South Jersey Butterfly B/Log

August 2013 Compilation

Posted on September 9, 2013 by connorj

This giant swallowtail photographed by Ruth Cranmer in her garden in Mt Laurel (Burlington Co) on 8-31-13 was one of two or three found in August. Reports have now continued into September in what seems to be a mini-invasion of the species.

This giant swallowtail photographed by Ruth Cranmer in her garden in Mt Laurel (Burlington Co) on 8-31-13 was one of three found in August. Reports have now continued into September in what seems to be a mini-invasion of the species.

August 2013 was another very good month for butterflying in South Jersey.

We found 61 species during the month (one more than last August’s good count of 60). We also totaled 3680+ reports, topping last August’s excellent total of 3300+ and also topping all previous months of our log. In other words, we logged more reports last month than we have ever compiled before in any single month.

Here comes a lower number, but it may be another record total for us. We found and reported the non-adult stages of nine species in one month:

pipevine swallowtail (all three early stages reported: eggs, cats, chrysalis)
black swallowtail (ditto, all three non-adult stages reported)
tiger swallowtail (eggs and cats reported)
spicebush swallowtail (cats and chrysalis)
cloudless sulphur (eggs reported)
variegated fritillary (cat)
questionmark (cat)
red-spotted purple (cat)
monarch (cats and chrysalis)

(NABA’s American Butterflies magazine has announced a photo project intended to document the caterpillar food plants of all North American species. See the Spring 2013 issue for details. And please keep reporting the non-adults you see in our area.)

Five swallowtail species were recorded as adults during the month. Our three most numerous species — black, tiger, and spicebush — were still widely reported in August, although most individuals were showing wear and tear by the end of the month. Tiger swallowtail continued its superb year with 290 reports of 900+ individuals for the month. Spicebush swallowtails were even more numerous than tigers in August: 249 reports of 1400+ individuals. We also had 11 reports of adult pipevine swallowtails (of 16 individuals) and 7 reports of non-adult stages. Finally, in the last few days of the month, we had three reports of giant swallowtail, which signaled what seems a mini-invasion of the species into South Jersey that has continued through the first week of September.

Cloudless sulphur, one of those butterflies that seem to evoke August and September in southern New Jersey, had a solidly-respectable month with 106 reports of 330+ individuals in the month. Sachem, another species that evokes late-summer/early fall, had been having a ho-hum year in 2013, but high counts toward the end of the month suggest the fall brood of the species may be about to take over butterfly-gathering places as it does most Septembers.

Sachem was not one of the top two skippers for the month, however. Can you guess the two most common skippers of August 2013? If you can name them both, you are one of those observers who are out in the field most regularly and sharply alert to our ever-changing populations.

One of the two is silver-spotted skipper, which is probably not a surprise: we had 212 reports, with a total of 1200+ individuals. But did you guess the other species? It is zabulon skipper which surpassed silver spotted with 218 reports and almost matched it in individual totals with 1100+ individuals reported (nearly double the zab total for August 2012).

Eastern tailed-blue and summer azure were the most common lycaenids, as usual in August, followed closely by red-banded hairstreak, and all three were among our top ten most-reported species (see below).

The most-reported nymphalid for the month does not usually lead its group: red-spotted purple with 101 reports, ~225 individuals. Our three Vanessa species — American lady, painted lady, and red admiral — were in low numbers through the month, as they have been most of the year. The totals for common buckeye (76 reports, ~214 individuals) were down from August 2012 (89 reports, ~356 individuals).

Monarch numbers, which have been very low in a down year for the species, picked up just a little: 127 reports, 300+ individuals for the month. They are still below average for the month (in August 2012 we had 219 reports and 780+ individuals).

