December 2015 Sightings
Teresa Knipper
Knipper Cape May garden
Cape May County, NJ
- Black Swallowtail 0
- Monarch 1
Beth Polvino
North Cape May ~ my yard Monarch Waystation #8318
Cape May County, NJ
plus 5 Black Swallowtail cats
- Black Swallowtail 0
- Monarch 1
- Orange Sulphur 9
- Common Buckeye 1
Teresa Knipper
Knipper garden
Cape May County, NJ
This late blooming chrysanthemum has been a magnet for bees and flies . But this morning look at this beauty it attracted! It was hard to ID from the top because I didn't see the white dot in the cell end. However, the bottom side clearly shows the white dot. And I had a second Am lady a little while later.
- American Lady 2
- Orange Sulphur 1
Steven Glynn
Cox Hall Creek WMA
Cape May County, NJ
Sunny, calm and 57 degrees. Photos taken with cell phone.
- American Lady 1
- Common Buckeye 5
Chip Krilowicz
Gloucester County Dream Park
Gloucester County, NJ
49 and sunny with dandelion and aster in bloom.
Moderator's Note: this is only our second December record for variegated frit in our eight years of logging. The only other is from 12-4-09: two worn individuals recorded by Will Kerling at the Rea Farm, CMY. Chip's good photo shows this individual looks in surprisingly sharp shape for the first week of December.
- Clouded Sulphur 1
- Orange Sulphur 2
- Variegated Fritillary 1
- Common Buckeye 2
David L. Amadio
Riverwinds Community Center
Gloucester County, NJ
Observed 2 males and a female. Still a fair number of dandelions providing some nectar.
- Orange Sulphur 3
David L. Amadio
Riverwinds Community Center
Gloucester County, NJ
Photographed a very uncooperative Clouded Sulphur
- Clouded Sulphur 1
- Orange Sulphur 3
Pat & Clay Sutton
Cape May Point State Park
Cape May County, NJ
on path behind dune, between State Park and SCMM. One of the Common Buckeyes was quite worn, as the photo shows. Another had a stunning rosy underside.
- American Lady 1
- Common Buckeye 8
David L. Amadio
Wheelabrator Refuge, Westville
Gloucester County, NJ
And now we have a December record of Eastern Comma. This is likely the same individual recorded here on 11/26.
Moderator's Note: Dave's comma find gives us our 15th December species for our eight years of logging, 2008-2015. Good going, Dave!
His red admiral at Riverwinds (report below) gives us our 8th adult species for the month (in just five days). During the very warm December of 2011 (one the warmest NJ Decembers ever recorded) we found 10 species – our current high count for the month. Could that record fall this year? (See the blog for the full list.)
- Eastern Comma 1
- Common Buckeye 3
Roberta Ferro (fide Pat Sutton)
Cape May Point State Park - Yellow Trail
Cape May County, NJ
- Red Admiral 1
David L. Amadio
Riverwinds River Trail
Gloucester County, NJ
I do not remember ever recording Common Buckeyes here in December. The sulphur image is reported as Clouded. In the field this was more convincing than the digital image. It could be a hybrid.
- Clouded Sulphur 1
- Red Admiral 1
- Common Buckeye 2
David L. Amadio
Wheelabrator Refuge, Westville
Gloucester County, NJ
Two of the three Buckeyes appeared to be runts. Lost track of them and was unable to get any images of the runts.
- Common Buckeye 3
David L. Amadio
Riverwinds Community C enter
Gloucester County, NJ
More Sulphur activity today. Images are of Orange Sulphur & a Clouded in flight.
- Clouded Sulphur 2
- Orange Sulphur 6
David L. Amadio
Riverwinds River Trail
Gloucester County, NJ
One of these Red Admirals is the same individual photographed yesterday.
- Clouded Sulphur 1
- Orange Sulphur 1
- Red Admiral 2
- Common Buckeye 2
Tom Bailey
Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Burlington County, NJ
- Sulphur sp. 1
- Common Buckeye 1
Chip Krilowicz and Jean Gutsmuth
Floodgates
Gloucester County, NJ
- Orange Sulphur 4
Chip Krilowicz and Jean Gutsmuth
Gloucester County Dog Park
Gloucester County, NJ
- Clouded Sulphur 2
- Orange Sulphur 8
- Common Buckeye 3
Chip Krilowicz & Jean Gutsmuth
Gloucester County Dream Park
Gloucester County, NJ
- Orange Sulphur 9
- Common Buckeye 4
Chip Krilowicz and Jean Gutsmuth
Riverwinds restaurant
Gloucester County, NJ
With Jean Gutsmuth for the day. Little wind and made it to 55 degrees. Dandelion was the flower of the day.
- Clouded Sulphur 1
- Orange Sulphur 1
David L. Amadio
At work in Cherry Hill
Camden County, NJ
- Orange Sulphur 1
Chip Krilowicz & Jean Gutsmuth
Raccoon Creek WMA
Gloucester County, NJ
35 total number of butterflies seen for the day!
- Clouded Sulphur 1
- Orange Sulphur 2
- Clouded Sulphur 2
- Orange Sulphur 6
- Common Buckeye 1
Jack Miller
Sunset Beach, Cape May
Cape May County, NJ
50 and cloudy. My first December butterfly, despite spending time at lots of locations.
- Common Buckeye 1
Will Kerling
Lizard Tail Swamp Preserve
Cape May County, NJ
It was sunny, calm and barely 50 degrees. Found 2 Common Buckeyes - digital images of both.
- Common Buckeye 2
Will Kerling
Field at intersection of Rte. 47 and Woodcock Lane
Cape May County, NJ
Found 4 Orange Sulphurs even though it was chilly and barely 50 degrees.
- Orange Sulphur 4
Steven Glynn
Cedarville area fields
Cumberland County, NJ
Checked out area remnant vegetable farm fields and waste/service areas. Mostly cloudy, 55 degrees.
- Clouded Sulphur 1
- Orange Sulphur 2
Chip Krilowicz
Wheelabrator Wildlife Refuge and Butterfly Garden
Gloucester County, NJ
I only had time for onw stop today. The temp was 55 and only an hour of sun.
- Common Buckeye 2
Monarch with crumpled wings but alive. Five swallowtail caterpillars on fennel.