Just a reminder that five of the SE Arizona butterfly counts will take place over the next month or so and you all are invited. The recent rains bode a good start to our Monsoon this year and it will be interesting to see how the butterflies respond. Consider joining one or more of these counts to find out first hand what the prognosis is for our local butterflies. Please contact the compilers for specific party assignments if you wish to participate. Compilation dinners follow most counts where you can find out what was seen by the other parties.
Santa Rita Mountains, Friday July 25, Compiler: Greg Greene (greenecycle at hotmail.com) - Covers many of the canyons: Gardener, Box, Florida, Madera, and Montosa along with the high country.
Sabino Canyon, Sunday July 27, Compiler: Greg Greene (greenecycle at hotmail.com)- Aside from Sabino Canyon proper and other lowland areas such as Loews Ventana, and Agua Caliente Park, count covers the high country along the Catalina Highway from from Molino Vista to top of Mt. Lemmon.
Ramsey Canyon, Tuesday July 29, Compiler: Doug Danforth (dougofbis at gmail.com)- Covers the east side of the Huachuca Mountains from Ramsey Canyon to the Mexican border and east to the San Pedro River. One of the top counts species-wise in the nation.
Portal, Friday Aug 1, Compiler: Lori Conrad (lconrad6853 at gmail.com)- Chiricahua Mountains from Portal up to Rustler and Barfoot Parks. Had the top species count in 2023 for the U.S.
Patagonia, Tuesday Aug 5, Compiler: Rich Bailowitz (rbailowitz at gmail.com)- Covers Patagonia and vicinity. This count is consistently in the top three for species in the nation and most years is number one!
Check the SEABA website (www.seaba.org/naba-counts) for further info on these counts including meeting and compilation dinner times and locations.
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Experience the enchantment of the Monarch butterfly migration in the serene mountains of Michoacán, Mexico. Amidst the tranquility of the forested landscape, witness the graceful dance of millions of monarch butterflies as they flutter through the air. While the terrain may pose challenges for some, we have a solution that ensures everyone can enjoy this natural wonder. For those seeking a more leisurely exploration, we offer the option to glide through the trails on horseback. Adriane Hopkins is co-leading this bucket list kind of trip. Our friendly guides will lead you on a gentle ride, allowing you to savor every moment of the journey. 8 Days, 7 Nights.
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While there weren’t many butterflies out at this time, and the start temperature was only in the fifties, we had a great time exploring this beautiful trail that has running water! We found 28 individuals of 8 species. Rocky Mountain Duskywing (pictured) and Pacuvius Duskywing required some study. On the way down, we saw a Western Terrestrial Gartersnake. We’re contemplating going back to this location again next month, as the plants and butterflies seem to be behind this year. A lot more flowers and butterflies still to come! Thanks crew, for coming along and being great company!
Species list: Two-tailed Swallowtail, Western Tailed-Blue, Zela Metalmark, Mourning Cloak, Mylitta Crescent, Northern Cloudywing, Rocky Mountain Duskywing, Pacuvius Duskywing.
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Last Sunday's 60 Minutes program featured a report by Anderson Cooper on the Monarch migration. If you missed it, it is a great, informative piece, and you can watch it here:
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Join us for a virtual happy hour to celebrate the vital role of insect pollinators in our ecosystems with Kathleen L. Prudic!
Friday, March 28th @ 5pm MST
Katy is an influential ecologist and entomologist focused on improving habitats for pollinators. As an associate professor at the University of Arizona, she contributes to biodiversity community science and conservation strategies. Her work in butterfly ecology led to the creation of eButtterfly, a citizen science platform that encourages public engagement in conservation. Katy's dedication to education and environmental preservation makes her a prominent figure in her field, inspiring others to protect our natural world.
Unwind, connect, and learn about the contributions of butterflies and other pollinators to biodiversity. We'll discuss initiatives like eButterfly, which promotes community science through butterfly photography and data collection. Share your experiences and ideas on conservation efforts while enjoying a relaxed atmosphere. For (free) registration, please copy-and-paste the link below into your browser:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/pOHLGfEzSCiDCGfDuqaQvw#/registration
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First, here is the cautiously good news. The number of Monarchs at this winter’s aggregations in Mexico is higher than last winter: https://monarchjointventure.org/blog/eastern-monarch-population-2024-2025
However, the same cannot be said for aggregations on the west coast of North America: https://xerces.org/press/western-monarch-butterfly-population-declines-to-near-record-low
And the really bad news is that a recently published analysis of results from butterfly monitoring programs in North America suggests dramatic and disturbing declines in butterfly populations in the last two decades: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/06/declining-butterfly-populations?CMP=share_btn_url
Butterfly enthusiasts need to ramp up effort to create good butterfly habitats and gardens, to contribute to programs studying butterflies (like butterfly counts), to post observations on eButterfly and iNaturalist, and get people informed and excited about butterflies!
