Eleven (11) of us went to Walnut Bottom, Bethania and found the following butterflies from 10 – 12:00 this morning: Western Forsyth Co. NC

Silver-spotted Skipper 5
Zabulon Skipper 4
Viceroy 2
Azure 2
Common Sootywing 6
Cabbage White 6
Pearl Crescent 2
Northern Cloudywing 2
Common Checkered Skipper 1
Silvery Checkerspot 4
Eastern Tailed-blue 2
Sachem (skipper) 2
Orange Sulphur 2 (several unidentified Colias)
Question Mark 2
Common Buckeye 6
Red-spotted Purple 1
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 3 (several black-colored Swallowtails unidentified)

After the walk we released 6 recently eclosed Monarch Butterflies for the pleasure and edification of the Women’ Gardening Club.

Gene Schepker for other members of the Carolina Butterfly Society

Fourteen of us (*) enjoyed the moderate humidity, the above average but tolerable temperatures (65-88), and clear skies yesterday to see how many butterflies we could find during the 17th Forsyth County count. We covered Reynolda Gardens, Black Walnut Bottom at Bethania, the wetlands of Historic Bethabara Park, Nottke Farm, lower Salem Creek, and the Schnieder/Schepker yard. The summer doldrums arrived about a week early this year – a week ago we had 8 species that we could not find yesterday, and the number of swallowtails, Sleepy Orange, and Carolina Satyr were much higher a week ago.

Jim Nottke
==============================
2   Pipevine Swallowtail also 14 eggs and 24 caterpillars
4   Zebra Swallowtail also 10 eggs
5   Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
3   Spicebush Swallowtail also 2 caterpillars
1   Cabbage White
1   Clouded Sulphur
3   Orange Sulphur
9   colias spp one albino and 8 other unidentified
1   Cloudless Sulphur
2   Sleepy Orange
5   Gray Hairstreak
1   Red-Banded Hairstreak
53  Eastern Tailed Blue
9   Azure
4   Variegated Fritillary
15  Great Spangled Fritillary
1   Pearl Crescent
3   Questionmark
4   Eastern Comma
6   American Lady
1   Painted Lady
1   Red Admiral
52  Common Buckeye
4   Red Spotted Purple
1   Viceroy
1   Hackberry Emperor
4   Northern Pearly-Eye
3   Creole Pearly-Eye
1   Gemmed Satyr
3   Carolina Satyr
5   Little Wood Satyr
2   Monarch also an egg and a caterpillar
36  Silver Spotted Skipper
1   Hoary Edge
1   Northern Cloudywing
1   Common Checkered Skipper
3   Common Sootywing also 2 caterpillars
1   Clouded Skipper
3   Least Skipper
1   Fiery Skipper
2   Crossline Skipper
2   Southern Broken-Dash
3   Northern Broken-Dash
3   Little Glassywing
8   Sachem
1   Delaware Skipper
13  Zabulon Skipper
4   Dun Skipper

47   Species
293 Adult Butterflies
29   Caterpillars
25   Eggs

* Margaret/John Barlow, Lee Beatty, Dennis Burnette, Charles Cameron, Patti/Doug Demarest, Lois Koufman, Marilyn McDonald, Jim Nottke, Elizabeth Riggs, Lois Schneider, Gene Schepker, Bud Webster

Despite the cloudy and humid weather, we had an excellent turn out of Carolina Butterfly Society members and guests on our midsummer field trip to Ashe County in the North Carolina mountains on Saturday, July 9th, 2011. Twenty people enjoyed the good company and beautiful scenery. Our group included members from Raleigh, the Charlotte area, High Point, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem. As in past years, we convened near the Church of the Fresco in Glendale Springs at 9:30 and finished around 4:30. Due to the uncooperative weather, we saw only 59 butterflies of 14 species, and we missed several species that Piedmont butterfliers were hoping to see. We had a good time, never the less.

Thanks to Judy Scurry who hosted the trip for the third year. She guided us to a large butterfly garden near the ³Church of the Fresco² in Glendale Springs; Elk Shoals Methodist Camp along the new River; and the Wagoner Rd. access of New River State Park. At midday she opened her home to us for a picnic lunch on the porch with a spectacular view of the New River.

