Category Archives: maryland

A Tale of Two (or More) Crescents

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Rick

Oh for the simple days when in the mid-Atlantic region if you saw a crescent you could safely assume it was the common, indeed almost ubiquitous, Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos).  The only doubt to contend with would be if you … Continue reading →

Posted in conservation, evolution, general butterfly news, Identification tips, maryland, sightings, state butterflies, taxonomy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Low-hanging Fruit for Maryland Lep Observers

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Rick

With the data from the Maryland Biodiversity Project in hand that I posted about recently, I dug a little deeper to see where a diligent butterfly observer might make some easy dents in our understanding the distribution of Maryland butterflies. … Continue reading →

Posted in checklist, checklists, general butterfly news, maryland, sightings, state butterflies, taxonomy | Leave a comment

2022 Was a Good Year — For New Butterfly Records

Posted on January 28, 2023 by Rick

It appears that 2022 was a pretty good year for folks in MD prospecting for new county records. Thanks to Bill Hubick at the Maryland Biodiversity Project, we now know that 2022 gave Maryland lepsters three new county records, five … Continue reading →

Posted in Calendar, general butterfly news, maryland, sightings, state butterflies | 1 Comment

“Big Years” in the age of iNaturalist

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Rick

Long-time readers of LepLog will remember that Tom Stock and I did a “Butterfly Big Year” effort for Maryland in 2013. Tom gave a terrific keynote presentation on this Big Year last fall at the 2021 Texas Butterfly Festival that … Continue reading →

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Brown Elfin: A Species in Peril in MD?

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Rick

A number of lycaenids are species of conservation concern in MD and the mid-Atlantic — King’s Hairstreak, Frosted Elfin, Appalachian Azure, Edwards’ Hairstreak, and others. But until relatively recently I would not have counted Brown Elfin (Callophrys augustinus) among them. … Continue reading →

Posted in conservation, endangered species, general butterfly news, maryland, sightings | Leave a comment

New Year, New Checklist

Posted on January 18, 2022 by Rick

On this cold and snowy holiday weekend, for my day of service I figured it was about time to winnow through John Pelham’s A Catalogue of the Butterflies of the United States and Canada in search of nomenclatural changes I … Continue reading →

Posted in checklist, Field Trips/Annual Counts, general butterfly news, maryland, state butterflies | Leave a comment

Mysterious Disappearance of the Little Yellow

Posted on January 15, 2022 by Rick

I am a fan of historical accounts of biodiversity, and of butterflies in particular of course. So while awaiting yet another snowy icy burst of winter I turned my attention to the 1932 Bulletin of the Smithsonian Institution, Bulletin 157, … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, conservation, general butterfly news, maryland, sightings | 7 Comments

New Annual Butterfly Count for Maryland

Posted on February 27, 2021 by Rick

I’m happy to report we’ve just received the official blessings of the North American Butterfly Association to host a new annual count centered in Green Ridge State Forest, Maryland. I say “new” but in fact GRSF is one of our … Continue reading →

Posted in Calendar, Events and Meetings, Field Trips/Annual Counts, general butterfly news, maryland | Leave a comment

New Maryland Butterfly Records for 2020

Posted on January 10, 2021 by Rick

Well, the 2020 season did not bring us any new butterfly species as additions to the MD lep fauna, going by our data platform of record the Maryland Biodiversity Project. That’s not unusual, since there are few candidates for new … Continue reading →

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2019 Butterfly Records for Maryland

Posted on December 21, 2019 by Rick

The butterfly season has come and (almost surely) gone for 2019; many of us were in the field this year, and there were several new county records established. The late Dick Smith until his death maintained an accounting of which … Continue reading →

Posted in general butterfly news, maryland, sightings, state butterflies | 2 Comments