky habitats where one can find its food plant, Texas false agave, Hechtia texensis.

Texas false agave, Hechtia texensis, a plant of arid, rocky limestone desert and host to larvae of the Big Bend Scrub-hairstreak. It’s called a false agave because it’s actually not an agave at all but a desert-adapted bromeliad.

Imagine my surprise, then, when after walking out the nature trail at Rio Grande Village and climbing up to the top of a limestone promontory overlooking the river, that I encountered veritable swarms of hairstreaks hill-topping on the summit.  I’d seen few lycaenids at all in Big Bend to this point, and none of them hairstreaks, so I was pleasantly surprised to find them landing on my cap, my hand, my camera — and on the fading stalks of Hechtia that were all around!  Sure enough, when I got back to the computer that night and compared the photos with the illustrations in Grishin & Durden and elsewhere online, looks like this is another population of Big Bend Scrub-hairstreak.

The species epithet solitario, by the way, doesn’t have anything to do with its gregariousness or lack thereof.  It’s named after El Solitario, a geologic formation looming over the landscape in the neighboring Big Bend Ranch State Park, where specimens also were collected.

El Solitario, a geological formation in extreme southwest Texas that gave name to the recently described Strymon solitario. [photo courtesy Texas Parks & Wildlife Department]

Butterfly Field Forecast for the Week of 2017 April 22

Cobweb Skipper flying in Green Ridge State Forest 2017 April 18 [photo courtesy Jim Springer]

New to the list this week as FOYs are Tropical Leafwing, Reakirt’s Blue, Arizona Skipper, Chisos Banded-skipper, Big Bend Scrub-hairstreak … oh, wait.  No.  That’s where I am NOW!  Big Bend National Park.  [Sorry for the tease]Meanwhile, back in the mid-Atlantic — The rush of new species continues, with recent sightings of Juniper Hairstreak, Frosted Elfin, Cobweb Skipper, Silver-spotted Skipper, Common Sootywing , Painted Lady, Variegated Fritillary, Spicebush Swallowtail and Monarch.

We’ve reached that complicated time of the year when numerous azure species can be flying; So far, only Spring (ladon) and Summer (neglecta) have been affirmatively reported in our area.  Holly Azure is out in southern New Jersey so likely flying closer to home as well.  Eastern Tailed-blues have become common, Gray Hairstreaks are being reported regularly, and all three of the “normal” elfins — Pine, Brown, and Henry’s — are on the wing.  Frosted Elfin is also flying in southern New Jersey (which is typically about a week ahead of our populations on the Maryland Eastern Shore).  Juniper Hairstreaks were widely reported across the area.

Dwindling pierids now are Falcate Orangetips, although Olympia Marbles were still flying well last weekend.  Notable populations of both Clouded and Orange Sulphurs are out, as opposed to last year when both species were scarce.  No reports of West Virginia White but they are certainly on the wing.  Likely Checkered Whites are flying in disturbed habitats in small numbers, especially on the Eastern Shore. Cloudless Sulphurs are apparently pushing northward into the Carolinas aggressively so we may have an early year for these.

There are still a few reports of Mourning Cloaks trickling in, and winter form anglewings are still out.  Pearl Crescent numbers are peaking.  Meadow Fritillary and the first Variegated Fritillaries of the season have been spotted. Painted Ladies look like they are making a strong spring showing for the species, with widespread reports across the area (not the usual pinpoints near elementary schools where the kids have released their captives after studying metamorphosis). The first Monarch reports of the season came in from MD and PA, and Common Buckeye was reported in southern NJ.

The new swallowtail kid on the block is Spicebush Swallowtail, which joins Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Pipevine Swallowtail, and Zebra Swallowtail.  Black Swallowtail is probably out as well now too but just not reported yet.  It will be a week or two before we are likely to see Appalachian Tigers in the appropriate western/higher elevation habitats.

