Triad Chapter – Reynolda Gardens – Aug 27, 2016

On Saturday morning, Aug. 27, 2016, under a sunny sky and in humid weather at Reynolda Gardens in Winston-Salem, NC, seven of us counted the following butterflies in about an hour and a half:

Pipevine Swallowtail – 2
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail – 13 (incl. 2 black form)
Black Swallowtail – 1
Cabbage White – 2
Cloudless Sulphur – 1
Sleepy Orange – 1
Azure species – 2
Pearl Crescent – 1
Red Admiral – 1
Common Buckeye – 1
Silver-spotted Skipper – 10
Spread wing skipper species – 1
Clouded Skipper – 1
Fiery Skipper – 20+
Little Glassywing – 1
Sachem – 30+
Dun Skipper – 1
Ocola Skipper – 4

Total species: 18

There were so many skippers that they were uncountable. Not only were there a lot of them, they were moving constantly, so an exact count was impossible. The vast majority were Sachems followed by many Fiery Skippers.

Despite the high humidity, we had a great time in a beautiful garden setting. Thanks to Barbara Cullen for organizing and leading our group.

Posted for the Triad Chapter by Dennis Burnette, Greensboro, NC