Our ten most-frequently-reported species for the month:

eastern tiger swallowtail (290 reports, ~905 individuals)
cabbage white (280 reports, ~1395 estimated individuals)
spicebush swallowtail (248 reports, ~1412 individuals)
zabulon skipper (218 reports, 1116 individuals)
silver-spotted skipper (212 reports, ~1219 individuals)
eastern-tailed blue (141, ~581)
summer azure (125, ~252)
sachem (119, ~452)
black swallowtail (116, ~265)
red-banded hairstreak (107, ~336)

Eight species with fewest reports:

giant swallowtail, 3
Appalachian brown, 3
checkered white, 2
clouded skipper, 2
sleepy orange, 1
great spangled fritillary, 1
meadow fritillary, 1
Ocola skipper, 1

Four FOYs in August:

Ocola skipper, 8/15/13
clouded skipper, 8/21/13
giant swallowtail, 8/25/13
sleepy orange, 8/27/13

Our Species Count for 2013

Our total for the year on the last day of August stood at 92 species, one fewer than last year on the last day of August, but we added little yellow in the first week of September. We now need one more species to tie last year’s 94 for the year and we need two to tie our high count of 95 species for one calendar year (set in 2008).

Contributors in August 2013:

Cynthia Allen, Jesse Amesbury, Dave Amadio, Pat Amadio, Denise Bittle, Jesse Connor, Jack Connor, Ruth Cranmer, Janet Crawford, Mike Crewe, Jim Dowdell, Kathy Flynn, Jane Galetto, Steven Glynn, Jean Gutsmuth, Chris Herz, Mike Russell, Brian Johnson, Karen Johnson, Sandra Keller, Will Kerling, Tony Klock, Teresa Knipper, Chip Krilowicz, Patty Likens, Jenny McCann, Mildred Morgan, Josh Nemeth, Beth Polvino, Gibson Reynolds, Mike Russell, Megane Smith, Clay Sutton, Pat Sutton, Chris Tonkinson, Jim Trainer, Nancy Watson, and David Wright.

Thanks to each of you for participating and especially for those of you who have drawn others into our project. Please keep at that — and keep exploring and reporting.

The full compilation for August 2013 in spreadsheet/pdf form is at the link below. Green – first of year reports, yellow = first of the month, blue = reports of non-adult stages. Bold print = totals for the month (most, not all, species have been totaled.) Hit the plus sign for easier viewing. If you want an Excel version, send me an email at nacotejackATgmailDOTcom.

Thank you, everyone!

Jack Connor

August full spreadsheet in pdf:

Spreadsheet Compilation for August 2013

Posted in Eggs, Cats, Chrysalids, Looking At Our Data, Lycaenids, Nymphalids, Pierids, Skippers, Swallowtails | Comments Off

Kevin Karlson you need not be: the value of blurry photos

Posted on September 2, 2013 by connorj

Giant swallowtail at Wheelebrator, photo'd on the fly by Dave Amadio on 8-30-13.

Giant swallowtail at Wheelabrator, photo’d on the fly by Dave Amadio on 8-30-13.

Same individual bobbing and weaving like a boxer trying to avoid Dave's lens!

Same individual bobbing and weaving trying to avoid Dave’s lens!

Dave Amadio sent in the following note with his photos above:

“Had the giant swallowtail again this afternoon [8-30-13] at Wheelabrator in Westville. I am somewhat embarrassed to send such poor images. Kevin Karlson I am not! In my defense, this swallowtail would not give me a break. It weaved and bobbed like a heavyweight boxer. It never even attempted to land during the hour that I saw it off and on. If I see this bug again, it owes me for my efforts! The pictures verify the I.D., but nothing more.”

Thanks to Dave for the documentation and for making the larger point.

All butterfly photographers (probably all photogs of every interest) have learned that most shots are delete-able: unfocused, too-distant, backlit, off-center, etc.

Even blurry photos can document a rare species or an early/late or FOY record, however. Please share them. Who knows? There might be a skeptic or two out there paging through our log who won’t believe that you saw what you claimed unless you provide photographic evidence!

If you have uploaded your pix to a website (Flicker, Smugmug, or others), you can paste the url link into the column on the far right of the log (just past the observer’s name column) and users can click immediately on it right there. In the notes column just add Photo –> to point viewers to that column. Alternatively, you can send the shot to nacotejackATgmailDOTcom and I will try to use those that are most helpful on this blog or the log’s Welcome Page.

