What a perfect weather on Saturday! Finally, after a couple of rainy days the sun came out and even though it still was only 63 degrees when we started up the trail, the butterflies were in a frenzy to find nectar.
Nothing ultra rare was found, but besides a solid list of 32 species of butterflies, the scenery and company made it a super nice morning.
Thank you all for coming up to Payson and exploring this in my opinion underappreciated area.
Species list: Two-tailed Swallowtail (7), Checkered White (25), Orange Sulphur (4), Southern Dogface (5), Sleepy Orange (3), Dainty Sulphur (6), Western Green Hairstreak (3) (old name: Bramble Hairstreak), Gray Hairstreak (2), Western Pine Elfin (1)(pictured), Marine Blue (3), Reakirt’s Blue (2), Spring “Echo” Azure (10), Acmon Blue (8), Western Tailed-Blue (5), Zela Metalmark (3), Variegated Fritillary (1), Mylitta Crescent (4), Field Crescent (3), Satyr Anglewing (Comma) (3), Painted Lady (1), Common Buckeye (14), Red-spotted Purple (2), Arizona Sister (4), Mourning Cloak (3), Silver-spotted Skipper (7), Northern Cloudywing (4), Pacuvius Duskywing (2), Meridian Duskywing (1), Rocky Mountain Duskywing (1), Com/white Checkered-Skipper (6), Northern White-Skipper (2), Orange Skipperling (1).
Plants and flowers are behind this year, so in a few weeks, this place should be even better!
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CAZBA lost a cherished member earlier this month. Dr. Phil McNally passed away at age 69 on 7 May 2023 after a multiyear battle with VEXAS Syndrome and its complications. Phil was an accomplished entomologist who after earning his PHD at UC Riverside had a long career in the pest control industry. He was an avid lepidopterist and made a very valuable and beautiful contribution to the literature on Arizona butterflies with his book, Butterflies of the Central Arizona Highlands, published in 2020. He joined the Board of the Central Arizona Butterfly Association in 2020 and was an active, thoughtful, knowledgeable, and well-liked member. Phil will be sorely missed by his CAZBA friends and colleagues. Plans for a memorial service will be posted here as soon as they are available.
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Contact compilers if you wish to participate in any of these counts..
Sabino Canyon Summer Count: Thursday, July 27, 2023 Compiler Greg Greene (greenecycle at hotmail.com).Includes foothills and along Catalina Highway up to Mount Lemmon.
Santa Rita Mountains Summer Count: Saturday, July 29, 2023 Compiler Mary Klinkel (grizzledelfin at gmail.com). Includes Montosa, Madera, Florida, Box and Gardner Canyons.
Ramsey Canyon Canyon Count: Tuesday, August 1, 2023 Compiler Doug Danforth (dougofbis at gmail.com). Huachuca Mts. to San Pedro River, Ramsey Canyon to Mexican border.
Portal Count: Friday, August 4, 2023 Compiler Lori Conrad (lconrad6853 at gmail.com). Chiricahua Mountains Portal to Rustler and Barfoot Parks. SW Research Station
Patagonia Count: Tuesday August 8, 2023 Compiler Rich Bailowitz (rbailowitz at gmail.com). Patagonia and vicinity. Usually #1 or #2 in species counts in the nation
Past 2023 Count
The Sabino Canyon Spring Count was held on Thursday, April 6, 2023. Compiler Mary Klinkel reports that 29 observers in 13 parties fanned out in the Santa Catalina Mountains and foothills to find 61 species including Xami Hairstreak and Tropical Leafwing which both were new for the count.
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