Carolina Butterfly Society Midlands Chapter Trip Report
Cheraw State Park & Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
April 4, 2015
The morning at Cheraw State Park was cloudy and cool with sun breaking through. The afternoon at Carolina Sandhills NWR was sunnier with gusts of wind at times that kept it feeling slightly cool. Temperatures reached the high 60’s. Dennis Forsythe was out trip leader. In attendance were Jerry and Pat Bright and grandson Cody, Jeff Kline, Chris and Cheryl Talkington (Cheryl PM only) and Dave and Marty Kastner. The first number below is from Cheraw SP and the second from Carolina Sandhills NWR.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 2, 1
Spicebush Swallowtail 0, 1
Cloudless Sulphur 1, 0
Sleepy Orange 0, 1
Great Purple Hairstreak 1, 0
Henry’s Elfin 4, 0
Brown Elfin 0, 1
Elfin species 2, 0
Spring Azure 1, unknown
Summer Azure 0, unknown
Azure species 18, approx. 40
Eastern Tailed-blue 2, 2
Common Buckeye 0, 2
Juvenal’s Duskywing 7, approx. 60
Sleepy Duskywing 0, 2
Duskywing species 3, unknown
Silver-spotted Skipper 0, 1
At Carolina Sandhills NWR we found a large, very muddy area with a small stream running through it. Duskywings and Azures were flying and landing everywhere. It was impossible to count them. It was only through digital photos that we discovered the Sleepy Duskywings. We don’t know how many more of them there were, but we did see others that looked like the ones in the photos.
Marty Kastner