Here’s another shot that might not win a photography contest but earns its value by documenting a South Jersey rarity, our FOY sleepy orange for 2013, found by Clay Sutton in his backyard:

Sleepy orange photo’d by Clay Sutton in Goshen on 8-27-13.

And finally I can’t help posting this one:

Kevin Karlson, look out! At least one viewer thinks this photo of Dave's has an abstract and magical appeal that many super-sharp photos can not match!

Kevin Karlson, look out! At least one viewer thinks this last giant swallowtail image from Dave has an abstract and magical appeal that many super-sharp photos can not match!

Keep ’em coming, everyone!

Posted in ID Challenges & Tips, Looking At Our Data, Pierids, Swallowtails | Comments Off

Mix of Late August Pix

Posted on September 2, 2013 by connorj

Pipevine swallowtail photo’d by Brian Johnson in Villas (Cape May County) on 8-26-13.

Thanks to these photographers and the others of you who have been sending along photos to share. Anyone willing to post a photo on the blog or log is invited to send them along to nacotejackATgmailDOTcom. I need them in jpeg format please — with a reminder about the date and the site.

See our log for the details of these sightings and all the rest.

Keep ’em coming!

Tiger swallowtail caterpillar photo’d by Chris Herz in Haddon Township (Camden County) on 8-30-13.

White-m hairstreak photo’d by Jesse Amesbury in his garden in Cape May Courthouse 8-21-13.

Macro close-up of cloudless sulphur by Will Kerling 8-29-13.

Posted in Eggs, Cats, Chrysalids, Lycaenids, Pierids, Swallowtails | Comments Off

Young Leps….

Posted on August 26, 2013 by connorj

… can be worth a photo long before they fly!

Cloudless sulphur egg on partridge pea in Villas (Cape May County), photo’d by Will Kerling 8-24-13.

Pipevine swallotwail eggs in Villas (Cape May County), photo’d by Will Kerling, 8-24-13.

Pipevine swallowtail chrysalis in Villas garden, photo’d by Will Kerling, 8-24-13.

American snout ovipositing on hackberry in Cape May Courthouse, photo’d by Will Kerling on 8-20-13. Click on image and look close and you can see the egg emerging.

American snout egg oh hackberry in Cape May Courthouse, photo'd by Will Kerling on 8-20-13.

American snout egg on hackberry in CMCH, photo’d by Will Kerling on 8-20-13.

Tiger swallowtail egg about to hatch, Jesse Connor's garden Port Republic (Atlantic County) 8-25-13.

Tiger swallowtail egg (on Prunus virgiana) about to hatch, Jesse Connor’s garden Port Republic (Atlantic County) 8-25-13.

Tiger swallowtail caterpillar in early instar (“bird dropping” instar) Jesse Connor’s garden, 8-25-13.

Snowberry clearwing, Hemaris diffinis, drying its wings before first flight, Jesse Connor’s garden, 8-23-13.

Photographers willing to share their shots on this blog or our log please send along to nacotejackATgmailDOTcom. Thank you!

Posted in Eggs, Cats, Chrysalids, Host Plants, Moths, Nymphalids, Pierids, Swallowtails | Comments Off

One Odd Azure

Posted on August 23, 2013 by connorj

A mysterious azure photo’d by Jim Dowdell in Atlantic County on 8-16-13.

Yes, the date above is correct. The photo was taken just last week — August 16th, not March 16th or April 16th.

Jim Dowdell and Clay Sutton found the odd-looking azure on that date at the Atlantic City Airport (while doing a survey on restricted area property there).

It certainly looks like the marginata form of Celastrina lucia with the gray and heavily-spotted under-wings and that dark trailing edge. That would be a remarkable find as C. lucia, the earliest-emerging member of the spring azure complex. seems a classic single-brooded (univoltine) species. Adults fly only from mid-March to mid- or late-April. Eggs hatch soon after the spring flight. The caterpillars feed on blueberry flowers, then pupate and remain hidden while they over-winter for 10 months — until the following spring. Adults of the next generation are not known to emerge until the following calendar year, 12 months (or so) after their parents.