Below is our tally for the day.

Pipevine Swallowtail   1
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail   2
Cabbage White   2
Orange Sulphur   4
American Copper   1
Eastern Tailed-Blue   36
Great Spangled Fritillary   4
Pearl Crescent   2
Common Buckeye   1
Common Wood-Nymph   1v
Silver-spotted Skipper   2
Sachem   1
Clouded Skipper   1
Little Glassywing   1

Participants: John Barlow, Margaret Barlow, Dennis Burnette, Lynn Burnette, Charlie Cameron, Kitty Feltz, Margaret Feltz, Carl Ganser, Robert Jolly, Lois Koufman, Ray Kandt, Irene Kandt, Ann Long, Shirley McCabe, Gregg Morris, Elizabeth Riggs, Lois Schneider, Gene Schepker, Judy Scurry, Bud Webster.

Donna and Dennis Forsythe
0930-1430hrs EDT
AM: 80F, NE-8mph, Scattered Clouds
PM: 90F, Clear, calm
Conditions: Hot and dry, dry, dry
Coverage: Purple Martin Marsh, Congaree Bluffs HP, Ft. Motte, Lang Syne Rd., Hy 601 from Ft. Motte to St. Matthews, St. Matthews.
Miles: by car 60, on foot 1
Hours by car: 4, on foot 1

Species:
Spicebush Swallowtail-1
Zebra Swallowtail-1
Checkered White 1 they have herbicided much of this species habitat by the abandoned silo!
Cloudless Sulfur-2
Sleepy Orange-8
Banded Hairstreak-1 new county record
Variegated Fritillary-35+
Question Mark-2
American Lady-4
Common Buckeye-65+
Pearl Crescent-3
Red-spotted Purple-3
Carolina Satyr-1
Horace’s Duskywing-3
Zarucco Duskywing-1
White-checkered Skipper-6
Fiery Skipper-13+
Northern Broken-Dash-1
Sachem-1

Dennis

Eleven folks on this CBS sponsored trip found 34 BFs, 15 DFs, 58 birds, and 42 wildflowers. Participants were: Tom Krakauer, Lynn Richardson and nephew, Ruth Young, Malcom and Carol Gibson, Doug Johnston, Sue Perry, Bob Olthoff, Janie Owens, and Gail Lankford. No rain lately, so very dry.

Pipevine ST
Spicebush ST
Appalachian Tiger ST
E. Tiger ST
Cabbage White
Clouded Sulphur
Orange Sulphur
Banded Hairstreak – 3
ETB
Appalachian Azure
Summer Azure
Aphrodite Fritillary – 8
Meadow Fritillary – several
Great Spangled Fritillary – dozens
Pearl Crescent
BALTIMORE CHECKERSPOT – 7
Silvery Checkerspot
Question Mark
E. Comma
Common Buckeye
Red-spotted Purple
Hackberry Emperor
Northern Pearly Eye
Little Wood Satyr
Monarch
Silver-spotted Skipper
Northern Cloudywing
Dreamy Duskywing
Clouded Skipper
Least Skipper
Fiery Skipper
Peck’s Skipper – 3
Hobomok Skipper – 4
Dun Skipper

Dragonflies: (could be others; Doug kept list)
American Rubyspot
Ebony Jewelwing
Powdered Dancer
Variable Dancer
Eastern Forktail
Citrine Forktail
Comet Darner
Lancet Clubtail
Ashy Clubtail
Brown Spiketail
Prince Baskettail
Common Baskettail
Common Whitetail
Widow Skimmer

Several of the twelve observers (*) arrived for the start of the 6th Surry County count on August 6 in nice shiny cars because they drove through rain to get there. The skies slowly brightened and the butterflies gradually appeared and it got very hot and very steamy. The 39 species is the most we have ever identified on this count! And the 236 adult butterflies is about average for this count – we would have done better if the sun had come out sooner and the 3:00 thunderstorm had held off another hour, but we had a very productive day, adding one new species to the county record; Southern Broken Dash.

