Butterfly Walk Resume March, 2010
... Butterfly Sighting Updates Below
This spring and summertime tour series resumes in March guided walks once
each month. See colorful photos and read about our monarch
butterfly migration research project. From April through October we
offer guided butterfly walks on the fourth Saturday of each month, starting
at 9:30 a.m. and included with regular daily admission of $7.50 for adults
or $3 for ages 5-12. Read about Central Arizona Butterfly Association events
around the state with a visit to the website http://www.cazba.org.
Tour Guides Marceline Vandewater, Adriane Grimaldi, Pete Moulton and others
have shared digital images of butterflies here at the Arboretum View
photos of our state butterfly.
Recent sightings around the gardens include:
From: Marceline VandeWater
Date: November 10, Tuesday
Paul Kinslow and I found a total of 42 species of birds and 16 species of
butterflies -- not bad for a day in November! Butterflies included Painted
Lady, Cloudless Sulphur, Gray Hairstreak, Queen, Pipevine Swallowtail, American
Snout, Southern Dogface, Orange Sulphur, Western Pygmy Blue, Common Buckeye,
Common Checkered Skipper, Marine Blue, Mormon Metalmark, Monarch, Ceraunus
Blue and Mexican Yellow.
From: Chris Kline
Date: Tuesday September 15
Saturday, September 12, volunteers with the Central
Arizona Butterfly Association (cazba.org) met at BTA for our third
annual butterfly count. Sites visited included BTA, Picketpost Trailhead,
town of Superior, Apache Tears Road water crossing, Oak Flats, Devil's Canyon,
and Haunted Canyon. In total we found 30 species and 144 individuals (which
compares with 45 and 488 in 2008, and 31/321 in 2007). Counters agreed that
this year's non-exisistent monsoon season, is the most likely explanation
for the low numbers. Conditions are very dry with very little nectar available
(however, there was plenty of nectar at Edwardo's Pizza in Superior and all
counters had their fill!) Thanks to everyone who participated. Numbers and
species found include 30 Pipevine Swallowtail, 5 Two-tailed Swallowtail, 1
Orange Sulphur, 2 Southern Dogface, 14 Cloudless Sulphur, 1 Ceraunus Blue,
1 Western Pygmy Blue, 2 Fatal Metalmark, 4 Mormon Metalmark, 4 Palmer's Metalmark,
2 Painted Lady, 4 Arizona Sister, 4 Empress Leilia, 1 Hackberry Emperor, 1
Common Buckeye, 1 Red-spotted Purple, 7 Monarch (and 5 caterpillars); 23 Queen,
4 Meridian Duskywing, 1 Acacia Skipper, 5 Common Sootywing, 1 Common Streaky
Skipper, 2 Arizona Powdered Skipper, 1 Golden-headed Scallopwing, 1 Common/WHite
Checkered SKipper, 8 Orange Skipperling, 3 *Tropical Least Skipper (new species
for the count!); 1 Fiery SKipper, 4 Eufala Skipper and 6 Arizona Giant Skipper!
Visit CAZBA.org to read about butterfly walks
From: Marceline
VandeWater
Date: Tuesday August 25
Butterflies were few and far between on August 25 but in addition to some
of the more common species reported Saturday by Ron Rutowksi, sightings today
included one Sleepy Orange which was nectaring on Aster flowers at Silver
King Wash, two Acacia Skippers, one Monarch in the Demonstration Garden and
one Orange Skipperling, which was also in the Demo Garden. And while its no
butterfly, a Gila Monster waddling around near the bridge over Silver King
Wash was a special treat today! Join us for
the annual CAZBA.org butterfly count at BTA on September 12!
From: Ron
Rutowski
Date: Saturday, August 22
It was drizzling when I arrived Saturday, but stopped before the walk and
the sky cleared as an eager group of about 10 or so trundled along through
the Demonstration Garden and over to the Children's Garden. We went for almost
the full two hours. We saw only a few species again but got really good and
protracted looks at what we did see. This gave good opportunities to discuss
the biology of the various species. Sightings included: Painted Lady - several
on lantana in both gardens; Queen - many throughout, and on lantana and acacia
blossoms; Pipevine Swallowtail - some throughout, especially on lantana; larvae
and eggs on Pipevine near Smith Center; Arizona Powdered Skipper - one near
Aussie shearer's shack; Tailed Orange - one female, summer form in Demonstration
Garden; Southern Dogface - one in Children's Garden; Cloudless Sulphur - many
throughout; Empress Leilia - one perched male near shack. As a couple of weeks
ago when I guided the August 2 walk, blues and hairstreaks were notably absent,
even on the (white ball?) acacia blossoms we saw. I expect to be at the Arboretum
again in a few weeks for the September
12 CAZBA annual butterfly count.
From: Ron
Rutowski
Date: Sunday, August 2
Not a huge number but more than I had thought we might see. Here is the species
list from Sunday's walk: Empress Leilia, HackBerry Emperor, American Snout,
Clouded Sulphur, Sleepy Orange, Queen, Pipevine Swallowtail, Northern Duskywing
and Northern White Skipper. Join me for BTA's next guided butterfly walk August
22 (a Saturday) at 9:30 a.m.
From: Marceline
Vandewater
Date: Saturday, June 25
In addition to numerous Pipevine Swallowtails we also found a Black Swallowtail
caterpillar on fennel Saturday morning during the once-a-month butterfly walk.
Others species seen today around the gardens included: Giant Swallowtail,
Sleepy Orange, Southern Dogface, Gray Hairstreak, Leda Ministreak, Reakirt's
Blue, Ceraunus Blue, Marine Blue, Fatal Metalmark, Variegated Fritillary,
Gulf Fritillary, Texan Crescent, Empress Lelia, Common Buckeye, Queen, Funereal
Duskywing, Northern White Skipper, Erichson's White Skipper, Arizona Powdered
Skipper, Common Checkered Skipper and Orange Skipperling. BTA's next guided
butterfly walks are July 25, Saturday, at 9:30 a.m. and then August 2 -- a
"Sunday Special."
From: Adriane Grimaldi
Date: Monday, May 11
Saturday morning started rainy and cool but by about 10:30 a.m. it stopped
raining, the sun came out, we walked around the Demonstration Garden and saw
11 different species – timing was good as the butterflies were easily
seen sunning themselves. Species seen today included: Spring Azure, Pipevine
Swallowtail, Ceraunus Blue, Dainty Sulphur, Southern Dogface, Empress Lelia,
Queen, Texas Crescent, Bordered Patch, Checkered White, and Fatal Metalmark.
Make sure to join us for the next guided butterfly walk here at the Arboretum
on June 27, Saturday, at 9:30 a.m.
From: Lacey Pacheco (Arboretum staff)
Date: Monday, May 11
This entry combines two reports from school trip checklists compiled on separate
butterfly walks that I lead today and also last Thursday. Species Monday,
May 11, were 4 Pipevine Swallowtail, 3 Sleepy Orange, 1 Cloudless Sulphur,
4 Southern Dogface, 6 Spring Azure, 1 Painted Lady, 1 Empress Leilia and 6
Queen. And last Thursday, May 7, butterfly field trip participants and I found
2 Pipevine Swallowtail, 2 Sleepy Orange, 1 Gray Hairstreak, 10 Spring Azure,
1 American Snout, 1 Bordered Patch, 1 Painted Lady, 2 Empress Leilia, 2 Common
Buckeye, and 1 Queen.
From: Ron Rutowski
Date: Sunday, May 3
6+Giant Swallowtail, 6 + Pipevine Swallowtail (found eggs but no larvae on
Pipevine plant near Smith Center); 4 Orange Sulphur, Large Orange Sulphur,
2 Sleepy Orange, 4 Dainty Sulphur (see ovipositing on composites in Demo Garden);
2
Southern Dogface, 3 Checkered White, 6 American Snout (many flying about in
Desert Hackberry, their larval foodplant); 4 Buckeye, 2 Empress Leilia (wonderfully
territorial male in front of Smith Center); Red-spotted Admiral, Texan Crescent
(on wet ground near leaky hose just outside the Hummingbird-Butterfly Garden);
3 Queen, Marine Blue (many of them on the same wet ground near the leaky hose);
Checkered-Skipper, probably Common
From: Dave Powell
Date: April 25, Saturday
Found a Viceroy on the guided butterfly walk April 25 (my first for BTA),
along with 20 Pipevine Swallowtail, Dainty Sulphur, 2 Sleepy Orange, 4 Southern
Dogface, Checkered White, Gray Hairstreak, 2 Marine Blue, 4 Spring Azure,
Acmon Blue, American Snout, 3 Queen, 8 Empress Leilia, Painted Lady, 5 Common
Buckeye, 3 Texan Crescent, 2 Golden-headed Scallopwing, White Checkered-Skipper
and Orange Skipperling.
