Autumn Compilation 2016

We had a very active fall season -– with observers out in force and reporting frequently. In fact, we logged more than twice as many reports for each month than we had for the same months last year (which was our first fall using the David Reese system).

Total Reports for Autumn, 2015 vs. 2016

September 2015: 168
September 2016: 382

October 2015: 177
October 2016: 456

November 2015: 111
November 2016: 265

Total all three months:

2015 = 456
2016 = 1103.

Autumn 2016 Contributors

Thirty-nine observers contributed to the log during the period. Thanks to each of you — and a special welcome and thanks to our newest participants (listed in bold)

Cynthia Allen
Dolores Amesbury
Jesse Amesbury
Dave Amadio
Tom Bailey
Denise Bittle
Jennifer Bulava
Claire Campbell
Kim Conner
Jesse Connor
Jack Connor
Michael Drake
Amy Gaberlein
Steve Glynn
Jean Gutsmuth
Mike Hannisian
Marilyn Henry
Chris Herz
Brian Johnson
Sandra Keller
Will Kerling
Teresa Knipper
Meredith Koenig
Chip Krilowicz
M. Lee
Paul Ludgate
Jack Miller
Shoshana Osofsky
Michael Pasquarello
Beth Polvino
Virginia Rettig
Clay Sutton
Pat Sutton
Michael Stanton
Harvey Tomlinson
Chris Tonkinson
Donna Van Horn
Matt Webster
C. Wyluda

Reported in September

Sixty-two species were reported during September 2016, including three that had not been found in August (meadow fritillary, painted lady, and mourning cloak) and we also recorded our first long-tailed skipper for 2016 — our 91st species (and final FOY) for the year.

pipevine swallowtail (last 9/25)
eastern tiger swallowtail
black swallowtail
spicebush swallowtail
checkered white
cabbage white
orange sulphur
clouded sulphur
cloudless sulphur
little yellow
sleepy orange
harvester (last 9/4)
American copper
bronze copper
white-m hairstreak
gray hairstreak
red-banded hairstreak
eastern tailed-blue
summer azure
American snout
variegated fritillary
meadow fritillary (found 9/2 in SAL, first report since July)
pearl crescent
question mark
eastern comma
mourning cloak (found 9/4 in CMY, first report since July)
painted lady
American lady
red admiral
common buckeye
red-spotted purple
viceroy
tawny emperor (last 9/15)
hackberry emperor (last 9/15)
Appalachian brown (last 9/15)
Georgia satyr (new latest-ever date, 9/2/16)
common wood-nymph
monarch
silver-spotted skipper
long-tailed skipper
southern cloudywing (new latest-ever date 9/13/16)
Hayhurst’s scallopwing (last 9/22)
Horace’s duskywing
wild indigo duskywing (last 9/26)
common checkered-skipper
common sootywing (last 9/23)
least skipper
fiery skipper
Peck’s skipper
swarthy skipper
tawny-edged skipper
northern broken dash (last 9/12)
crossline skipper (last 9/20)
little glassywing (last 9/8)
sachem
Delaware skipper (last 9/23/16, tying latest-ever record)
zabulon skipper
Aaron’s skipper
broad-winged skipper (last 9-16)
dun skipper
salt marsh skipper
Ocola skipper

Dave Amadio found and photo’d our last harvester for the year on 9-4-16 at Chestnut Branch, Mantua, GLO.

Will Kerling found this egg of an Appalachian brown on a fern frond at Lizard Tail Swamp Preserve, CMY, on 9-5-16.

An American snout, shot up close and personal by Teresa Knipper at Cape May State Park on 9-7-16.

Although we do not count them separately, dark tigers seemed more common than usual this year, especially in our western counties. Claire Campbell photo’d this one at Rancocas Nature Center, BUR, on 9-8-16.

Mourning cloaks re-emerged in September after going unreported in August. Pat Sutton photo’d this one in her yard in Goshen, CMY, on 9-10-16.

Chris Herz found a variegated fritillary laying this egg on a violet in her yard in Audubon, CAM, on 9-10-16.

Chip Krilowicz found our last Appalachian brown for the year, at Willow Grove Lake in Newfield, CUM, on a new record latest-ever date, 9-15-16.

Dolores Amesbury photo’d this Hayhurst scallopwing — the last we recorded in 2016 — in her yard in Cape May Courthouse on 9-22-16.

Tom Bailey managed to capture nine orange sulphurs in a single shot at Palmyra Cove, BUR, on 9-25-16.

Virginia Rettig found this cloudless sulphur eclosing in her yard in Cape May on 9-27-16. How long have cloudless sulphurs been breeding in NJ? And are they limited (so far) to CMY County?