So what species is the azure in the photo? Jim adds that the individual was also dark blue on top and it flew like a male blueberry azure — in coursing patrol low over the ground, just as our blueberry azures do in March and April.

The verdict on the ID is not certain, however.

David Wright, whose research work with Harry Pavulaan led to the original recognition and naming of the species, is not convinced it is Celastrina lucia. He observes in an email to Will Kerling that C. neglecta — summer azure — can be variably dark on the ventral surface and dark blue on the dorsal surface in late summer. David notes:

“[That] Sure looks like Blueberry Azure from Jim’s photo.

“[But] I would be very surprised if this was Celastrina lucia. Lucia pupae are in obligate diapause and require a good four months of cold temperatures to break diapause. At least this is what we discovered in the laboratory after rearing 100’s. I have never seen a lucia in the field other than in early spring.

“I rather think this is Celastrina neglecta. We occasionally see specimens like this in late summer around here and several exist in collections. Paradoxically, in August/September in the woodlands of the PA state game lands, the phenotype of neglecta darkens and the ventral markings expand prominently. Form ‘marginata’ is not uncommon. The dorsum color of the male’s wings becomes solid blue. Art Shapiro was the first one who pointed this out in Staten Island in late 1960s.

“While we can’t prove or disprove that a lucia may have broken diapause in August, I only can point to what is known to happen to some late summer neglecta specimens.

“Interesting topic. It seems to show up on butterfly blogs in August.

David.”

Posted in ID Challenges & Tips, Lycaenids | Comments Off

2000+ Reports for August…and still counting

Posted on August 19, 2013 by connorj

Monarch drying its wings after emerging from its chrysalis, photo’d by Will Kerling in Cape May County 8-11-13.

August has been good for us so far: as of 8-19-13 we have more than 2000 individual reports, including our first Ocola skipper for the year (found by Chris Tonkinson in the CMBO garden on 8-15-13), the first bronze copper reports for Cumberland County in our 6 years of logging (Brian & Karen Johnson on the west side of the Cohansey River on 8-9-13 and 8-17-13), and lots else. See the live log for the details — and keep the reports coming, everyone!

Please send any shots you are willing to share on this blog to nacotejackATgmailDOTcom. JPEG format works the best. Thank you all!

Monarch chrysalis, photo’d by Will Kerling 8-11-13.

Meadow fritillary photo’d by Dave Amadio in Salem County on 8-9-13.

Tiger swallowtail egg on Prunus virginiana, Jesse Connor’s garden, Atlantic County, 8-7-13.

Small-eyed sphinx moth, Paonias myops, in Jamie Cromartie’s backyard, Atlantic County, 8-10-13.

Posted in Eggs, Cats, Chrysalids, Looking At Our Data | Comments Off

July 2013: 70+ species for the first time

Posted on August 6, 2013 by connorj

Eastern tiger swallowtail in Cape May Courthouse, photo’d by Will Kerling on 7-4-13.

July 2013 was an excellent month for butterflies in South Jersey– as our log and contributing observers proved.

We found 71 species during the month, a new record high for any single month (topping our previous high of 67, found in July 2012). We also totaled 3188 reports, coming very close to matching last July’s all-time high of 3210 individual records in a month, a total that seemed out of the ballpark when we reached it then.

The leading stars of the show were eastern tiger swallowtails, most observers agreed. We had 342 reports of that species, more reports for Papilio glaucus than any other butterfly, and we counted 1817 individual adults, more tiger swallowtails in one month than we had ever previously recorded for that species in any full year.

Our ten most-frequently-reported species for the month:

eastern tiger swallowtail (342 reports, ~1817 individuals)
cabbage white (309 reports, ~2509 estimated individuals)
spicebush swallowtail (213 reports, ~812 individuals)
silver-spotted skipper (191 reports, ~800 individuals)
eastern-tailed blue (184, ~2153)
broad-winged skipper (169, ~3781 individuals — making it our most abundant species)
sachem (132, ~649)
summer azure (120, ~259)
black swallowtail (112, ~255)
orange sulphur (107, ~3594 individuals)

Dotted skipper at Colliers Mills WMA, photo’d by Steven Glynn on 7-10-13.