From: Jim Brock
Date: Monday, March 30
My friends and I went to the Arboretum yesterday and had a female Question
Mark attempting to lay eggs on the fruits of an old Netleaf Hackberry near
the Suspension Bridge on the way to the High Trail! This might be new for
the Arboretum? I hear from Richard Bailowitz that the Question Mark is a Pinal
County record! To remember the exact Celtis I would have to be there. I recall
it being on the way back towards the entrance but not far from the suspension
bridge. It is an old tree and finding caterpillars would best be done with
a ladder. Also seen: Tiny Checkerspot, California Patch (1), Southern Dogface,
Fatal Metalmark, Variable Checkerspot, Tropical Buckeye, Common Buckeye, Marine
Blue, Question Mark (one female oviposting on a Hackberry tree), Red Admiral,
Spring Azure, Acmon/Lupine Blue, Two-tailed Swallowtail, Pipevine Swallowtail,
Queen, Sara Orangetip.
From: Marceline
Vandewater
Date: Saturday, March 28
Nice day for finding butterflies, and we had a large crowd of 43 people attending
this "first of the season" butterfly walk for 2009. We found 31
species, too. including: 22 Pipevine Swallowtail, 1 Giant Swallowtail, 3 Two-tailed
Swallowtail, 6 Checkered White, 2 Sara Orangetip, 6 Sleepy Orange, 1 Cloudless
Sulphur, 1 Southern Dogface, 3 Dainty Sulphur, 1 Gray Hairstreak, 3 Marine
Blue, 14 Spring Azure, 2 Western Pygmy Blue, 3 Fatal Metalmark, 10 American
Snout, 3 Tiny Checkerspot, 2 Elada Checkerspot, 2 Variable Checkerspot, 2
California Patch, 3 Bordered Patch, , 4 Texas Crescent, 1 Red Admiral, 7 Painted
Lady, 8 Empress Leilia, 12 Common Buckeye, 1 Monarch, 4 Queen, 2 Erichson's
White Skipper, 1 Golden-headed Scallopwing, 2 Common Checkered Skipper, and
3 Orange Skipperling. Don't miss the next butterfly walk -- April 25 guided
by Dave Powell.
From: Marceline
Vandewater
Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2009
An afternoon visit to the arboretum on this relatively warm day (71 degrees)
produced a nice little list to start 2009 off with, including 2 Sara's Orangetip,
5 Sleepy Orange, 2 Cloudless Sulphur, 8 Southern Dogface, 5 Mexican Yellow,
12 Spring Azure, 45 Snout, 1 Red Admiral, 1 Painted Lady, 4 Mourning Cloak.
1 Common Buckeye, 3 Monarch (one of them with a blue wing-tag!) and 6 Queen.
From: Chris Kline
Date: Saturday, September 13
A BIG THANK YOU to all of those who helped with Second
Annual BTA Butterfly Count on September 13th. Saturday we found a
total of 45 species and 488 individuals, which compares with our 2007 totals
of 31 species and 321 individuals. Species included Pipevine Swallowtail,
Two-tailed Swallowtail, Checkered White, Sleepy Orange, Cloudless Sulphur,
Southern Dogface, Large Orange Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, Mexican Yellow, Lyside
Sulphur, Dainty Sulphur, Ceraunus Blue, Reakirt's Blue, Marine Blue, Spring
Azure, Western Pygmy Blue, Xami Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Fatal Metalmark,
Palmer's Metalmark, Mormon Metalmark, American Snout, Tiny Checkerspot, Elada
Checkerspot, Painted Lady, Bordered Patch, Texan Crescent, Empress Leilia,
Hackberry Emperor, Common Buckeye, Red-spotted Purple, Viceroy, Queen, Monarch,
Funereal Duskywing, Common/White Checkered Skipper, Erichson's White Skipper,
Northern White Skipper, Acacia Skipper, Arizona Powdered Skipper, Golden-headed
Scallopwing, Orange Skipperling, Eufala Skipper, Sheep
Skipper, Arizona Giant Skipper.
From: Marceline
Vandewater
Date: Tuesday, August 26
This butterfly list contains a whopping 36 species for BTA, despite the slow
start on a cloudy morning. Couldn’t "re-find" the California
Patch in the Demonstration Garden, though. After lunch I added Viceroy and
Hackberry Emperor at the Apache Tears Creek crossing (outside the gardens
and east of the Arboretum, about a half-mile farther up Queen Creek) but there
was just too much water and mud in Queen Creek to hike from there back to
the BTA -- plus a serious storm was rolling in. Will tackle that canyon next
time! We saw 42 Pipevine Swallowtail, 1 Black Swallowtail 1 (near the Visitor
Center); Two-tailed Swallowtail (Queen Creek Canyon); 2 Checkered White, 3
Orange Sulphur, 4 Southern Dogface, 36 Cloudless Sulphur, 1 Mexican Yellow
(Children's Garden); 45 Sleepy Orange, 6 Dainty Sulphur, 4 Xami Hairstreak,
5 Gray Hairstreak, 2 Marine Blue, 8 Reakirt’s Blue (check the Children's
Garden); 16 Western Pygmy-Blue (again, the Children's Garden and also the
flat white bridge over Silver King Wash); 3 Fatal Metalmark (Queen Creek Canyon,
Children's Garden); 8 Mormon Metalmark, 5 American Snout, 1 Gulf Fritillary
(Demonstration Garden); 2 Bordered Patch, 4 Elada Checkerspot, 3 Painted Lady,
2 Common Buckeye, 16 Empress Leilia, 25 Queen, 3 Common Checkered Skipper
(Children's Garden); 1 Northern Cloudywing, 2 Arizona Powdered Skipper, Funereal
Duskywing (Children's Garden); 4 Golden-headed Scallopwing (Herb Garden);
3 Common Sootywing, 5 Orange Skipperling, 6 Sheep Skipper, 2 Acacia Skipper,
2 Fiery Skipper, 5 Eufala Skipper and also 3 White-lined Sphynxmoth. PS: Join
us for the Second Annual
BTA Butterfly Count on September 13th!
From: Dave
Powell and Kurt Radamaker
Date: Sunday, August 24
Kurt Radamaker and I visited Sunday morning to look for the Xami Hairstreaks
reported last Tuesday by Marceline VandeWater. We were successful in finding
4 and photographing 1 of these delightful creatures. The arboretum was alive
with butterflies, and we had a total of 31 species including 30+ Pipevine
Swallowtail, 4 Orange Sulphur, 10+ Southern Dogface, 50+ Cloudless Sulphur,
25+ Sleepy Orange, 3 Dainty Sulphur, 5 Fatal Metalmark, 10 Mormon Metalmark,
4 Xami Hairstreak, 3 Gray Hairstreak, 4 Ceraunus Blue, Reakirt's Blue, 5 American
Snout, California Patch, Bordered Patch, Tiny Checkerspot, 8 Elada Checkerspot,
Common Buckeye, Arizona Red-spotted Purple, 20+ Empress Leilia, 20+ Queen,
Acacia Skipper, 6 Golden-headed Scallopwing, 6 Arizona Powdered-Skipper, White
Checkered-Skipper, 2 Northern White-Skipper, 2 Common Sootywing, 8 Orange
Skipperling, 2 Fiery Skipper, 3 Sheep Skipper and Eufala Skipper. Good lepping!
Dave
From: Marceline
Vandewater
Date: Tuesday, August 19
I spent my day off at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum; wanted to see what is
flying right now in preparation of the Second
Annual BTA Butterfly Count at the Arboretum, which will be September
13. It was warm and muggy, with temperatures between 85 and 100 degrees. There
where lots of butterflies to admire, but the highlight was definitely a small
colony of Xami Hairstreaks. Found a total of 29 species including 41 Pipevine
Swallowtail, 2 Orange Sulphur, 7 Southern Dogface, 95 Cloudless Sulphur, 2
Mexican Yellow, 34 Sleepy Orange, 6 Dainty Sulphur, 6 Xami Hairstreak, 4 Leda
Ministreak, 3 Gray Hairstreak, 12 Western Pygmy-Blue, 6 Ceraunus Blue, 2 Fatal
Metalmark, 6 Mormon Metalmark, 1 California Patch, 11 American Snout, 4 Elada
Checkerspot, 1 Painted Lady, 3 Common Buckeye, 24 Empress Leilia, 44 Queen,
10 Arizona Powdered Skipper, 3 Funereal Duskywing, 1 Erichson’s White
Skipper, 1 Golden-headed Scallopwing, 8 Common Sootywing, 3 Orange Skipperling,
2 Sheep Skipper, 3 Eufala Skipper also 4 White-lined Sphynxmoth. Join us for
the Second Annual BTA Butterfly
Count on September 13th!