1   Pipevine Swallowtail
1   Black Swallowtail
9   Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
6   Spicebush Swallowtail and 2 caterpillars
1   Cabbage White
1   Cloudless Sulphur
3   Sleepy Orange
1   Harvester
9   Gray Hairstreak
18  Eastern Tailed Blue
1   Azure
5   Variegated Fritillary
5   Great Spangled Fritillary
15  Pearl Crescent
3   Questionmark
1   Eastern Comma
1   Red Admiral
7   Common Buckeye
6   Red Spotted Purple
1   Hackberry Emperor
1   Southern Pearly-Eye
10  Northern Pearly-Eye
7   Gemmed Satyr
25  Carolina Satyr
4   Common Wood Nymph
2   Monarch
7   Silver Spotted Skipper
3   Clouded Skipper
14  Least Skipper
4   Fiery Skipper
3   Peck’s Skipper
3   Crossline Skipper
4   Southern Broken Dash
12  Little Glassywing
4   Sachem
5   Delaware Skipper
25  Zabulon Skipper
5   Dun Skipper
3   Lace Wing Roadside Skipper

Jim Nottke

Thanks to the following participants;
* Brian Bockhahn, Dennis Burnette, Charles Cameron, Bill Dunson, Margaret Dunson, Carl Ganser, Mason Kelsey, Gregg Morris, Jim Nottke, Lois Schneider, Gene Schepker, Beth Workman

The first ever Rockingham County butterfly count was held on 8/7/11 with clear skies and temperatures ranging from 80-94 degrees. Six observers in two parties tallied an impressive 41 species and 818 butterflies. The most numerous butterflies was the 110 Silver-spotted Skippers. Six species were new to the park/county list, all skippers: Common-checkered, Swarthy, Tawny-edged, Southern and Northern Broken-dash and Ocola.

The south end of the Mayo River area had nectar galore and we had a plethora of skippers! Though we didn’t miss many, these numbers are still conservatively low, it really was that good!

We surprisingly had a lot of nectar: Thistle, Tickseed Sunflower, Joe Pye Weed, Common Milkweed, Ironweed, Mountain Mint, Sweet Pea, Split Butterfly Pea, Heal-all, Red Clover, White Clover, Elephants foot, Butterfly Weed, Lantana, Purple Coneflower

I am happy with our total of 41 species, but I really think 50 is obtainable if we can find some spots for certain species. Misses: Black Swallowtail, Cloudless Sulphur, Harvester (had one on 8/6), Red-banded Hairstreak, American Snouth, Silvery Checkerspot, Eastern Comma, Red Admiral, Viceroy, Common Wood-nymph, Horace’s Duskywing, Common Sootywing.

I wonder if to get 50 we need to hold the count a week or maybe two later….any thoughts?

If anyone wants to see a list of the odes or other critters, let me know. We added three new odonates, 1 new mammal (Mink) 1 reptile (River Cooter) and probably 40 new moths and some other insects.

Many thanks to the counters: Brian Bockhahn, Beth Brinson, Krista Long, Cathy King, Jim Nottke, Gene Schepker.

2    Pipevine Swallowtail
36   Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
13   Spicebush Swallowtail
1    Cabbage White
1    Clouded Sulphur
3    Orange Sulphur
1    Sleepy Orange
5    Gray Hairstreak
93   Eastern Tailed Blue
9    Azure
2    Variegated Fritillary
31   Great Spangled Fritillary
35    Pearl Crescent
7    Question Mark
2    American Lady
49   Common Buckeye
6    Red Spotted Purple
2    Hackberry Emperor
6    Northern Pearly-Eye
1    Gemmed Satyr
64   Carolina Satyr
7    Monarch
110  Silver Spotted Skipper
1    Hoary Edge
6    Southern Cloudywing
4    Common Checkered-Skipper
1    Swarthy Skipper
13   Clouded Skipper
18   Least Skipper
3    Fiery Skipper
1    Peck’s Skipper
8    Tawny-edged Skipper
20   Crossline Skipper
21   Southern Broken-dash
29   Northern Broken-dash
57   Little Glassywing
58   Sachem
31   Delaware Skipper
43   Zabulon Skipper
16   Dun Skipper
1    Ocola Skipper

—
Brian Bockhahn
birdranger248@gmail.com

Butterfliers,

This past Sunday, 14 Aug 2011, the 12th annual NABA Durham (NC) Butterfly Count was conducted. Morning sprinkles and overcast conditions hampered the beginning several hours of the day, however, with temps starting in the mid 70s and progressing into the upper 80s and mostly sunny skies by mid afternoon, a very successful day of butterflying resulted!

