May 2017 Sightings

A brief and satisfying midday stop.

Good day for swallowtails! Gray Hairstreak was nectaring on Lilac. Sachem was a female.

50's with clouds an mist until late morning, then warmer and partly sunny. Ran into Steve G and photoed the same cobweb. In the photo of the sleepy duskywing, take note of the small white leading edge dot on each fw (Cech says "this mark is absent in sleepy" and is present on dreamy duskywing) photo of the sleepy duskywing.

In the old days, Rio Grande was mostly farms and there are nowadays, a very few, farm fields left. The Orange Sulphurs are, barely, hanging on.

Partly sunny, strong SW winds, 80 degrees or so.

A female and a male Sachem were getting nectar form White Clover blooms. Photo of male Sachem

Found an egg laying Frosted Elfin and a Horace's Duskywing was getting nectar from Low Bush Blueberry blossoms.

70 degrees with 97 % clouds

Brief, but productive visit in late morning. Sunny, 67 degrees.

[This is our first cobweb skipper of the year. We had our first four photos of variegated frits come from four widely separated locations in CM, GL and BURL counties today from Will K, Steve G, Chris Hertz (Chris: great photo capturing another spring runt) and Jack M. jmiller]

A few whites and sulphurs near the Rea Farm.

11:15 am

A Red Admiral started the day before the sun came out and it zipped around a lot. It stopped, very briefly, for Groundsel sap. Late in the day, a Spicebush Swallowtail and an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail were competing for Azaela nectar.

An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail was floating around the town of Goshen.

Those Eastern Tiger Swallowtails continue to have a great spring!

American Ladies, Common Buckeyes and a Variegated Fritillary were getting nectar from Beach Plum and Autumn Olive blossoms along the dune system.

[We had our first four photos of variegated frits come from four widely separated locations in CM, GL and BURL counties today from Will K, Steve G, Chris Hertz (Chris: great photo capturing another spring runt) and Jack M. jmiller]

4:40-6 pm. Partly cloudy, 82 degrees. v. frit was a runt. 2 ETB in the garden–one nectaring on golden alexander. Silver-spotted skipper on Japanese honeysuckle.

[We had our first four photos of variegated frits come from four widely separated locations in CMY, GLO and BUR counties today from Will K, Steve G, Chris Herz (Chris: great photo capturing another spring runt) and Jack M. jmiller]

Windy and mostly cloudy.

Observations made here at 8:25-10:27 a.m. & 4-5 p.m. Only one Hessel's Hairstreak found just before 5 p.m.

There were two Eastern Swallowtails, a Spicebush Swallowtail and an Orange Sulphur in a yard.

My heart rate still goes up at the sight of Hessel's. All three observed just after 2 p.m. Also managed to photograph a Black-banded Orange Moth.

Yes, there was an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail in the business district. American Ladies continue to be found everywhere one goes.

Took a side loop walk off the main trail through a mix of swampy and dry forest. Appalachian Browns can be documented in this section.

Two Eastern Tiger Swallowtails floated across the highway on this trip.

Strong afternoon winds kept this Cobweb Skipper grounded for a photo.

S. cloudywing exploded today at this site. Despite the warmth, clouds near noon slowed things down dramatically. Once again, no Henry's elfins; they had a tough year.

10:00, mostly sunny, 60's, winds 20-25. Lots of bflys, but cobweb skippers are still missing. Question mark was summer form.

70 mostly sunny and 30 mph gusts

[Chip's photo adds a 4th county – CAM – to our collection of var frit reports. Suddenly, they have appeared at several wide-spread spots. jc]