From: Dave Powell
Date: Sunday August 3
Queen Butterflies were most numerous this morning (80 of them!) followed by
50 Sleepy Orange, 20 each of Cloudless Sulphur and Pipevine Swallowtail, and
15 Southern Dogface. The mix of clouds and sun reduced butterfly activity,
and there were a total of 22 species, with 217 individual butterflies seen
including Two-tailed Swallowtail, Checkered White, 2 Orange Sulphur, 3 Dainty
Sulphur, Leda Ministreak, 2 Ceraunus Blue, Marine Blue, 2 American Snout,
3 Texan Crescent, 8 Empress Leilia, Funereal Duskywing, 2 Northern White Skipper,
Acacia Skipper, Arizona Powdered Skipper, Orange Skipperling and Fiery Skipper.
From: Chris Kline
Date: July 19
In preparation for the Saturday butterfly walk, led by yours truly, took a
two hour walk today. Overall, a nice variety of bugs with one special bug
in particular: today marked only the second time I have observed the 'Siva'
Juniper Hairstreak at BTA in the past five years. It was at the east end of
the High Trail near the suspension bridge. And this has been an especially
good summer for Golden-headed Scallopwing; normally I see maybe two or three
a summer -- this year I'm seeing them regularly. 26 species (174 individuals)
include 9 Pipevine Swallowtail, 4 Sleepy Orange, Orange Sulphur, Cloudless
Sulphur, 3 Southern Dogface, 2 Large Orange Sulphur, 2 Dainty Sulphur, 2 Mexican
Yellow, 2 *'Siva' Juniper Hairstreak, 2 Gray Hairstreak, 6 Leda Ministreak,
2 Ceraunus Blue, 2 Marine Blue, 4 Fatal Metalmark, Tiny Checkerspot, Elada
Checkerspot, Texan Crescent, 23 Empress Leilia, 8 Common Buckeye, 85 Queen
85 (most likely an underestimate); 2 Funereal Duskywing, 2 Acacia Skipper,
2 Arizona Powdered Skipper, 5 **Golden-headed Scallopwing, Common/White Checkered
Skipper and Orange Skipperling.Notably absent today were Giant Swallowtail,
Reakirt's Blue, Fiery Skipper, Eufala Skipper. I think this is the first walk
this year that I have not seen Giant Swallowtail and Reakirt's Blue. Normally
this time of year we have ample supply of Fiery and Eufala Skippers. Saw one
Fiery last week and have yet to see a Eufala.
From: Chris Kline
Date: June 21 (Saturday)
Woo doggie! It was hotter than a _____ (complete with your own metaphor) out
there! Took a trip around the grounds this morning in preparation for next
Saturday's butterfly walk (9:30 a.m. on the 28th). The list below covers the
demonstration garden, children's garden and out to the herb garden from 8:30
- 11:00 AM. Weather started calm, ended with light breeze. started at 98 degrees,
ended at 107. Sunny! Found 20 species, 171 individuals...including 19 Pipevine
Swallowtail, 1 Giant Swallowtail, 7 Checkered White, 21 Sleepy Orange, 1 Cloudless
Sulphur, 12 Southern Dogface, 3 Dainty Sulphur, 2 Leda Ministreak, 1 Reakirt's
Blue, 1 Ceraunus Blue, 24 Marine Blue, 1 Fatal Metalmark, 10 American Snout,4
Texan Crescent, 13 Empress Leilia,3 Common Buckeye, 39 Queen, 5 Golden-headed
Scallopwing,2 Common/White Checkered Skipper and 2 Orange Skipperling. Also
saw a Filigree Skimmer in the demonstration garden and a gila monster! No
snakes :( Come join us for next week's bfly walk!
From: Marceline
Vandewater
Date: Saturday, May 24
Temperatures ranged from 65-75 degrees on an unusually cool and overcast morning
-- one that was great for walking the trails, but not as productive for seeing
butterflies. We still managed to find 16 species including 15 Pipevine Swallowtail,
8 Checkered White, 3 Sleepy Orange, 3 Southern Dogface, 2 Dainty Sulphur,
20 Marine Blue, 1 Spring Azure, 8 Western Pygmy Blue, 8 American Snout, 1
Tiny Checkerspot, 3 Elada Checkerspot, 3 Empress Leilia, 2 Common Buckeye,
7 Queen, 3 Golden-headed Scallopwing and 1 Orange Skipperling.
From: Jim Brock
Date: May 4, Sunday
(As reported by participant Marceline VandeWater) It was awesome to have Jim
Brock lead the butterfly walk today. He shared a lot of information on different
butterfly behavior, their host plants and flight patterns. We saw Pipevine
Swallowtail, Giant Swallowtail, Checkered White, Orange Sulphur, Cloudless
Sulphur, Sleepy Orange, Southern Dogface, Dainty Sulphur, Gray Hairstreak,
Leda Ministreak, Marine Blue, Ceraunus Blue, Spring Azure, Western Pygmy Blue,
Palmer's Metalmark, Tiny Checkerspot, Elada Checkerspot, Painted Lady, Common
Buckeye, Empress Leilia, American Snout, Queen, Common Sootywing, Funereal
Duskywing, Northern White Skipper, Orange Skipperling. 26 species in total.
From: Dave Powell
Date: April 26 (Saturday)
We found 24 different species on this month's guided butterfly walk, most
numerous of all were American Snout and Western Pygmy Blue (we counted 20
of each) followed by 15 Dainty Sulphur and 10 Checkered White. Species seen
(in Arboretum checklist order) include 5 Pipevine, 2 Giant Swallowtail, 8
Sleepy Orange, 3 Orange Sulphur, 2 Cloudless Sulphur, 5 Southern Dogface,
3 Marine Blue, 5 Martin's Blue, 1 Mormon Metalmark, 3 Tiny Checkerspot, 6
Elada Checkerspot, 2 Variable Checkerspot, 1 California Patch, 3 Texas Crescent,
1 Red Admiral, 10 Hackberry Emperor, 6 Common Buckeye, 4 Queen, 1 Arizona
Powdered Skipper, 4 Orange Skipperling.
From: chris kline
Date: April 1 (Tuesday)
Just made a quick trip around our main trail. Several things flying, but conspicuously
absent was Two-tailed Swallowtail -- which I've been seeing regularly for
the past week, until today of course. Totalled 12 species (47 individuals)
with 13 Pipevine Swallowtail, 3 Sleepy Orange, 2 Western Pygmy Blue, 2 Fatal
Metalmark, 2 Variable Checkerspot, 15 Tiny Checkerspot, 1 Red Admiral, 2 Empress
Leilia, 1 Mourning Cloak, 2 Common Streaky Skipper, 1 Common/White Checkered
Skipper, 1 Orange Skipperling.
From: Adriane Grimaldi
Date: October 27 (Saturday)
We had about 15 people and we started down the trail a little bit later than
usual because of the closure of sections of Highway 60. Late October is definitely
the end of Butterfly season -- Pipevine Swallowtails and Queens were tattered,
dingy-looking -- and fewer than we found duirng September's walk (which you
can read below). Our end-of-the-season tally Saturday found 20 Pipevine Swallowtails,
25 Queen, 3 Emperoris Lelia, 1 Monarch, 1 Funearal Dustywing, 4 American Snout,
3 Tiny Checkerspot, 1 Painted Lady, 15 Cloudless Sulfur and 4 Southern Dogface.
From: Dennis Walker
Date: Friday, September 28
The Arboretum was fantastic this past Tuesday (Sept. 25). I had
a great time and got some great photos. The White-patched Skipper
I saw (not a great photo but OK for ID) was confirmed as a county record by
Jim Brock and Ken Davenport. I enjoyed my visit - hope to return soon. I just
finished the list for that day: 29 species including Arizona Powdered-Skipper,
White Checkered-Skipper, Eufala Skipper, Acacia Skipper, Orange Skipperling,
Fiery Skipper, richson's White-Skipper, Golden-headed Scallopwing, Funereal
Duskywing, White-patched Skipper, Pipevine Swallowtail, Sleepy Orange, Cloudless
Sulphur, Southern Dogface, Mexican Yellow, Gray Hairstreak, Leda Ministreak,
Ceraunus Blue, Mormon Metalmark, Arizona Metalmark, Palmer's Metalmark, American
Snout, Bordered Patch, Queen, Empress Leilia, Painted Lady, Gulf Fritillary,
Elada Checkerspot, Tiny Checkerspot.