I was extra-interested in this year’s results with all of the chatter online and elsewhere about the drought and the apparent lack of butterflies in general. While several species were certainly encountered in lower-than-usual numbers, overall our data do not support the anecdotal observations of depressed butterfly populations as a whole.

I think one reason people are wondering "where all the butterflies are" is because several of the big and/or showy butterflies were indeed observed in below average numbers, particularly all swallowtails, Cloudless Sulphur, and Monarch (new count record low). Black Swallowtail was missed for the first time ever (although 19 caterpillars were noted). A few other species were well below the 12 year average but were not record lows including Summer Azure and Silver-spotted Skipper. On the other hand, several species were well above average: Sleepy Orange, Carolina Satyr (new count record high), Common Checkered-Skipper (new count record high), Little Glassywing (new count record high), Sachem, Dion Skipper (new count record high), and Dun Skipper (new count record high).

Special nods go to Brian Bockhahn who found a first Durham Count record Harvester, and to Richard Stickney who found a second Count record Gulf Fritillary!

Overall, we tallied 57 species of adult butterflies (plus one additional species as caterpillars) and 4540 individuals. Over the last 12 years, we’ve averaged 56 species and 3857 individuals, so we did better than average in both categories despite the fact that our number of participants, party hours and party miles were all slightly below average.

Many thanks to all who participated: Brian Bockhahn, Will Cook, Randy Emmitt, Tom Krakauer, Vrad Levering, Irene Liu, Jeff Pippen, Richard Stickney, Jean Still, and Roger Wellington (who wins the award for traveling the farthest to come and participate with Jean being a close runner-up).

Here are the tallies:
Total Species
7     Pipevine Swallowtail
63   Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
28   Spicebush Swallowtail
3     Cabbage White
3     Orange Sulphur
32   Cloudless Sulphur
246   Sleepy Orange
1     Harvester
4     Juniper Hairstreak
26   Gray Hairstreak
13   Red-banded Hairstreak
133   Eastern Tailed-Blue
1     Summer Azure
5     American Snout
1     Gulf Fritillary
69   Variegated Fritillary
8     Great Spangled Fritillary
8     Silvery Checkerspot
181   Pearl Crescent
5     Question Mark
4     Eastern Comma
2     American Lady
10   Red Admiral
175   Common Buckeye
35   Red-spotted Purple
12   Viceroy
23   Hackberry Emperor
5     Tawny Emperor
12   Northern Pearly-eye
3     Appalachian Brown
5     Gemmed Satyr
373   Carolina Satyr
1     Common Wood-Nymph
3     Monarch
85   Silver-spotted Skipper
3     Hoary Edge
1     Southern Cloudywing
1     Northern Cloudywing
14   Horace’s Duskywing
3     Wild Indigo Duskywing
75   Com. Checkered-Skipper
2     Common Sootywing 1
8     Swarthy Skipper
42   Clouded Skipper
15   Least Skipper
251   Fiery Skipper
4     Tawny-edged Skipper
31   Crossline Skipper
40   Southern Broken-Dash
15   Northern Broken-Dash
142   Little Glassywing
2118   Sachem
9     Delaware Skipper
53   Zabulon Skipper
18   Dion Skipper
97   Dun Skipper
3     Ocola Skipper

Non-Adults

19   Black Swallowtail cats
4     Common Buckeye cats

57   Total Adult Species

4540 Total Adult Individuals

Good Butterflying,
Jeff
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jeffrey S. Pippen

Thirteen of us* had a good day of butterflying in Davidson County, primarily in Finch Park, High Rock Lake Boat Landing, and Boones Cave Park. But the lack of any hot nectar sources required kicking up butteflies in fields, wood edges, and woodland trails.