At the other end of the spectrum…

Six species with single reports:

great spangled fritillary on 7/9/13
dotted skipper on 7/10/13
harvester and mourning cloak on 7/26/13
common checkered skipper on 7/31/13
and
Palamedes swallowtail, found by Clay and Pat Sutton in their Goshen garden on 7-28-13, only our second report ever for this rare vagrant and the first since Michael O’Brien found one in Cape May on 9-11-08.

FOYs in July:

Edward’s hairstreak 7/2/13
Georgia satyr 7/4/13
rare skipper 7/4/13
dion skipper 7/9/13
checkered white 7/19/13
bronze copper 7/19/13
fiery skipper 7/21/13
Palamedes swallowtail 7/28/13

Bronze copper in Salem County, photo’d by Dave Amadio on 7-26-13.

Our Species Count for 2013

Our total for the year stands at 88 species, slightly ahead of 2012’s pace when we had 86 by the end of July. Will Kerling has pointed out, however, that the “gimme” species have all now been counted. He emailed on 7/24/13:

“We are now at the time of the year for Giant Swallowtail, Little Yellow, Long-tailed Skipper, Ocola Skipper, Brazilian Skipper, Sleepy Orange and Clouded Skipper if we hope to tie last year’s butterfly species diversity. You can substitute into the list Queen, Gulf Fritillary, Palamedes Swallowtail, Dainty Sulphur or Leonard’s Skipper, if you prefer.”

A few days later the Palamedes obediently appeared.

We now need six more species from Will’s list to tie last year’s 94 and seven to tie our high count of 95 species for one calendar year (set in 2008). Of course, that’s not including any species that would be entirely new for our list!

Contributors in July 2013:

Cynthia Allen, Jesse Amesbury, Dave Amadio, Pat Amadio, Peter Bosak, Jesse Connor, Jack Connor, Jamie Cromartie, Rhea Doherty, Jim Dowdell, Amy Gaberlein, Steven Glynn, Jean Gutsmuth, Chris Herz, Mike Russell, Brian Johnson, Karen Johnson, Sandra Keller, Will Kerling, Chip Krilowicz, Stephen Mason, Josh Nemeth, Bridget O’Connor, Jackie Parker, Keith Parker, Beth Polvino, Gibson Reynolds, Mike Russell, Bill Schuhl, Clay Sutton, Pat Sutton, Chris Tonkinson, and David Wright.

Thanks to each of you for participating. Please keep exploring and reporting.

The full compilation for July 2013 in spreadsheet/pdf form is here:

Spreadsheet Compilation for July 2013

Female checkered white in Salem County, photo’d by Dave Amadio on 7-26-13.

Posted in First Emergences, Looking At Our Data, Swallowtails | Comments Off

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

Posted on July 28, 2013 by connorj

Tiger swallowtail on Buddleia photo’d by Amy Gaberlein in Goshen on 7-17-13

What a show! Our most eye-catching butterfly seems to be flying wherever you look — and in numbers not seen in many years.

We don’t have daily/monthly data going back before our log began, but we do have numbers for the past few years, thanks to all the good work you are doing out there.

So, how does 2013 compare to 2009-2012? (In 2008, our first log year, we used verbal descriptions in the individual totals column — “lots,” “many,” “a few” — so individual counts for that year cannot be compiled, unfortunately).

A black form female tiger, photo’d by Will Kerling in Swainton (Cape May Co) 7-20-13.

Our data show that the tiger’s annual sequence is a very regular one — although the peaks and valleys vary in size from year to year.

April: We see the first adults on the wing in the second week in April (early date = 4-8-10). Our log average for the month: 18 reports and a total of approx 31 individuals.

May: Numbers increase in May, as more adults emerge from the chrysalises where they have spent the winter. Our log average: 50 reports, totaling approximately 117 individuals.

June: the numbers generally dip, as the adults from the over-wintering population have mated, laid their eggs, and died off. Log average: 27 reports, 74 individuals.