From: Adriane Grimaldi and Marceline
Vandewater
Date: Saturday, September 22
Here's what we saw on the guided Butterfly Walk Sept. 22. Two Pipevine Swallowtail
caterpillar were seen in addition to these, and many Queen caterpillars were
on Pineleaf Milkweed. We divided our group in two, and here are separate lists:
(Adriane's list) 40 Pipevine Swallowtail, 1 Two-Tailed Swallowtail, 1 Monarch,
25 Queen, 25 Cloudless Sulphur, 12 Southern Dogface, 7 Sleepy Orange, 4 Mexican
Yellows, 1 Gray Hairstreak, 4 Marine Blue, 2 Ceraunus Blue, 1 Gulf Fritillary,
1 Variegated Fritillary, 2 Bordered Patch, 2 Fatal Metalmark, 1 Palmer's Metalmark,
1 Tiny Checkerspot, 1 Painted Lady, 3 Funereal Duskywing, 2 Mournful Duskywing,
1 Orange Skipperling, 1 Golden-headed Scallopwing, 3 Common Checkered Skipper,
5 Fiery Skipper, 5 Empress Leilia and 3 Arizona Powdered-Skipper.
Marceline & Paul Kinslow's list: 24 Pipevine Swallowtail, 1 Two-tailed
Swallowtail, 1 Checkered White, 14 Sleepy Orange, 6 Southern Dogface, 35 Cloudless
Sulphur, 2 Mexican Yellow, 1 Gray Hairstreak, 1 Great Purple Hairstreak, 3
Marine Blue, 2 Ceraunus Blue, 8 American Snout, 1 Monarch, 10 Queen, 1 Gulf
Fritillary, 1 Variegated Fritillary, 2 Bordered Patch, 2 Fatal Metalmark,
1 Mormon Metalmark, 1 Palmer's Metalmark, 1 Tiny Checkerspot, 1 Texan Crescent,
1 Painted Lady, 3 Funereal Duskywing, 2 Mournful Duskywing, 2 Orange Skipperling,
1 Golden-headed Scallopwing, 3 Common Checkered Skipper, 4 Fiery Skipper,
6 Empress Leilia, 3 Eufala Skipper, 3 Arizona Powdered-Skipper 3
From: Chris Kline
Date: Thursday, September 20
We had our first ever BioBlitz on Saturday September 15. Rich Bailowitz and
Doug Danforth were kind enough to come up to do the butterfly and dragonfly
survey. Below are the results for butterflies counted: 170 Pipevine Swallowtail,
2 Black Swallowtail, 2 Orange Sulphur, 133 Sleepy Orange, 150 Southern Dogface,
100 Cloudless Sulphur, 5 Mexican Yellow, 1 Tailed Orange (this was exciting
-- a new addition to BTA checklist!); 6 Marine Blue, 5 Ceraunus Blue 5, 2
Western Pygmy Blue, 3 Gray Hairstreak, 3 Leda Ministreak, 4 Fatal Metalmark,
2 Mormon Metalmark, 1 Palmer's Metalmark, 2 Elada Checkerspot, 2 Variable
Checkerspot, 25 American Snout, 20 Empress Leilia, 1 Hackberry Emperor, 2
Gulf Fritillary, 1 Variegated Fritillary, 2 Painted Lady, 1 Red Spotted Purple,
66 Queen, 8 Orange-headed Scallopwing, 15 Orange Skipperling, 10 Acacia Skipper,
5 Arizona Powdered Skipper, 3 Checkered Skipper, 1 Common Sootywing, 2 Erickson's
White Skipper, 50 Eufala Skipper and 1 Fiery Skipper. We found a total of
36 species and 808 individuals -- John Saba's record of 38 species remains
intact!
From: Marceline
Vandewater
Date: Sunday, Sept. 3
Sunday was an excellent day for butterflies! I didn’t spend as much time
looking for them as I wanted, because I was following Mr. Holycross and Mr
Brennan around on their herp walk. I have to admit that that was very informative
and interesting too:). My list for the day (Demonstration Garden, Picnic Area
and Hummingbird-Butterfly Garden) has 31 species including: 4 Black Swallowtail,
52 Pipevine Swallowtail, 24 Sleepy Orange, 63 Cloudless Sulphur, 4 Southern
Dogface, 1 Leda Ministreak, 3 Reakirt’s Blue, 4 Ceraunus Blue, 4 Marine
Blue,2 Fatal Metalmark, 1 Mormon Metalmark, 2 Palmer’s Metalmark, 190
American Snout, 1 Variegated Fritillary, 1 Gulf Fritillary,3 Tiny Checkerspot,
5 Elada Checkerspot, 8 Painted Lady, 5 Empress Leilia, 1 Monarch, 18 Queen,
2 Funereal Duskywing, 1 Northern White Skipper, 1 Acacia Skipper , 1 Nothern
Cloudywing, 1 Golden-headed Scallopwing, 2 Common Sootywing, 2 Common Checkered
Skipper, 3 Orange Skipperling, 1 Sheep Skipper and 4 Eufala Skipper.
From: Chris Kline
Date: August 28, Tuesday
On our butterfly walk this past Saturday we had 14 human participants, but
butterfly numbers were down. Overcast skies. However, the lightning and rain
stayed away for the most part. Interesting the difference a few miles can
make here in AZ. At my house in Kearny, 22 miles south of the Arboretum, two
hours of constant lightning early Saturday morning and about a half-inch of
rain. The entire town was without power for several hours. Breakers on power
poles popping were left and right. The Arboretum, however, was relatively
high and dry. An entire .01" of precipitation. Well, anyways, to the
bugs! We had Pipevine Swallowtail, Sleepy Orange, Cloudless Sulphur, Southern
Dogface, Gray Hairstreak, Bordered Patch, Queen, Funereal Duskywing and Fiery
Skipper. I went back out later in the afternoon when the sun came out and
added Fatal Metalmark, American Snout, Tiny Checkerspot, Elada Checkerspot,
Painted Lady, Empress Leilia, Monarch, Orange Skipperling. Came in this morning
(Tuesday) and added Giant Swallowtail and Sheep Skipper. Its all in the timing
I s'pose!
From: Chris Kline
Date: August 28, Tuesday
Here are the official Boyce Thompson Arboretum/CABA count results! We had
13 folks show up for a hot (its a dry heat, right) day of butterfly counting
here at BTA. We divided into three teams, with one team each visiting the
Picketpost Trailhead of the Arizona Trail, the Arboretum, the town of Superior
and sections of Queen Creek in town, and also Oak Flats six miles East of
the Arboretum. I am listing the day's results for each of the four sites and
then the total for the count. BOYCE THOMPSON ARBORETUM: 22 Pipevine
Swallowtail, 2 Two-tailed Swallowtail, 11 Sleepy Orange, 2 Orange Sulphur,
68 Cloudless Sulphur, 3 Southern Dogface, 1 Ceraunus Blue, 3 American Snout,
1 Gulf Fritillary, 4 Tiny Checkerspot, 5 Elada Checkerspot, 2 California Patch,
11 Empress Leilia, 1 Mourning Cloak, 6 Queen, 2 Funereal Duskywing, 4 Common
Sootywing, 1 Acacia Skipper, 1 Arizona Powdered Skipper, 2 Common Streaky
Skipper, 1 Orange Skipperling, 1 Eufala Skipper. We had a total of 22 species,
154 individuals. OAK FLATS: 4 Pipevine Swallowtail, 4 Two-tailed Swallowtail,
2 Sleepy Orange, 2 Orange Sulphur, 15 Cloudless Sulphur, 1 Ceraunus Blue,
2 Marine Blue, 1 Western Pygmy Blue, 1 American Snout, 1 Variegated Fritillary,
1 West Coast Lady, 1 Monarch, 2 Queen, 1 Duskywing sp., 2 Common Sootywing,
8 Acacia Skipper, 1 Golden-headed Scallopwing, 1 Fiery Skipper, 1 Eufala Skipper;
18 species, 50 individuals. ARIZONA TRAIL @ PICKETPOST TRAILHEAD: 7
Pipevine Swallowtail, 4 Sleepy Orange, 13 Cloudless Sulphur, 12 American Snout,
14 Empress Leilia, 1 Hackberry Emperor, 2 Queen, 1 Common Sootywing -- 8 species,
54 individuals. TOWN OF SUPERIOR: 7 Pipevine Swallowtail, 1 Two-tailed
Swallowtail, 7 Sleepy Orange, 4 Orange Sulphur, 24 Cloudless Sulphur, 1 Western
Pygmy Blue, 5 American Snout, 1 Painted Lady, 10 Empress Leilia, 2 Queen,
1 Common Sootywing 1 -- 11 species, 63 individuals. TOTAL FOR BTA/CABA
COUNT: 40 Pipevine Swallowtail, 7 Two-tailed Swallowtail, 24 Sleepy Orange,
8 Orange Sulphur, 120 Cloudless Sulphur, 3 Southern Dogface 3, 2 Ceraunus
Blue, 2 Marine Blue, 2 Western Pygmy Blue, 21 American Snout, 1 Variegated
Fritillary, 1 Gulf Fritillary, 4 Tiny Checkerspot, 5 Elada Checkerspot, 2
California Patch, 1 Painted Lady, 1 West Coast Lady, 35 Empress Leilia, 1
Hackberry Emperor, 1 Mourning Cloak, 1 Monarch, 12 Queen, 2 Funereal Duskywing,
1 Duskywing sp., 8 Common Sootywing, 9 Acacia Skipper, 1 Arizona Powdered
Skipper, 2 Common Streaky Skipper, 1 Golden-headed Scallopwing, 1 Orange Skipperling,
1 Fiery Skipper, 2 Eufala Skipper -- 31 species, 321 individuals. And FYI,
the mysterious dragonfly we caught appears to be a Straw-colored Sylph.