In spite of driving through showers from the north, east, and south to get to the the count site, weather at the count site was mostly sunny and warm, rising from 68 degrees to 89 degrees. And when I got home it was drizzling and that turned into a heavy rain, with a flash flood warning.We added three new species to the county record!

In the three years of the Davidson County count, today we found the most species (by 8) and had the greatest total number of butterflies (by 73). The high totals can in large part be attributed to having the most participants (by 5) and splitting into 4 parties in the morning and 3 in the afternoon, so I thank all participants for their persistant effort!

Jim Nottke

3   Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
3   Spicebush Swallowtail
1   Clouded Sulphur
2   Orange Sulphur
5   Cloudless Sulphur
5   Sleepy Orange
3   Gray Hairstreak
58  Eastern Tailed Blue
1   Azure
3   American Snout
2   Variegated Fritillary
1   Silvery Checkerspot
7   Pearl Crescent
2   Questionmark
2   Eastern Comma
1   American Lady
3   Red Admiral
17  Common Buckeye
13  Red Spotted Purple
1   Viceroy
12  Hackberry Emperor
2   Tawny Emperor
1   Northern Pearly-eye
1   Creole Pearly-eye
1   Gemmed Satyr
62  Carolina Satyr
1   Common Wood Nymph     new county record
1   Monarch
6   Silver Spotted Skipper
1   Southern Cloudywing
1   Northern Cloudywing
2   Least Skipper
6   Fiery Skipper
1   Tawny Edged Skipper     new county record
1   Whirlabout     new county record
2   Little Glassywing
35  Sachem
2   Delware Skipper
1   Zabulon Skipper
2   Dun Skipper

40 species
275 butterflies

* John & Margaret Barlow, Dennis Burnette, Charlie Cameron, Nita Colvin, Carl Ganser, Carol Gearhart, Marilyn McDonald, Gregg Morris, Jim Nottke, Gene Schepker, Lois Schneider, Bud Webster

Hi All,

On Sunday 28 August 2011 we held a field trip to the Issaqueena Section of the Clemson Forest, Pickens Co., SC as part of the Carolina Butterfly Society Symposium. The trip ran from 9:30AM until 12:30Pm. In attendance were : Dennis and Lynn Burnette, Bob and Sue Creed, Dennis Forsythe (leader), Drew and Alexis Lanham, David and Marty Kastner, and Sue Quarta. We had the following:

Pipevine Swallowtail- 1 cat.
E. Tiger Swallowtail-4 including 1 dark form female
Zebra Swallowtail-1
Cloudless Sulfur-2
Sleepy Orange-4
Gray Hairsteak-3
E. Tailed-Blue-1
Summer Azure-4
Great Spangled Fritillary-1
Polygonia sp.-1
Common Buckeye-2
Pearl Crescent-1
Silver Checkerspot-2
Red-spotted Purple – 10
Northern Pearly-Eye-2
Appalachian Brown-3
Carolina Satyr-15+
Silver-spotted Skipper-1
Clouded Skipper-7
Little Glassywing-1
Delaware Skipper-1
Zabulon Skipper-8
Dun Skipper-1
Ocola Skipper-1

Dennis

Dennis M. Forsythe PhD
Charleston, SC 29412

No one signed up for this trip, but locals Janie Owens, Ruth Young, Sue Perry, Pat McKee and I went up to Mt. Mitchell anyway. We met a group of birders at Ridge Junction OL from Lenoir, some of who joined us in the afternoon on the walk down Commissary Ridge trail. Morning was sunny, cold, and very windy. Afternoon warmer and less windy, but large clouds blocked the sun much of time. Very few butterflies out; here’s the list of 23.

