The trailhead was quiet this year. 4 Mountain bikers were all we saw during our hike. When we started the temperature was 59 degrees and at 1:00 pm when we heard thunder and started heading back to the car, the temp was only marginally higher: 64 degrees. Clouds and wind kept the butterfly activity down. A lot of plants like AZ Thistle, Elkweed and Butterfly Weed were almost blooming, but not quite yet. I would suggest going back there in a few weeks on an all sunny day.
Total list for the group: 23 species.
Orange Sulphur 1, Dainty Sulphur 3, Bramble Hairstreak 1, Gray Hairstreak 1, Marine Blue 3, Ceraunus Blue 1, Spring “Echo” Azure 5, Acmon Blue 4, Western Tailed Blue 1, Northwestern Fritillary 12 (Atlantis), Mylitta Crescent 10, Field Crescent 6, Satyr Comma 1, Common Buckeye 2, Tropical Buckeye 1, Red-spotted Admiral 1, Weidemeyer’s Admiral 1, Canyonland Satyr 1, Silver-spotted Skipper 7, Golden-banded Skipper 1, Northern Cloudywing 3, Duskywing sp. 1 (with white fringes), Deva Skipper 1 (pictured).
I want to thank all participants for their company. Please don’t hesitate to email me with your photos and butterfly ID questions. -- Marceline VandeWater (trip leader).
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A small group of butterfly enthusiasts joined our May fieldtrip. The weather was perfect. Butterflying was still a bit slow after a cool Spring, but finding a Soapberry Hairstreak definitely made up for that. It was a lifer for most of us!
Total list of 19 species:
6 Pipevine Swallowtail, 1 Checkered White, 2 Sleepy Orange, 1 Orange Sulphur, 5 Cloudless Sulphur, 3 Southern Dogface, 6 Dainty Sulphur, 2 Reakirt's Blue, 19 Marine Blue, 1 Soapberry Hairstreak, 1 Mormon Metalmark, 5 Western Pygmy Blue, 8 American Snout, 6 Elada Checkerspot, 1 Texan Crescent, 2 Empress Leilia, 1 Mourning Cloak, 4 Queen and 1 Duskywing sp. -- Marceline VandeWater (tripleader)
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Here is an up-date on how our visit went with the Double Circle Ranch.
Marceline and I had a great visit up in Clifton May 14-16. I am working with them as part of a community project to help build a butterfly garden. A grant letter was written so they might be able to receive a grant to help build this garden. Marceline will provide them with an informative butterfly identification brochure.
The owners, Wilma and Doug are great people and were very kind to us. Marceline helped them identify 50 different species of birds on their property and we found 26 species of butterflies in the area. We also saw three different species of snakes, a fox, Antelope, White-tailed Deer, Javelina and a very large Jackrabbit. I did a presentation on butterflies and HALF THE NEIGHBORHOOD showed up. Okay, there are only 12 people that live in this area where Wilma and Doug live so 6 of them showed up for the presentation. They enjoyed it very much.
Wilma and Doug and friends will prep the ground where we decided it was the best spot to start their garden. I have a list of nurseries in Safford and will find out what plants are available (to support local business). I also will write a letter to Home Depot to see if they can donate a gift card towards this project.
Amazingly, Wilma and Doug have already received over $1 million in grant money for their ranch. They have used that grant money to make their ranch eco-friendly like running on solar power. They also built overnight facilities to accommodate groups for birding-, photography- and team building workshops. Soon butterfly workshops can be added to the list…
We are happy to be community partners with Wilma and Doug and be able to share our passion of butterflies with others. -- Adriane Grimaldi (teamleader)
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Eleven of us enjoyed a beautiful morning in the main canyon and the picturesque side canyon, which had more water than usual, resulting in many pretty small waterfalls. Although the number and diversity of butterflies was not as large as in some previous years, 26 species were identified, including the specialty of the side canyon – the Yucca Giant-Skipper. An interesting sight was that of the groups of caterpillars of the Mourning Cloak that had just hatched and were beginning to eat the leaves of the willow tree they were on.
The 2 species of sulphurs, that had not been seen in Rackensack, were observed at the Sears Kay Ruin picnic area. Three species were added to our Rackensack/Sears Kay Ruin Checklist: Mylitta Crescent, Common Sootywing, and Funereal Duskywing. As usual there were good numbers of Variable Checkerspots using the colorful patches of verbena.