All three common spring duskywings — Juvenal’s, Horace’s, and Wild Indigo — are flying in good numbers this week.  Common Sootywing and Cobweb Skipper were both reported from Green Ridge State Forest.  The first Silver-spotted Skippers also appear to have emerged in our area this past week.  Common Checkered-skippers are flying now as well.  In the Virginia mountains, Appalachian Grizzled Skipper is on the wing.  Closer to home, Pepper and Salt Skipper is probably flying too and should be watched for in the western and mountain counties.

 

Nectar sources of note this week: Fleabane, pinxter azalea (for the swallowtails especially), yellow rocket and other tall spring mustards, vetches, and early clovers.  Plus the usual assortment of low forbs henbit, geranium, ground ivy, deadnettle, and dandelion.I’ll be back from my LepTrek to Trans-Pecos Texas for the next Forecast (look for more posts on LepLog with highlights of the trip), but meantime  if you make it out in the field over the next couple of days, please let us know what you find for the next Forecast. You can leave your sightings as a comment here at https://leplog.wordpress.com/ or by posting to Google Groups at MDLepsOdes.

Butterfly Field Forecast for the Week of 2017 April 15

Pine Elfin photographed by Matt Orsie in Green Ridge State Forest last weekend. Check out Matt’s blog at http://wvbirder.org/wvleps/

The warm weather of this past week continued to bring out new first-of-years, including American Copper, Spring Azure, Juniper Hairstreak, Red Admiral, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Pine Elfin, Sleepy Orange and probable Holly Azure (given habitat and oviposition behavior).

Sleepy Orange is a new addition to the pierid roster for 2017, observed flying in Green Ridge State Forest last weekend and in Virginia. And Virginia also is seeing West Virginia Whites on the wing in the mountains; likely they are flying in western Maryland as well now or soon will be. Numerous Olympia Marbles were observed in and around Green Ridge State Forest last weekend, including in areas where they haven’t been seen in a decade or more.

Fresh White M Hairstreaks, larger numbers of Gray Hairstreaks, and both Henry’s and Brown Elfins were seen this past week. Pine Elfin is also flying, seen in Green Ridge. More Eastern Tailed-blues were reported from throughout the region. Juniper Hairstreak hasn’t been reported locally, but based on Carolina and VA reports is probably out here as well. Azures probably represent a mix of species at this point, so care should be taken to separate them, especially for Holly Azure in coastal and piedmont holly ecosystems. American Coppers appeared for the first time this season.

Pipevine Swallowtails from the gardens around the Smithsonian Castle on the National Mall made the FOY list this week. Zebra Swallowtail numbers are climbing.

Anglewing numbers are dropping off, as are Mourning Cloaks. We have yet to see a major emergence of Pearl Crescents but the warm weather should bring them out. Red Admiral was picked up in several locations in the past couple of days.

No new skippers made the Forecast this week.  Horace’s Duskywing is picking up in numbers among the much more common Juvenal’s, and a couple more confirmed Wild Indigo Duskywings were also noted this week.   [6 pm update:  On a short expedition to the Patuxent National Wildlife Research Refuge/South Tract in Laurel, MD, late this afternoon, I picked up three Common Checkered-skippers on cinquefoil and geranium in short grass along the lake berm].

Nectar sources:  Major nectar sources this past week have included redbud, flowering dogwood, viburnum, various Vaccinium species, some early fleabanes, and the usual low forbs henbit, ground ivy, deadnettle, chickweed, dandelion, and spring cresses. Blackberry is budding and will likely be the next major nectar source; this is also the seasonal cue to start looking for cloudywings.

I’ll be on a LepTrek to trans-Pecos Texas the next two weekends, but watching for local reports.  If you make it out in the field over the next couple of days, please let us know what you find for the next Forecast. You can leave your sightings as a comment here at https://leplog.wordpress.com/ or by posting to Google Groups at MDLepsOdes.