GREEN COMMA – 1 (great views as it perched on a large rock many minutes)
Pipevine ST – few
Tiger ST – few
Spicebush ST – 1
Clouded Sulphur – 1
Orange Sulphur – few
Sleepy Orange – few
Cloudless Sulphur – 1
Hairstreak sp – 2
ETB – few
Summer Azure – 1
Great Spangled Fritillary – 3
Pearl Crescent – 3
Eastern Comma – 1
Red Admiral – 1
American Lady – 3
Common Buckeye – several
Monarch – 1
Common Checkered Skipper – 1
Clouded Skipper – 4
Peck’s Skipper – 1
Sachem – several
Dun Skipper – 2

Gail Lankford

9/11/11 high of 85 clear. Saturday was a beautiful and not too hot day for butterflying and exploring at the Peedee NWR. For the first time we had a local(Wadesboro) non-CBS family show up for our count. The couple, a grandmother and 4 grade school children had a great time exploring the soybean and cornfields fields and pond areas. It was good to see kids(including old kids like us) so excited about nature. Lots of cassia plants which host the Sleepy Oranges and we saw cats as in Will’s pics.

Also with me were Ben Gregory, Will Stuart (his beautiful pictures linked below…thanks Will) and Bud Webster. Thanks to all for the help.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/willstuart/6136260670/in/photostream

Cloudless Sulphurs   20
Buckeye   5
Common Checkered Skipper   6
Silver Spotted Skipper   4
Fiery Skipper   3
Monarch   1
Comma(very worn)   1
Variegated Fritillary   2
Least Skipper   4
Southern Pearly Eye   2
Red Spotted Purple   1
Spicebush   4
Sleepy Orange estimate   250+ including Will’s puddle party pic

Some Orange Sulphurs could have been mixed in with the Sleepys but it was hard to find ones that would sit still long enough for ID with their wings closed. We did net a few species of butterflies(and release) and they were Sleepys.

The Carolina Butterfly Society held a field trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway on Saturday, Sept. 24 & 25, 2011. It was organized by the Triad Chapter of CBS and was the 5th annual field trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway for that chapter. This year members of T. Gilbert Pearson (Guilford Co.) Audubon and Forsyth County Audubon, Piedmont Bird Club, and NC Native Plant Society were invited to participate.

Despite the potential for rain and chilly weather, we had a good turn out of 15 people on Saturday, seven of whom stayed over to Sunday for more wildlife watching. Participants included members from Brown Summit, NC; Greensboro, NC; High Point, NC; Indian Trail, NC; Pfafftown, NC; Raleigh, NC; Winston-Salem, NC; Blythewood, SC; and Woodlawn, VA.

We went to a different section of the Blue Ridge Parkway this year due to a section of the Parkway we usually visit being closed for construction. We started at the Blue Ridge Music Center at Milepost 213 in Virginia near the NC line and worked our way north to Tuggle¹s Gap around Milepost 168.

The trip was timed for around the peak of Monarch migration. There were a few on Saturday, but there were times on Sunday morning when the air seemed full of Monarchs and it was hard to count them all. We were happy with our total of 95 adult Monarchs plus one caterpillar. The total number of butterfly species for the two-day trip was 27, not too bad for a mostly cloudy and cool weekend.

One of the good finds among the butterflies was a Œrosa¹ form of Common Buckeye in mid afternoon on Saturday. The color form has a distinctly rose-red coloration on the underside of the hindwings (and sometimes elsewhere) that is quite beautiful. It seems to be an uncommon to rare form that occasionally appears in autumn. It was a first for most people in the group.

The birds were a bit more scarce than expected. The weekend was near the predicted peak of raptor migration along this section of the Parkway. While we saw four hawk species, large numbers never materialized when we were on the overlooks. Our ³consolation prize² was that most of our group got good looks at Wild Turkeys at several different spots. Our trip total of bird species was 29.

We had expected a beautiful display of late summer wildflowers, and we weren¹t disappointed. The roadsides and hills were splashed with yellow and white and highlighted with reds and purples. We walked through meadows dotted with clumps of goldenrods, ironweeds and cardinal flowers. Lisa Gould made a list of the species with the most conspicuous flowers and fruits. In addition, the leaves on a few trees already had begun to show some color, particularly species such as tulip poplar, sourwood, black gum, dogwood, and red maple.

Parkway visitors often see other species, including mammals such as deer, woodchucks, chipmunks and squirrels. However, we were treated to a crustacean, not something one sees very often in the mountains. In a wet meadow on the Blue Ridge Music Center grounds we discovered numerous holes surrounded by piles of damp sandy soil. Several of us found the apparent builder, a rather large brown and orange crayfish. Biologist Ed Corey looked at some photos of one of the ³crawdads² and thinks they probably were Upland Burrowing Crayfish, Cambarus dubius.