From: Dave Powell
Date: August 5, Sunday
A few surprises on our guided butterfly walk Sunday morning included a Bordered
Patch which held to its perch, allowing photographers in our group some great
closeups, and also a territorial Empress Leilia guarding a spot in the road
just below the rolling gate to the Picnic Area. We also found 4 Common Sootywings
and 1 Common Streaky Skipper. Butterflies seen (in numerical order from highest
to lowest) included 40 Cloudless Sulphur, 20 Pipevine Swallowtail, 15 Elada
Checkerspot, 12 Queen, 10 Tiny Checkerspot, 6 Empress Leilia, 3 Sleepy Orange,2
Two-tailed Swallowtail and 1 Orange Sulphur.
From: Kurt & Cindy Radamaker and Dave Powell
Date: July 28 (Saturday)
Heat, gray skies and high humidity may have resulted in a slower-than-usual
morning for finding butterflies but we had great participation (18 adults
and 10 kids) on the butterfly walk July 28 and a few surprises -- including
our one Monarch of the day, which was observed at the south end of the Hummingbird-Butterfly
Garden. Other types seen on our walk included Cloudless Sulphur, Southern
Dogface, Sleepy Orange, Acacia Skipper, Marine Blue, Funereal Duskywing, Pipevine
Swallowtail and Queen.
From: chris kline
Date: Sat, 16 Jun
Here is a list from my two hour walk this morning. Next Saturday we will have
a butterfly walk from 9:30 AM til whenever ('til we are too hot to go any
further!). Kurt Radamaker will be leading. Today's route included the Demonstration
Garden, Rose Garden, Herb Garden and Main Trail as far as the suspension bridge
over Queen Creek. Time was from 8:45 - 11:00 AM., with a starting temperature
of 93 degrees and finishing temperature of 98 degrees Sunny and calm. Species
seen include 17 Pipevine Swallowtail, 19 Sleepy Orange, 1 Cloudless Sulphur,
3 Southern Dogface, 3 Dainty Sulphur, 2 Leda Ministreak, 2 Reakirt's Blue,
12 Ceraunus Blue, 31 Marine Blue, 9 Fatal Metalmark, 1 American Snout, 4 Empress
Leilia, 1 Common Buckeye, 37 Queen, 5 Funereal Duskywing, 1 Mournful Duskywing,
7 Acacia Skipper, 8 Arizona Powdered Skipper, 1 Golden-headed Scallopwing,
10 Common/White Checkered Skipper, 16 Orange Skipperling, 2 Fiery Skipper,
1 Eufala Skipper. In total there were 23 species and 193 individuals. Species
that we've been seeing lately that are conspicuously absent from this list
include: Gray Hairstreak, Western Pygmy Blue. While we have LOTS of nectar,
the plants that seem to be attracting the most leps currently are Mexican
Hat, Vitex (Pepper Tree, but the blooms are fading fast), and Melaleuca. Final
note: In my four plus years here at BTA, we currently have more Acacia and
Arizona Powdered Skippers than I have ever seen at one-time. Normally we may
have 3-4 sightings a year of each of these two.
From: Chris Kline & Adriane Grimaldi
Date: Saturday, May 26, 2007
We had a great butterfly walk today. More butterflies than people, and we
had 53 people -- so good stuff! We counted 28 species (195 individuals), and
the Silver-banded Hairstreak was a new addition to the Arboretum's butterfly
checklist. Nectar sources are plentiful. The Mexican Hat flowers and Vitex
(Pepper Tree) were especially strong attractants. I covered the Demonstration
Garden and the Main Trail from the Eucalyptus Forest to the suspension bridge
on a Saturday that was sunny, calm, and with temps from low to mid 90's. We
saw: 25 Pipevine Swallowtail, 5 Checkered White, 27, Sleepy Orange, 2 Cloudless
Sulphur, 21 Southern Dogface, 3 Dainty Sulphur, 4 Gray Hairstreak, 2 Leda
Ministreak, 6 Reakirt's Blue, 1 Ceraunus Blue, 28 Marine Blue, 2 Fatal Metalmark,
3 Mormon Metalmark, 2 Palmer's Metalmark, 9 American Snout, 1 Variegated Fritillary,
1 Tiny Checkerspot, 1 Elada Checkerspot, 1 Texan Crescent, 2 Empress Leilia,
1 Monarch, 25 Queen, 3 Funereal Duskywing, 1 Northern White Skipper, 3 Arizona
Powdered Skipper, 8 Common/Desert Checkered Skipper and 7 Orange Skipperling.
From: Marceline Vandewater
Date: Saturday, May 6, 2007
David Powell and I had 24 visitors along with us when we started off the Butterfly
walk; our report below includes some that we saw after the official walk,
when we checked out the small drying-up puddle in the Queen Creek. We found:
32 Pipevine Swallowtail, 6 Checkered White, 6 Sleepy Orange, 3 Southern Dogface,
4 Dainty Sulphur, 1 Gray Hairstreak, 7 Reakirt's Blue, 3 Ceraunus Blue, 12
Marine Blue, 1 Spring Azure, 2 Square-spotted Blue (Martin's); 1 Mormon Metalmark,
12 American Snout, 1 Checkerspot sp., 3 Bordered Patch, 10 Empress Leilia,
2 Queen, 2 Northern White Skipper, 2 Orange Skipperling, 3 Arizona Powdered
Skipper, 1 Acacia Skipper, 1 Sheep Skipper.
From: Chris Kline
Date: Saturday, March 24, 2007
We had roughly 20 people show up for our first official butterfly walk of
2007 today...unfortunately, not as many butterflies. This may be the first
walk where the people outnumbered the butterflies! On the "official"
walk we had 15 Pipevines, one Painted Lady, and one Queen. Distraught by the
poor turnout, I walked the entire Main Trail afterward, hoping to find something
flying somewhere (below is a record of that). Overall a poor butterfly day.
Since March 21 we've had just short of two inches of rain. The rain cleared
out about 30 minutes before the walk started. I'd guess that had something
to do with the poor turnout. This list reflects what was seen from 9:30-12:30
on a day that was partly cloudy, with temps in the low-60s. 31 Pipevine Swallowtails,
2 Two-tailed Swallowtails, Sleepy Orange, Marine Blue, Tiny Checkerspot, Painted
Lady, 3 Empress Leilia, 4 Queen, 2 Checkered Skippers. We had a total of 9
species, 46 individuals.
From: Chris Kline
Date: Tuesday, 26 December, 2006
Hi all -- I jst made a 20 minute walk through our Demonstration Garden. Still
some things flying after several sub-freezing nights in a row. Pipevine
Swallowtail, Spring White, Clouded Sulphur, Cloudless Sulphur, 2 Dainty Sulphurs,
3 Mexican Yellows, Sleepy Orange, Gray Hairstreak, 2 American Snouts, 4 Queen,
2 Monarchs and 2 Funereal Duskywings.
From: Tom Fiore & Brenda Inskeep (N.Y. City & Peoria, AZ)
Date: Wednesday, December 6
Pipevine Swallowtail, Checkered White, Cabbage White (1), Orange Sulphur,
Southern Dogface, Cloudless Sulphur, Mexican Yellow, Barred Yellow, Sleepy
Orange, Dainty Sulphur, Leda Ministreak, Western Pygmy-Blue, Fatal Metalmark,
American Snout, Variegated Fritillary, Painted Lady (many), Common Buckeye,
Queen (common), Common Checkered-Skipper and Common Sootywing.
