Banded hairstreak, photo’d by Chris Herz in her garden in Audubon (Camden Co), 6-12-13
The reports of banded hairstreaks in Camden County in the last several days from Dave Amadio and Chris Herz announced the opening of our Satyrium season and sparked me to look back at our five years of reports of this intriguing group.
See the attached for a breakdown organized by counties of our five SJ species:
Satyrium Hairstreaks by SJ Counties, 2008-2012
Some quick conclusions:
- More of us need to get out to Salem County more often in June and July. Our next log report of a Satyrium of any species for that county will be our first of any species for the county.
- 2008 was our low year for Satyriums so far: we recorded them only in two counties and recorded no striped hairstreaks anywhere. (We also had fewer observers in that first year, so the lack of reports may be somewhat distorted in comparison to the years since).
- Last year, 2012 , where we recorded high counts for many species overall, was our best year for this group as well: we recorded Satyriums in 23 of the possible 40 cells on the chart.
- Over the past five years banded hairstreak has been our most reliable and widely-distributed member of the genus, checked off in 27 of the possible 40 cells. Coral hairstreak is next, checked off in 20 of the 40 cells.
- Edward’s hairstreak seems the toughest find of the group, having been reported in only two of our eight counties over the period, and in only 7 of the 40 cells (five years in Atlantic and two in Cumberland).
- Northern oak hairstreak, generally considered a rarity in New Jersey, has been reported surprisingly widely: we have now found it in five of our eight counties (all but Camden [but see below], Cumberland, and Salem).
For all reports of Satyrium on our log, go here:
All Satyrium Reports from SJBF Log, 2008-2012
For a post about the group from last year about this time, go here:
jc
Update: Dave Amadio has now added Camden County to our list for northern hairstreak with a find and photo of the species in Cherry Hill on June 17, 2013.