Gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus) photo by Will Kerling, Lizard Tail Swamp April 9, 2011
We are going to be hard-pressed to do better with First-Of-Year emergences any day this year than we did on Saturday, April 9, 2011. Our widespread observers tallied seven new species for the year. In taxonomic sequence the new finds were:
eastern tiger swallowtail, Wheelbrator Refuge, Gloucester Co.
falcate orange tip, Wheelbrator Refuge, Gloucester Co.
American copper, Riverwinds Trail, Gloucester Co.
eastern pine elfin, Belleplain SF, Cape May Co.
gray hairstreak, Lizard Tail Swamp, Cape May Co.
American lady, Island Beach State Park, Ocean Co.
Juvenal’s duskywing (our first skipper of 2011), Riverwinds Trail, Gloucester Co.
Glancing back through previous years’ reports, I can’t find any matching date when we tailed seven FOYs on the same day.
And the new emergences did not stop there. Just yesterday, 4-11-10, we added two more FOYs:
brown elfin, Glassboro WMA, Gloucester Co.
common buckeye, Villas, Cape May Co.
Obviously, there’s lots to see out there. (And Gloucester Co. seems especially hot.)
See the log for the details. And keep exploring and reporting!
jc