Fifteen butterfliers gathered at the beginning of the road to the First Water Trailhead before heading up the Apache Trail looking for butterflies. It was beautifully clear but did not look very promising due to wind and low temperatures. We stopped first at the Weaver’s Needle Vista trailhead and hiked perhaps ¼ mile up the trail. We struck out on butterflies there, but the abundant and diverse wildflowers kept us fully occupied. Next stop was Mesquite Flat which was a bit warmer and a somewhat protected from the wind. We had several good views of American Snouts here and fleeting glimpses of a Common/White Checkered Skipper, what was probably a Funereal Duskwing, and an unidentified blue. It was then on to the Fish Creek Vista. Here we saw hilltopping Desert Orangetips and Checkered Whites that cooperatively perched for photographs. A Sleepy Orange also made a brief appearance. More sleepy oranges and a Two-tailed Swallowtail were seen on along the road on the drive back to First Water Road. Although the butterflies were underwhelming (only 7 species!), the wildflowers were excellent and all participants welcomed the chance to get out in the desert for our first CAZBA trip of the year.
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We are very sorry to announce that longtime CAZBA member and supporter Paul Kinslow died at the age of 86 on 20 July 2022. Paul was an amazingly multifaceted individual who lived a rich life (mountaineer, adventurer, artist, photographer, lichen lover, etc.). He was an avid supporter of CAZBA and a very engaged participant in our field trips and presentations. He will be greatly missed. At this time there is no information regarding memorial gatherings or suggestions concerning organizations to which donations can be made in Paul's memory. We will disseminate such information when it becomes available.
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The weather was very nice with temperatures between 64 and 75 degrees! The trail was rocky and steep in places, but the plants lush and the flowers pretty.
Together we observed 30 species of butterflies:
Western Tiger Swallowtail (1), Two-tailed Swallowtail (5), Orange Sulphur (4), Southern Dogface (2), Mexican Yellow (3), Queen-Alexandra’s Sulphur (3), Dainty Sulphur (5), Western Green Hairstreak (2) (old name: Bramble), Marine Blue (1), Reakirt’s Blue (2), Spring “Echo” Azure (24), Acmon Blue (4), Zela Metalmark (20), Variegated Fritillary (2), Northwestern Fritillary (4) (old name: Atlantis), Mylitta Crescent (3), American Lady (1), Common Buckeye (14), Tropical Buckeye (1), Red-spotted Purple (2), Weidemeyer’s Admiral (1), Arizona Sister (3), Silver-spotted Skipper (20), Northern Cloudywing (2), Rocky Mountain Duskywing (2), Com/White Checkered-Skipper (2), Northern White-Skipper (3), Golden-headed Scallopwing (1), Orange Skipperling (2), Deva Skipper (1).
I want to thank all participants for a great trip! Hope you will come out again soon!
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