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The Washington Park Trailhead parking lot was packed with people camping out, big trailers and RV’s, there was not even space to park our cars. I have never seen that many people out there! Luckily the trail was nice and quiet. Clouds and wind kept the butterfly activity down in the morning: we had to work hard for them. Mel covered the plants. After lunch the clouds burned off and the number of butterflies increased quickly. Nectar plants included Butterfly Weed, AZ Thistle, Wall Flower, Wright’s Bluets, Yellow Sweet Clover… and some mystery plants and bushes.
Total list for the group: 31 species.
Two-tailed Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail caterpillar, Orange Sulphur, Southern Dogface, Queen-Alexandra’s Sulphur, Dainty Sulphur, Bramble Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Western Pine Elfin, Marine Blue, Reakirt’s Blue, Ceraunus Blue, Spring “Echo” Azure, Acmon Blue, Western Tailed Blue, Zela Metalmark, Northwestern Fritillary (Atlantis), Mylitta Crescent, Satyr Comma, American Lady, Common Buckeye, Tropical Buckeye, Red-spotted Admiral, Weidemeyer’s Admiral, Arizona Sister, Mourning Cloak, Silver-spotted Skipper, Golden-banded Skipper, Northern Cloudywing, Meridian Duskywing, Orange Skipperling.
I want to thank all the 17 participants for their company. Please don’t hesitate to email me with butterfly ID questions. Also let me know if you have found names for the mystery plant at the end of the hike and the bush with AZ Sister and Weidemeyer’s Admiral on it. Marceline.
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21 butterfly enthusiasts armed with field guides, bino’s and cameras met early Saturday morning to venture out along the Beeline Hwy on a quest to find butterflies. Ron our knowledgeable leader first took us to Mesquite Wash where a roost of Pipevine Swallowtails was just starting to wake and warm up. After that a side canyon of Sycamore Creek was explored and everyone was amazed by the sheer numbers of Variable Checkerspots (Chalcedona) flying about. We found a total of 22 species of butterflies, made some new friends and promised to meet up again for the April fieldtrip to Rackensack Cayon. Total list of butterflies seen: Pipevine Swallowtail, Checkered White, Spring White, Pearly Marble, Sara Orangetip, “Pima” Desert Orangetip, Dainty Sulphur, Acmon Blue, Spring (Echo) Azure, American Snout, California Patch, Bordered Patch, Tiny Checkerspot, Variable Checkerspot, Mourning Cloak, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Common Buckeye, Empress Leilia, Meridian Duskywing, Golden-headed Scallopwing, Orange Skipperling.
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Watch Chris Kline, one of our founding members, in this excellent video on YouTube, demonstrating the research taking place in the Southwest part of the United States. The research is being done to determine the migratory habits of Arizona Monarch Butterflies.
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Spring time is upon us and it’s time to witness one of nature’s most spectacular transformations: butterfly metamorphosis. With the Live Butterfly Garden by Insect Lore, kids can raise butterflies while learning all about metamorphosis. Ron Rutowski of ASU’s School of Life Sciences and a board member of the Central Arizona Butterfly Association offers a slide show of spring butterflies and will have living butterfly eggs, caterpillars, and chrysalises on display. Afterward, Katie Schmidbauer-Aikins from Arizona Farm Bureau plays a bug guessing game, and Rebecca Clark with ASU’s School of Life Sciences presents an activity with leafcutter ant colonies. We’ll make butterfly wings and kids can enjoy tasty treats!
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Tucson Botanical Gardens’ greenhouse is transformed into a magical place filled with hundreds of spectacular butterflies fluttering all around. Marvel at the brilliant colors, varied shapes, sizes and species of butterflies. Don’t miss this year’s gorgeous selection of butterflies from Asia, Australia, Africa and the Tropical Americas.
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