From: Chris Kline
Date: Saturday October 28
I didn't get to participate in today's guided butterfly walk (the last one
here until next Spring, 2007), but was able to go out for two hours in the
afternoon. A nice supply of leps still out there -- 30 species/232 individuals.
Here is what I found: 29 Pipevine Swallowtail, 1 Two-tailed Swallowtail, 51
Sleepy Orange, 35 Cloudless Sulphur, 1 Clouded Sulphur, 1 Orange Sulphur,
22 Southern Dogface, 4 Dainty Sulphur, 2 Mexican Yellow, 1 Great Purple Hairstreak,
1 Ceraunus Blue, 1 Spring Azure, 7 Western Pygmy Blue, 1 Arizona Metalmark,
13 American Snout, 2 Variegated Fritillary, 3 Texan Crescent, 1 Painted Lady,
3 West Coast Lady, 4 Empress Leilia, 1 Hackberry Emperor, 1 Mourning Cloak,
1 Common Buckeye, 1 Monarch, 18 Queen, 1 Arizona Powdered Skipper, 13 Common/White
Checkered Skipper, 3 Orange Skipperling, 6 Fiery Skipper, 4 Eufala Skipper.
From: Adriane Grimaldi
Date: Saturday, September 23
What a great day for butterflies! From 9:30 to 11:00a.m. we counted 40 Pipevine
Swallowtails, 60 Cloudless Sulphurs, 25 Clouded Sulphers, 20 Southern Dogface,
4 Snouts, 1 Painted Lady, 15 Empress Leilia, 4 Monarchs (two were tagged by
Arboretum Education Coordinator Chris Kline today during the walk); 30 Queens,
3 Funereal Duskywings, 20 Skippers (not sure what kind) some Fiery; some unidentified.
I was able to get good photos of the Funereal Duskywing and Clouded Sulpher
-- see you Oct. 28 for next Butterfly Walk!
From: Chris Kline
Date: Friday, September 22
From 10 a.m. to Noon there were light breezes and temperatures in the low
80s. Species include 6 Black Swallowtail, 63, Pipevine Swallowtail, 5 Large
Orange Sulphur, 50 Sleepy Orange, 160 Cloudless Sulphur, 6 Southern Dogface,
2 Gray Hairstreak, 3 Marine Blue, 2 Fatal Metalmark, 1 Mormon Metalmark, 14
American Snout, 3 Tiny Checkerspot, 1 California Patch, 5 Bordered Patch,
3 Painted Lady, 96 Empress Leilia, 3 Monarch, 33 Queen, 12 Funereal Duskywing,
5 Common/White Checkered Skipper, 2 Orange Skipperling, 2 Fiery Skipper, 15
Eufala Skipper. Note: no adults today, but caterpillars were on fennel in
our Herb Garden. on a short walk Monday I also spotted Western Pygmy Blue
and Dainty Sulphur, and yesterday on a school program saw a Giant Swallowtail.
My suspicion is that the latter was so terrorized by the 5th graders its probably
in Yuma by now! Friday I had 23 species/479 individuals. All in all, a good
list for the Arboretum. Initially I thought I might have a chance to beat
John Saba's species record here at BTA (is it 31 John?) but no luck! Includes
the entire Main Trail plus the Demonstration and Herb Gardens.
From: Chris Kline
Date: Wednesday, August 23
In preparation for our butterfly walk on Saturday (August 26) I took a walk
this morning to see who's about. Kurt Radamaker will be leading Saturday's
walk, which starts at 9:30am. Today I had 13 species (302 individuals) and
I also have 47 monarch caterpillars in my milkweed study area. Species counted
from 9:45am - 11:30am includ 20 Pipevine Swallowtail, 2 Orange Sulphur, 3
Sleepy Orange, 229 Cloudless Sulphur, 3 Large Orange Sulphur, 1 Lyside Sulphur,
14 Marine Blue, 1 Fatal Metalmark, 4 American Snout, 13 Empress Leilia, 1
Monarch, 10 Queen and 1 Funereal Duskywing.
From: Chris Kline
Date: August 1, 2006
The Lysides have arrived! A short walk around the Arboretum this morning produced
154 individuals (11 species) on a calm, sunny day with temperatures in the
low 90s. Seen were 5 Pipevine Swallowtail, 1 Sleepy Orange, 47 Cloudless Sulphur,
2 Clouded Sulphur, 72 Lyside Sulphur, 6 Marine Blue, 1 Fatal Metalmark, 3
Empress Leilia, 15 Queen, 1 Acacia Skipper and 1 Fiery Skipper.
From: Chris Kline
Date: June 21, 2006
What a difference a year makes, my count a year ago on this date tallied 19
species and 1,376 individuals, while today there were 112 individuals representing
16 species observed around the Arboretum from 9:45-11:30 a.m. on a sunny morning
with no wind and temps ranging from 90-100 degrees from start to finish. Most
of the Checkered Skippers were on blooming Silver Germander - this plant is
quite the butterfly magnet this year! Butterflies seen included 9 Pipevine
Swallowtail, 29 Sleepy Orange, 1 Southern Dogface, 1 Mexican Yellow, 24 Ceraunus
Blue, 2 Marine Blue, 3 Western Pygmy Blue, 1 Fatal Metalmark, 1 Elada Checkerspot,
3 Empress Leilia, 18 Queen, 6 Funereal Duskywing, 12 Arizona Powdered Skipper,
7 Common/White Checkered-skipper, 3 Orange Skipperling and 2 Fiery Skipper.
From: Chris Kline
Date: May 26
Marine Blues were the most numerous of all today, with 101 counted around
the Arboretum on the day before our regular butterfly walk. Also seen were
5 Pipevine Swallowtail, 6 Sleepy Orange, 7 Southern Dogface, 1 "Siva"
Juniper Hairstreak, 2 Gray Hairstreak, 1 Reakirt's Blue, 4 Mormon Metalmark,
8 American Snout, 2 Tiny Checkerspot, 13 Empress Leilia, 20 Queen...for a
total of 12 species and 170 individuals. Numbers are starting to rebound from
a very slow spring!
From: Chris Kline
Date: Saturday, April 29
Such a nice day decide to look for leps and odonates. Sunny, light breeze,
temp low 80's. Found 11 Pipevine Swallowtails, 14 Marine Blue, one each Spring
Azure, American Snout and Empress Leilia; 6 Tiny Checkerspot (total of six
species and 34 individuals). Also had a couple sulphurs but couldn't get a
good look. Probably Sleepy Orange. Also had a very dark skipper, lacking white
fringe. In comparison to previous years, on April 23, 2005 had 17 species
(96 individuals) and was being over-run by Texan Crescents. And on April 28,
2004, 24 species and 185 individuals including 60 Snouts and 25 Checkered
Whites. I find it very interesting how things change from year to year!
From: Adriane Grimaldi
Date: Saturday, April 22
Participants who attended our first guided butterfly tour of 2006 saw 12 Pipevine
Swallowtails, one Sleepy Orange, one Snout, one Marine Blue and that was it!
Luckily I had brought along some specimens to look at or it would have been
really disappointing. The weather was just too cool for the butterflies. We
did spot four caterpillars on the Fennel plant in the Herb Garden.
From: Chris Kline
Date: April 1, 2006
TGIA (thank God its April!); March was such a bust, but today a glimmer of
hope penetrated my pessimism. Eight species and 37 individuals. Sunny, light
breeze, temps in the low 70's. Species, and numbers of individuals observed,
includ 21 Pipevine Swallowtail, 1 Sara's Orangetip, 7 Sleepy Orange, 2 Marine
Blue, 2 Spring Azure, 1 American Snout, 2 Painted Lady, 1 Monarch. Our first
Vanessa's of the season. Also, we rarely get spring monarchs thru here. This
one was rather beat up and faded. It wouldn't settle down long enough to determine
gender. Also had what I think was a Satyr Comma, but I no more than spotted
it and it took wing. When I spotted it it was nectaring on sumac.