Below is the butterfly list. Bird and plant lists are available upon request.

Dennis
—
Dennis Burnette

Greensboro, NC Guilford County
deburnette@triad.rr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisburnette/

—

Butterfly Species (First number Sat., 9/25; second number, Sun., 9/25):
Pipevine Swallowtail 4, 2
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 3, 5
Spicebush Swallowtail 2, 2
Cabbage White 22, 15
Clouded Sulphur 5, 0
Orange Sulphur 15, 34
American Copper 2, 0
Eastern Tailed-Blue 15, 9
Variegated Fritillary 12, 2
Great Spangled Fritillary 12, 1
Meadow Fritillary 18, 2
Pearl Crescent 104, 19
Eastern Comma 0, 1
American Lady 1, 0
Common Buckeye 28, 11
Red-spotted Purple 0, 2
Common Wood Nymph 2, 0
Appalachian Brown 0, 1
Monarch 7, 88 + 1 caterpillar

Silver-spotted Skipper 0, 1
Common Checkered-Skipper 1, 0
Clouded Skipper 3, 0
Least Skipper 5, 0
Fiery Skipper 5,0
Crossline Skipper 1, 0
Sachem 22, 5

Saturday, October 22 was the first day of the last official CBS trip of the year. It was dubbed the “Southern Blues” trip because we were hoping to see three species of blue butterflies. Our trip leader, Billy McCord, received special permission for us to walk in the salt marsh areas of Lighthouse Inlet on Folly Beach, SC. We began at 10:00 and finished around noon. Though Billy stayed on Folly Beach to tag Monarchs, the rest of us headed to Sol-Legare Landing on Battery Island staying there for about 30 minutes. In attendance were: Dennis Forsythe, Ann Shahid, Jeff Kline, Jim (I’m not sure of his last name), Ray Simpson, and Marty and Dave Kastner. Following these walks, Dave and I headed to Fort Moultrie where we butterflied from 3:00-5:00. In the butterfly totals below, the first number is from Lighthouse Inlet, the second from Sol-Legare Landing and the third is from Fort Moultrie.

Monarch   16 (1 mating pair)   3   54
Gulf Fritillary   49   1   39
Ocola Skipper   2   0   0
Long-tailed Skipper   5   0   0
Common Buckeye   11   2   51(one rosa form)
Fiery Skipper   2   4   7
Eastern Pygmy Blue   3 (life butterfly for several of us)   16   0
Salt Marsh Skipper   8 (life butterfly for many of us)   6   0
Whirlabout   1   0   0
Clouded Skipper   2   0   2
Cloudless Sulphur   14   8   7
Eufala Skipper   0   1   1
Phaon Crescent   0   0   23
Southern Skipperling   0   0   2

After Sol-Legare, Ray Simpson went to Grice Marine Lab with the College of Charleston at Fort Johnson. He reported seeing:

Cassius Blue   2
Southern Broken-Dash   1

On Sunday, October 23rd, we went to Cypress Gardens for the second part of the last CBS trip. Dwight Williams was our trip leader. CBS members were given complimentary admission. In attendance were Dennis Forsythe, Jeff Kline and Marty and Dave Kastner.

We began at 10:00 and ended around 12:30, but Dave and I continued in the afternoon until around 4:00.

Monarch   3
Gulf Fritillary   11
Ocola Skipper   1
Long-tailed Skipper   4
Common Buckeye   3
Fiery Skipper   3
Clouded Skipper   10
Cloudless Sulphur   106
Creole Pearly-eye   1 (fairly fresh and unexpected this late)
Carolina Satyr   1
Pearl Crescent   3
Red-banded Hairstreak   1
Broad-winged Skipper   1

The weekend was cool in the mornings, but warmed up nicely. It was a beautiful weekend to be outside! I’m very sorry that this butterfly season will soon be over and we will all be looking forward to finding our FOY in the spring!

Marty Kastner

Marty & Dave Kastner
Blythewood, SC
Richland County