Fieltrip report April 21 by Marceline VandeWater.
We hiked the first mile or so, of the Colonel Devin Trail, 15 miles NE of Payson. Everyone was very happy that the trip was postponed with a week! The temperatures didn't get above 40 degrees last Saturday, while now we hiked the trail with 70-some degree weather, no wind and plenty of sunshine! The goal was to do this hike earlier in the season this year, to find a slightly different set of butterflies: especially Duskywings were on our wishlist! Dandelion, Arizona Valerian and Manzanita where the main nectar sources. Between the fieldtrip and the scouting hike 10 days earlier, we found 34 species:
Two-tailed Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur, Southern Dogface, Mexican Yellow, Sleepy Orange, Dainty Sulphur, Bramble Hairstreak, Arizona Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Marine Blue, Reakirt;'s Blue, Spring "Echo" Azure, Acmon Blue, Western Tailed Blue, Variegated Fritillary, Mylitta Crescent, Field Crescent, Satyr Comma, Sagebrush Checkerpot, American Lady, Painted Lady, Common Buckeye, Arizona Sister, Mounrning Cloak, Silver-spotted Skipper. Short-tailed Skipper, Northern Cloudywing, Pacuvius Duskywing, Sleepy Duskywing, Rocky Mountain Duskywing, Afranius Duskywing, Common Checkered-Skipper, Northern White-Skipper, Orange Skipperling.
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