From: John Saba
Date: Oct. 8
Today's list includes 38 species, which represents an incredible diversity
for this location. There were 437 individuals seen on a day with temperature
from 75-85 degrees, partly cloudy skies, intermittent light wind, becoming
breezy in afternoon. Seen were 20 Pipevine Swallowtail, 1 Black Swallowtail,
1 Giant Swallowtail, 4 Checkered White, 3 Orange Sulphur, 5 Southern Dogface,
11 Cloudless Sulphur, 25 Sleepy Orange, 12 Mexican Yellow, 2 Dainty Sulphur,
10 Gray Hairstreak, 25 Leda Ministreak, 13 Spring Azure, 2 Reakirt's Blue,
25 Ceraunus Blue, 4 Marine Blue, 7 Western Pygmy Blue, 11 Mormon Metalmark,
7 Fatal Metalmark, 15 American Snout, 1 Variegated Fritillary, 1 Texan Crescent,
25 Painted Lady, 6 Common Buckeye, 1 Tropical Buckeye, 22 Empress Leilia,
2 Monarch, 135 Queen, 2 Arizona Powdered-Skipper, 1 Funereal Duskywing (Erynnis
sp. 3); 9 Common/White Checkered-Skipper, 2 Erichson's White-Skipper, 7 Orange
Skipperling, 7 Fiery Skipper, 1 Cestus Skipper, 1 Sheep Skipper, 7 Eufala
Skipper and one Violet-clouded Skipper.
From: Chris Kline
Date: Friday, Oct. 8, from 9:15 am to 10:45 pm
Tied John Saba's record for species during my 90 minute trip around the grounds
-- great butterflies right now! We saw 28 different species and 223 individuals,
including 17 Pipevine Swallowtail, 1 Giant Swallowtail, 2 Checkered White,
12 Sleepy Orange, 9 Cloudless Sulphur, 6 Southern Dogface, 3 Mexican Yellow,
3 Gray Hairstreak, 1 Leda Ministreak, 1 Reakirt's Blue, 10 Ceraunus Blue,
2 Marine Blue, 3 Spring Azure, 1 Western Pygmy Blue, 2 Arizona Metalmark,
3 Mormon Metalmark, 10 Snout, 1 Gulf Fritillary, 19 Painted Lady, 7 Empress
Leilia, 1 Common Buckeye, 1 Monarch, 99 Queen, 2 Funereal Duskywing, 1 Northern
White Skipper, 1 White/Common Checkered Skipper, 5 Fiery Skipper and 1 Eufala
Skipper. We also had a bug that looked like a small, not quite right, version
of the White/Common Checkered SKipper.
From: John Saba
Date: Saturday, August 20, from 9:10 am to 3:50 pm
Today's count around the grounds included 184 individuals representing 21
species, including 26 Pipevine Swallowtail, 2 Two-tailed Swallowtail, 1 Checkered
White, 7 Orange Sulphur, 3 Southern Dogface, 7 Cloudless Sulphur, 25
Sleepy Orange, 1 Leda Ministreak, 6 Ceraunus Blue, 9 Marine Blue, 1 Western
Pygmy-Blue, 7 American Snout, 5 Elada Checkerspot, 1 Texan Crescent, 12 Painted
Lady, 3 Common Buckeye, 4 Empress Leilia, 60 Queen, 1 Arizona Powdered-Skipper,
1 Erichson's White-Skipper, 2 Fiery Skipper. Temperatures ranged from 85-95
degrees on a day that was sunny, mostly still, and humid.
From: Chris Kline
Date: Thu, August 11
Thursday I counted 14 species and 70 individuals around the grounds, including
11 Pipevine Swallowtail, 1 Sleepy Orange, 4 Cloudless Sulphur, 1 Clouded Sulphur,
2 Leda Ministreak, 3 Ceraunus Blue, 1 Elada Checkerspot, 3 Painted Lady, 4
Common Buckeye, 1 Monarch, 36 Queen, 1 Golden-headed Scallopwing, 1 Common/White
Checkered-Skipper and 1 Fiery Skipper. Conditions were mostly sunny 12:30-2:30
pm with a slight breeze, temperatures in the low 90's. A relatively slow day
lepidopterally speaking. Anybody seeing Lyside Sulphurs yet? Should be about
time. Odonately speaking, things are really picking up. There's water in Queen
Creek again; I wasn't really dressed to go wading, but saw several Flame Skimmers,
Roseate Skimmers, Filigree Skimmer and others.
From: John Saba
Date: Saturday, July 23
Best spot was today was the Demonstration Garden, but the Butterfly Garden,
Herb Garden, and Legume Exhibit were also worth checking. Temperatures from
85 - 95 degrees, partly cloudy, with intermittent light wind and very humid.
Today's count of 28 species may be a new record! And a total of 177 individuals.
Species (and totals) were 20 Pipevine Swallowtail, 4 Checkered White, 6 Southern
Dogface, 5 Cloudless Sulphur, 22 Sleepy Orange, 2 Mexican Yellow, 1 Eurema
sp., very probably Boisduval's Yellow (very ratty individual); 2 Dainty Sulphur,
5 Gray Hairstreak, 6 Leda Ministreak, 3 Reakirt's Blue, 6 Ceraunus Blue, 1
Marine Blue, 5 Fatal Metalmark, 6 American Snout, 2 Variegated Fritillary,
1 American Lady, 6 Painted Lady, 10 Common Buckeye, 7 Empress Leilia, 1 Monarch,
40 Queen, 1 Northern Cloudywing, 4 Common/White Checkered-Skipper, 1 Erichson's
White-Skipper, 4 Orange Skipperling, 5 Fiery Skipper and 1 Eufala Skipper.
From: Chris Kline
Date: June 21, Tuesday, partly cloudy, calm winds, temp. 105 degrees F. 2:30-4:00
pm.
This is my third year at the Arboretum and I have never seen butterfly numbers
like what we are currently experiencing. I apologize in that I sincerely think
the numbers below are a gross underestimate. In addition, the observations
below were made in only three locations: demonstration garden, rose garden,
and herb garden. There was another mile or so of trail I didn't get to: 24
Pipevine Swallowtail, 6 Checkered White, 4 Cloudless Sulphur, 9 Orange Sulphur,
2 Southern Dogface, 3 Dainty Sulphur, 24 Gray Hairstreak, 993 Leda Ministreak
(had to estimate numbers on individual plants due to high #'s); 51 Reakirt's
Blue, 3 Ceraunus Blue, 89 Marine Blue, 1 *Acmon Blue (new to the BTA checklist!);
3 Fatal Metalmark, 13 Snout, 1 Variegated Fritillary, 2 Texan Crescent, 148
Queen and 1 Common/White Checkered-skipper. Total number of species was 19,
with 1,376 individuals. I suppose one nice thing about the hot temps is that
several species seem to be attracted to various mints for respite from the
heat. It was common place to find Leda Ministreaks at rest on individual plants
by the hundreds.
From: Chris Kline
Date: June 8 (Wednesday)
Noticed a large number of butterflies around the Arboretum so I figured today
I'd do a one-man butterfly walk around our main trail. WOW! It was not a record
for species in one day but was a record for individuals in one day. And all
accomplished in a two and a half hour walk. Saw a total of 21 sepecies and
255 individuals including 6 Pipevine Swallowtail, 4 Giant Swallowtail, 21
Checkered White, 7 Cloudless Sulphur, 4 Orange Sulphur, 5 Southern Dogface,
10 Dainty Sulphur, 16 Gray Hairstreak, 11 Leda Ministreak, 7 Reakirt's Blue,
68 Marine Blue, 3 Fatal Metalmark, 1 Mormon Metalmark, 29 American Snout,
6 Texan Crescent, 1 Empress Leilia, 40 Queen, 2 Funereal Duskywing, 1 Arizona
Powdered Skipper, 2 Common/White Checkered Skipper, 1 Orange Skipperling.
Also had a new one to BTA but couldn't get a good enough look. A Sootywing
of some sort I think, Will check again later. For details about other butterfly
reports around Arizona contact SoWestLep@yahoogroups.com
From: Chris Kline
Date: May 28 from 10:30 until noon
We had the largest crowd to date for today's butterfly walk: 34 people! Walk
was from 10:30am - 12:30, on a sunny day with temperatures in the mid-80's.
We had 15 different species and 62 individuals including 8 Pipevine Swallowtail,
3 Giant Swallowtail, 2 Cloudless Sulphur, 2 Clouded Sulphur, 2 Orange Sulphur,
2 Southern Dogface, 5 Dainty Sulphur, 2 Boisduval's Yellow, 1 Reakirt's Blue,
10 Marine Blue, 1 Western Pygmy Blue, 10 American Snout, 2 Texan Crescent,
2 Empress Leilia, 10 Queen. For details about other butterfly reports around
Arizona contact SoWestLep@yahoogroups.com
From: Chris Kline
Date: April 23, from 10:30 until noon
There were countless blues that wouldn't hold still long enough to get a clear
ID on today's guided walk. Reakirt's Blue and Marine Blue have been spotted
recently along with Spring Azure. About a mile west of the Arboretum I spotted
what was probably an Acmon Blue two days ago. Our walk today tallied 18 species
and 97 individual. Numbers of each were: 12 Pipevine Swallowtail, 3 Giant
Swallowtail, 3 Clouded Sulphur, 3 Dainty Sulphur, 7 Spring Azure, 2 Western
Pygmy Blue, 11 American Snout, 2 Tiny Checkerspot, 43 Texan Crescent, 2 Empress
Leilia, 1 Hackberry Emperor, 1 Common Buckeye, 1 Queen , 2 Checkered Skipper.