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Experience the enchantment of the Monarch butterfly migration in
the serene mountains of Michoacán, Mexico. Amidst the tranquility
of the forested landscape, witness the graceful dance of millions of
monarch butterflies as they flutter through the air. While the terrain
may pose challenges for some, we have a solution that ensures
everyone can enjoy this natural wonder. For those seeking a more
leisurely exploration, we offer the option to glide through the trails on
horseback. Our friendly guides will lead you on a gentle ride, allowing
you to savor every moment of the journey. 8 Days, 7 Nights.
read more »
Eight butterfliers participated in the 2024 annual fall count at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum on Saturday, 14 September. This fall count began in 2007, so this was the 18th. Three teams tallied butterflies seen at six areas: Grounds of BTA, Picketpost Trailhead, Queen Creek near the airport, in the town of Superior, Upper Devil’s Canyon, and Oak Flat. In total 820 individuals were tallied in 27 identified species. This was more than expected given how little monsoon rain there has been this year, although 662 of the individuals counted were on the grounds of the Arboretum. The wilder desert areas were another story. Many thanks to the counters! Here are the count tallies by species.
Pipevine Swallowtail 52, Giant Swallowtail 1, Two-tailed Swallowtail 2, Checkered White 3, Orange Sulphur 1, S. Dogface 4, Cloudless Sulphur 55, Mexican Yellow 1, Sleepy Orange 109, Dainty Sulphur 7 (pictured), Gray Hairstreak 4, Western Pygmy-Blue 4, Marine Blue 6, Ceraunus Blue 18, Mormon Metalmark 2, American Snout 162, Gulf Fritillary 1, Common Buckeye 1, Viceroy 1, Empress Leilia 18, Queen 347, Northern Cloudywing 1, Golden-headed Scallopwing 1, Arizona Powdered-Skipper 3, Funereal Duskywing 5, Common/White Checkered-Skipper 1, Erichson's White-Skipper 1. Unidentified: Sulphur sp. 3, Blue sp. 3, Butterfly sp. 2, Duskywing sp. 1.
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On Saturday, August 17, Pivot Rock Canyon on the Mogollon Rim provided a welcome respite from the high of 110 degrees in the Phoenix area. The weather was sunny but cool given it had clearly rained the night before. Six butterfliers visited the area starting at 9AM until 1PM when clouds started to form and block the sun. Highlights of the trip included a visit to the Pivot Rock on its impressive pedestal, and the decaying remains of a deer or elk that Arizona Sisters found attractive as a food source. We identified at least 13 species, which was twice as many as we saw on last year’s visit to this lush canyon. Here is the list: Two-tailed Swallowtail, Western Tiger Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur, Southern Dogface, Marine Blue, Spring Azure, Northwestern Fritillary, Mylitta Crescent, Field Crescent, Painted Lady, Arizona Sister, Common/white Checkered Skipper, Taxiles Skipper (pictured).
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On 20 July 2024, thirteen butterfly lovers attended the CAZBA Aspen Corner Butterfly outing on Snowbowl Road in Flagstaff. It was a beautiful day starting with a very cool morning. Blues were the predominant species and Purple Loco Weed was a favorite nectar flower. There were lots of puddling going on by the pond which is always fun to watch. As previous years, we also saw other arthropods including two species of Tachinid Fly, giant Bumble Bees, Wasps and everyone’s favorite day-flying moth, the Police-car Moth (pictured). Butterflies were far between but with sharp eyes, 20 species were seen with a couple seen that we could not determine with certainty.
Our butterfly list: Western Tiger Swallowtail, Two-tailed Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur, Dainty Sulphur, Spring Azure, Boisduval’s Blue, Silvery Blue, Greenish Blue, Reakirt’s Blue, Melissa Blue, Ceraunus Blue, Lupine Blue, Northwestern Fritillary, Painted Lady, Mourning Cloak, Hoary Comma, Taxiles Skipper, Garita Skipperling, Northern Cloudywing, Funereal Duskywing.
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