Reported in October

Forty-six species were reported in the adult stage during October 2016. Interesting: 2016 marked the third year in a row where our total reports in October outnumbered our total reports for September. This year the difference was especially noticeable: 456 in October, 382 in September. As the warblers leave us heading south, do more eyes turn to butterflies?

eastern tiger swallowtail (last adult 10/15; ties latest-ever date)
black swallowtail (last adult 10/30)
spicebush swallowtail (last 10-6)
checkered white (last 10/29)
cabbage white
orange sulphur
clouded sulphur
cloudless sulphur
little yellow
sleepy orange
American copper
bronze copper
white-m hairstreak
gray hairstreak
red-banded hairstreak
eastern tailed-blue
summer azure (last 10/19)
American snout
variegated fritillary
pearl crescent
question mark
eastern comma
mourning cloak (last 10/11)
painted lady
American lady
red admiral
common buckeye
red-spotted purple
viceroy (new latest-ever date: 10/29/16)
common wood-nymph (new latest-ever date: 10/6/16)
monarch
silver-spotted skipper
long-tailed skipper
Horace’s duskywing (last 10/13/16)
common checkered-skipper
least skipper (last 10/30)
fiery skipper
Peck’s skipper (last 10/19)
swarthy skipper (new latest-ever report 10/30/16)
tawny-edged skipper (last 10/14)
sachem
zabulon skipper (last 10/21)
Aaron’s skipper (new latest-ever report, 10/6/16)
dun skipper (new latest-ever, 10/18/16)
salt marsh skipper (ties latest-ever, 10/17/16)
Ocola skipper

Virginia Rettig followed up her cloudless shot above with a find of an American snout chrysalis in her yard in CMY in early October.

It was a good year for common checkered-skipper. Sandra Keller and Marilyn Henry found this one at the National Park Dredge Spoils in GLO on 10-3-16.

It was an excellent year for long-tailed skipper. Will Kerling found this one at the Triangle Garden, Cape May Point, on 10-3-16.

Where do butterflies go at night? Jack Miller found the answer for at least one cloudless sulphur was “Under black cherry leaves” — in his garden in Petersburg, CMY, on 10-12-16.

Adult tiger swallowtails are generally easy to see, but how many of us have managed to photo one of their caterpillars? Pat Sutton managed the trick in her garden in Goshen, CMY, on 10-19-16.

This female checkered white Beth Polvino found in her garden in CMY on 10-29-16 was only the second we have recorded in the county in the nine years of our project, 2008-2016. It was also the last reported in South Jersey for the year.

Reported in November

As always, species diversity declined rapidly in November, especially through the first ten-fifteen days. Nevertheless, we found 28 species during the month.

cabbage white (last report on 11/28; more coming in December?)
orange sulphur (into December)
clouded sulphur (into December)
cloudless sulphur (into December)
little yellow (last 11/11)
** (sleepy orange missed in November but found in December!)
American copper (last 11/2)
bronze copper (last 11/3)
white-m hairstreak (last 11/8)
gray hairstreak (new latest ever, 11-19-16)
red-banded hairstreak (last 11/13)
eastern tailed-blue (last 11/16)
American snout (last and only report a fly-by on 11/30)
variegated fritillary (into December)
pearl crescent (last 11/18)
question mark (last 11/27; more to come in December?)
eastern comma (into December)
painted lady (last 11/17)
American lady (last 11/19)
red admiral (into December)
common buckeye (into December)
monarch (into December)
silver-spotted skipper (new latest-ever record 11/2/16)
long-tailed skipper (last 11/3)
common checkered-skipper (last 11/8)
fiery skipper (last 11/19)
sachem (into December)
Ocola skipper (last 11/8)

Steve Glynn monitored the bronze copper colonies in SAL throughout the year. This one was his (and our) final individual for 2016, found on 11-2-16.

Meredith Koenig recommended her butterfly-watching chair seen here in her East Vineland, CUM, garden on 11/10/16.

Steve Glynn established a new latest-date ever for little yellow by finding this individual at Dix WMA, CUM, on 11-11-16.

A monarch eclosing photo’d by Dave Amadio in his garden in West Deptford, GLO, on 11-19-16.

It was an excellent summer and fall for fiery skippers, with sightings for more than four months, from July 11 to November 18. Beth Polvino found this female in her garden in North Cape May on 11/7/16.

As of the 5th of the month, we have recorded 10 species for December, including this red admiral photo’d by Harvey Tomlinson in his garden in CMY on 12/1/16.

We had a number of reports of sleepy oranges (led by Steve Glynn) at Dix WMA, CUM, through October — then weeks later (and fifty miles away) Chip Krilowicz and Jean Gutsmuth found one in “winter form” at Wheelabrator Refuge on 12-1-16 — a very rare find in GLO and a new latest-date ever for our project.

Looking Ahead To Winter

December 2015 was the warmest on record, and odds are that we will not see the number of late finds this December that we had last year. However, we have already recorded Chip and Jean’s mind-bender above and we are already nearing a dozen species for the month, so who can say what is coming?

Keep an eye out, everyone!
Jack Connor