And a few which were seen prior to the guided walk include one each of Monarch,
Gray Hairstreak, Red Admiral and Arizona Powdered Skipper.
From: John Saba
Date: Saturday, March 26 from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm
Thirteen species were observed (112+ individuals) on a day with temperatures
in the upper 60's, mostly clear, and intermittent light winds. Wildflowers
are good, the best place for butterflies is around the Demonstration Garden,
but the Herb Garden shows promise as things begin blooming there. Species
and relative numbers today were Pipevine Swallowtail 15, Checkered White 15+,
"Pima" Desert Orangetip 1, Dainty Sulphur 13, Spring Azure 20, American
Snout 1, Mourning Cloak 2, Painted Lady 30+, Red Admiral 6, Empress Leilia
1, Arizona Powdered-Skipper 3, Common/White Checkered-Skipper 3, Orange Skipperling
2.
2004 - 2004 - 2004 - 2004 - 2004 - 2004 - 2004
From: Chris Kline
Date: Dec. 12, from 1:00-2:30pm
Was such a nice day, I couldn't help but go out and do an improptu butterfly
count. Not a lot of bugs, but fun none the less. Three miles west of Superior.
Elevation 2400-feet, Sunny, light wind, temp low 70's. Numbers and species
were 7 Cloudless Sulphur, 1 Southern Dogface, 6 Snout, 10 Queen, and one Monarch
-- sporting a light blue tag, couldn't see tag #! Also had a blue of some
sort and several little orange ones, but couldn't get close enough to confirm
ID (probably orange sulphur).
From: Chris Kline
Date: Nov. 20 from 10:30am - Noon.
The results from today's butterfly walk. Not many bugs, and the few we saw
were VERY active (downright hyper!). 4
Pipevine Swallowtails, 4 Cloudless Sulphur, 2 Mexican Yellow, 2 Snout, 1 Empress
Leilia, 2 Monarch (one of them recieved tag #C700!), 12 Queen. This was our
final walk of the season. We will pick up again in March. Always looking for
volunteers to lead these. Once a month, start time at 10:30am. Sign up for
one month or several. I'm flexible ;)
Also, anybody traveling to southwest Arizona, Baja, or southern California,
please keep an eye out for our tagged monarchs. The tag is circular, light
blue, fixed to the lower side of the hindwing, usually the left hindwing.
From: Adriane Grimaldi
Date: Oct. 16 from 10:30am - Noon.
Fifteen visitors attended this month's Butterfly Walk, and we enjoyed great
weather. Here are species and total individuals observed: Pipevine Swallowtail
12, Cloudless Sulphur 21, Sleepy Orange 1, Tiny Checkerspot, 1, Checkered
Skipper, 1, Snout 4, Painted Lady 8, Empress Leilia 5, Monarch 1, Queen 25.
From: Chris Kline
Date: Sept. 18 from 10:30am - Noon.
Not a lot of variety today, although it had been awhile since we had seen
any Blues. I think the weather put a damper on things; here are species and
total individuals observed: Pipevine Swallowtail 7, Cloudless Sulphur 7, Marine
Blue 1, Western Pygmy Blue 1, Snout 4, Painted Lady 1, Empress Leilia 2, Monarch
3, Queen 61.
From: John Saba
Date: Aug. 21 (8:30 - noon & 1:30 - 3:00, 18 species)
Pipevine Swallowtail 20, Two-tailed Swallowtail 2, Orange Sulphur 3, Southern
Dogface 1, Cloudless Sulphur 30, Lyside Sulphur 1, Sleepy Orange 2, Marine
Blue 2, Palmer's Metalmark 1, Fatal Metalmark 1, American Snout 5, Painted
Lady 2, Empress Leilia 12, Hackberry Emperor 1, Queen 50, Hammock Skipper
6, Funereal Duskywing 4, Fiery Skipper 1, (144 individuals)
From: Chris Kline
Date: July 17
This morning's butterfly walk at the Arboretum was led by Adriane Grimaldi.
Thanks Adriane, Great work! The walk was conducted between 10:30 a.m. to 12:15
p.m. with conditions partly cloudy and temperatures in the upper 80s, and
winds calm. Species and totals are as follows: 1Pipevine Swallowtail 7, Sleepy
Orange 2, Cloudless Sulfur 2, Southern Dogface 3, Fatal Metalmark 1, Empress
Leilia 1, Common Buckeye 1, Queen 30, Funeral Duskywing 1, Arizona Powdered
Skipper 3, Black-tailed Rattlesnake 1. About an hour prior to the walk, an
Acacia/Gold-costa Skipper was spotted. Not sure which it was. Two reminders:
1. I ALWAYS welcome guest leaders for our butterfly walks. If you'd like to
lep new territory, give me a shout and I'll plug you into the schedule.
2. BTA will be tagging monarchs again this year, starting late August. Last
year we got about 75 tagged statewide. Would like to increase that number
markedly. Especially looking for more taggers in Cochise and Santa Cruz counties.
For details please email ckline@Ag.arizona.edu or call 520.689.2723
From: Chris Kline
Date: June 19
We tallied 13 species and a total of 78 individuals during today's walk from
10:30 a.m. until noon. Weather was sunny, temperatures in the mid-90's. Most
numerous specie today was the Queen Butterfly, with 30 individuals counted
around the grounds. Other species (and numbers) were Pipevine Swallowtail
10, Sleepy Orange 10, Cloudless Sulfur 2, Southern Dogface 4, Dainty Sulfur
6, Gray Hairstreak 1, Reakirt's Blue 5, Marine Blue 3, Fatal Metalmark 1,
Texan Crescent 1,
Common Buckeye 1, and one Funereal Duskywing.
From: John Saba
Date: May 15
The trip adds Ceraunus Blue to the checklist and upgrades Mormon Metalmark
from "rare" to "infrequent." Depending on what's blooming,
maybe next time we should take a stroll through the herb garden -- the flowering
thyme was full of activity, with five or more species. Species - and totals
- April 28 include Pipevine Swallowtail 15, Checkered White 45, Orange Sulphur
1, Southern Dogface 15, Cloudless Sulphur 1, Sleepy Orange 12, Dainty Sulphur
15, Gray Hairstreak 2, Leda Ministreak 2, Spring Azure 1, Reakirt's Blue 7,
Ceraunus Blue 1, Marine Blue 15, Mormon Metalmark 5, American Snout 35, Texan
Crescent 5, West Coast Lady 1, Red Admiral 1, Common Buckeye 4, Empress Leilia
6, Queen 12, Funereal Duskywing 4, Common/White Checkered-Skipper 3, Orange
Skipperling 1. (209 individuals).
From: Kurt Radamaker
Date: Saturday, May 8
20+ American Snout, 2 Sleepy orange, 4 Common Buckeye, 2 Empress Leilia, 1
Leda Ministreak, 2 Dainty Sulphur, 10+ Pipevine Swallowtail, 5+ Checkered
White, 1 Tiny Checkerspot, 3 Texan Cresent, 3 Common Buckeye, 5 Queen, 2 Western-pygmy
Blue, 4 Mexican Yellow, 4 Sulphur(sp) 4 Blue (sp)
From: John Saba
Date: April 28
Pipevine Swallowtail 20+, Checkered White 25+, Clouded Sulphur 1, Southern
Dogface 3, Cloudless Sulphur 1, Sleepy Orange 7, Mexican Yellow 1, Dainty
Sulphur 15+, Gray Hairstreak 2, Spring Azure 1, Reakirt's Blue 3, Marine Blue
2, Western Pygmy-Blue 10, Mormon Metalmark 1, American Snout 60+, Tiny Checkerspot
3, Elada Checkerspot 1, Texan Crescent 2, Mourning Cloak 1, Red Admiral 2,
Common Buckeye 3, Tropical Buckeye 1, Empress Leilia 16+, Hackberry Emperor
4, Queen 3, Arizona Powdered-Skipper 1.
Read more about Boyce Thompson Arboretum weekend
nature walks and EVENTS