July: Adult numbers suddenly increase, often enormously, sometimes beginning in late June, as the 2^nd brood emerges – and we record far more sighting of multiple individuals. Our average: 64 reports, 255 individuals.

August: August counts have been both higher and lower than July counts. Presumably, we are seeing in August both late-emerging/lingering adults of the 2^nd brood and also the first adults emerging from the 3rd brood. Again, the timing and success of both broods (especially the fate of the caterpillars, presumably) probably depends on weather variables and other unpredictable circumstances of each summer season. Log average for the month: 73 reports, 276 individuals.

September: Numbers always drop sharply in September. Presumably, adults of the 2nd brood do not survive long into August, and by mid-September most adults of the 3^rd brood have followed them, having mated, laid eggs, and died. Log average: 25 reports, 115 individuals.

October: all adults are gone by the first week of the month. We have had only half a dozen reports for the month and none after October 6 [but see Cynthia Allen’s note in Comments below. South Jersey’s late date — and also apparently the late date of the entire state — is now 10-28-07.]

November-April: The species over-winters in the pupal state.

The graph here of all reports, April 2009 to October 2012, shows this general overall pattern: low in April, up in May, down (generally) in June, up high in July and August, and dropping in September.

Papilio glaucus reports 2009 to 2012

The graph and the averages smooth out the data, of course, and so may be a little misleading. Swallowtail numbers vary significantly from year to year — as every veteran butterflyer knows.

For a “warts-and-all” perspective, see the table below with the raw numbers of all individuals reported for each month since April 2009.

	2009	2010	2011	2012	4-yr avg	2013
April	9	72	27	19	~31	18
May	35	179	137	40	~117	194
June	11	180	88	16	~74	191
July	72	518	86	347	~255	700+
August	192	456	57	411	~276	?
September	10	138	20	291	~115	?
October	1	1	0	3	~1	?
Year Total	590	1544	415	1127	~869	?

The numbers vary each year, obviously. The April 2009 count was 9; the following April we saw 72, eight times as many. Our July counts have been as low as 72 (in 2009) and as high as 518 (in 2010) – and in July 2013, with still a few days to go, we have already recorded 700+, an order of magnitude more than we found in 2009.

2010 seems closest to the pattern that may be emerging this year. That was the one previous year where the June total matched the May total and the only year when we topped 500 individuals in a single month. One difference: 2010 started with a bang, with our highest total ever for April. In April this year, despite our increased number of participating observers, we found only 18 adult tigers on the wing, our lowest first-month count since 2009. (Perhaps, our rainy June 2013 made especially good foraging for the offspring of those few adults, leading to a higher survival rate for the 2^nd brood caterpillars? In any case the 2^nd brood outnumbered their first brood parents by a significant margin.)

Will the two months to come follow in 2010’s pattern, with tigers peaking in July and fading in August? Or, will they continue to increase in August as they did in August 2009 and August 2012? In that case, 2013 will end as a truly spectacular year for the species.

Stay tuned, everyone! And keep reporting what you see!

Josh Nemeth had 26 tiger swallowtails on Joe-pye-weed in his garden in Goshen on 7-22-13. Photo by Pat Sutton.

Posted in Eggs, Cats, Chrysalids, First Emergences, Late Dates, Looking At Our Data, Swallowtails | 1 Comment

At its northeastern limits?

Posted on July 23, 2013 by connorj

Hayhurst’s scallopwing, photo’d by Jesse Amesbury, Cape May Courthouse, 7-20-13

The scarcity of observations we have so far this year for Hayhurst’s scallopwing (only 9 as of 7-22-13) and Jesse Amesbury’s recent photo from his backyard inspired a look-back at our records for the species.

In five and a half years, we have collected a respectable 225 reports of Hayhurst’s, but the county by county breakdown shows a startling imbalance:

130 reports (58%) from Cape May County.
77 reports (31.5%) from Gloucester (most from Dave & Pat Amadio’s garden)
17 from Cumberland (7.5%)
1 report from Camden County (Chris Herz’s garden — June 26th last year).

Our four other counties? Atlantic? Burlington? Ocean? Salem? At the moment, each is looking for its first log record.