We were fortunate to have some knowledgeable botanists on the trip, so were able to identify more than 45 plant species and add some new ones to the basic Rackensack plantlist.
Total list: Pipevine Swallowtail 3, Two-tailed Swallowtail 6, Sara Orangetip 8, “Pima” Desert Orangetip 1, Sleepy Orange 1, Orange Sulphur 1, “Martin’s” Square-spotted Blue 1, Acmon Blue 2, Elada Checkerspot 3, Variable Checkerspot 12, California Patch 2, Red Admiral 1, Painted Lady 1, West-coast Lady 2, Sagebrush Checkerspot 1, Mylitta Checkerspot 1, Mourning Cloak 3, Northern White-Skipper 1, Common Streaky-Skipper 2, Golden-headed Scallopwing 1, Common Sootywing 1, Funereal Duskywing 3, Common/White Checkered Skipper 8, Orange Skipperling 1, Giant Skipper sp. 1, Yucca Giant-Skipper 2.
-- Janet Witzeman (tripleader)
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Book Description: As open space and wildlife habitat shrink, this important children's story book drives home the point that all life is interconnected and we need to leave plenty of room on the planet we share. Twenty-three beautiful watercolor illustrations and a clear and friendly text tell the story of the Monarch butterfly's lifecycle, from the mother laying eggs to a hatching caterpillar, pupating into a chrysalis, and into a new generation and its amazing migration South. An important link is made with the host plant, the Common Milkweed. Useful tips for planting Milkweed to attract Monarch butterflies in backyard gardens are provided. This book will become a favorite for children and parents alike. Ages 4-10 years
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10 people joined us while we explored a new area just north of Cave Creek. Eventhough this trip was already postponed with 2 weeks because of the cold weather, it was still a little early for butterflies to be out. Last year 3rd week of March, I tallied 32 species of butterflies walking exactly the same loop. But this spring with al the rain and cold weather so far, yielded only 13 species between scouting on Thursday and the actual walk yesterday.
Spring White 2, Sara Orangetip 6, “Pima” Desert Orangetip 8, Sleepy Orange 1, Martin’s Square-spotted Blue 1, American Snout 3, Variable Checkerspot 1, California Patch 1, Painted Lady 1, Empress Leilia 5, Mourning Cloak 2, Common Buckeye 2, Orange Skipperling 1.
We did however gorge on the desert wildflowers, with 38 plants ID-ed! (Thanks Mel and Laurie!)
Marceline VandeWater & Ron Rutowski (tripleaders)
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Take a stroll through the beautiful Marshall Butterfly Pavilion and surround yourself with hundreds of fluttering butterflies. Watch as butterflies sip nectar from plants and perch in the sun. If you are lucky, one might even land on you!
March 6 - May 9 / 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. / Daily
Members: Free / General Public: $3.50
Children under three free with paid Garden admission
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The North American Butterfly Association cordially invites you to the long-anticipated ground breaking and an unforgettable ceremony for the Visitors Pavilion at the National Butterfly Center on Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 1:30 pm including refreshments.
NABA Butterfly Park
3400 Butterfly Park Drive
Mission, Texas
To RSVP
or for more information:
lewis@naba.org
956-583-9009 (TX) or 973-285-0907 (NJ)
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Our 2010 calendar turned out great! You will be able to buy them at our January and February clubmeetings at the Phoenix Botanical Gardens, at the Pet & Pond Center in Scottsdale and at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior. They are $10 each (shipping not included). For mail orders please contact Joyce Peters at jrpeters7@cox.net
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The monarch pictured was tagged in Arizona by researchers at the Southwest Monarch Study. Chris Kline began the study because he was so curious about migration patterns in Arizona. He explains, "It is well accepted that monarch butterflies east of the Rocky Mountains travel to the mountains near Mexico City during the winter. Monarchs west of the Rockies migrate to the coast of California. Since Arizona is south of the Rocky Mountains, where do Monarchs go? Or, do they go anywhere at all?" Tagging recoveries from the Arizona research team have revealed fascinating new information which you'll read about in today's slideshow...
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