Is this imbalance an accurate reflection of the species’ distribution in South Jersey? Or are some of us possibly overlooking it in our home counties?

Gochfeld and Burger note a single report of Hayhurst’s in Ocean County by Jim Dowdell, apparently in the 1990s, and North Jersey NABA’s range map on their new website indicates at least one photographic record for Burlington County sometime after 2000* (with no records of any kind for any of NJ’s central and northern counties.)

North Jersey NABA Website for Hayhurst’s scallopwing

The BAMONA (Butterflies & Moths of North America) website shows a number of sightings west and somewhat north of us (in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and elsewhere), but none north of us on the East Coast:

BAMONA Sightings Map

Lamb’s quarters, Chenopodum album, the primary host plant, seems common in our area and ranges north through all states up the East Coast and deep into Canada. A sketch from the USDA website:

So, calling all Atlantic County, Burlington County, Ocean County, and Salem County explorers: can we go out and find this classy little skipper in places we haven’t so far?

For a spreadsheet of all our log records by county up to 7-22-13, go here (& hit the + for easier viewing):

HayhurstByCo2008to072213

Keep exploring and reporting, everyone!

*Update 7-26-13: Jim Springer has written in to note that the Burlington County record was by Frank Windfelder at Palmyra Cove on 8-5-09. Here’s the beautiful photo Frank posted on his Flicker page:

Hayhurst’s scallopwing by Frank Windfelder 8-5-09

Posted in Host Plants, Looking At Our Data, Skippers | Comments Off

Weekend Adventurers

Posted on July 16, 2013 by connorj

Almost certainly the best photograph ever taken of a dion skipper from a surfboard in the history of North American lepitdoptery. Brian Johnson, Tuckahoe River, 7-12-13.

Is this shot by Brian Johnson the best photograph ever taken of a dion skipper from a surfboard in the history of North American lepitdoptery?

At least a dozen of our contributing observers were out in the field over the weekend, Saturday and Sunday, and we had some cool finds.

Brian Johnson may have invented a new mode of butterfly-chasing as he brought his surfboard to the Tuckahoe River — and documented 71 mulberry wings and 34 dion skippers!

(Now, rumors have it that dozens of paparazzi are mucking through the wetlands of South Jersey in the hopes of photographing Brian on his surfboard on his next excursion. If one succeeds, you will see the photo here!)

The individual above is oddly-marked, but Brian, Will Kerling, and David Wright all agree that it is a male dion. David Wright notes, “Gotta commend Brian Johnson for his ingenuity. Mulberries vary from dark brown to black (featuring no spots or just very tiny pale spots). The latter variant is f. ‘suffusa’ named by Phila Laurent in 1891 from ‘meadows and Swamps’ around Philadelphia. That area is essentially coastal plain and marshland skipper populations are continuous with all those in south Jersey.”

Chris Herz used a more traditional methodology for her best find over the weekend. She walked out her back door to her garden — and discovered a dark female tiger swallowtail nectaring there:

Dark female tiger swallowtail photo'd by Chris Herz in her garden in Camden County, 7-13-13.

Dark female tiger swallowtail photo’d by Chris Herz in her garden in Audubon, 7-13-13.

We have have had few reports of those dark forms in our six years of logging. Please report any you find.

The genes that produce dark-form females are apparently most frequent in tiger swallowtail populations that overlap with populations of pipevine swallowtails. This is a consequence of Batesian mimicry, all experts seem to agree. Pipevine swallowtails feed on various Aristolochia and sequester the poisons, making them unappealing to many predators. The black and blue coloring of dark tigers fools those same predators into avoiding them as well. There must be some negative consequences of that coloring among tiger swallowtails, however, because in areas where pipevine swallowtails and their host plants are scarce — such as southern NJ — so are dark form tigers.

For an informative account by Harry Pavulaan and David Wright of their 2004 discovery of dark-form female Appalachian tiger swallowtails, Pterourus appalachiensis in West Virginia (following their initial study and discovery of that new species, 1985-2002), go here:

Pavulaan and Wright, Dark Form Appalachian Tiger in West Virginia