November 2018 Sightings

high 60's and sunny, little wind. 4 monarch cats, 7 Black Swallowtail cats and Brazilian cats obs while gardening. Continuing Black Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Question Mark, Monarch and Brazilian Skipper chrysalises continue. New rotten fruit put out with some success.

Observations scattered throughout the day. Pretty neat to see 10 species on a November day.

Such a nice day, sunny and 71 degrees, and a return check was compelling.

Interesting that I spent more time today (12:15 to 1:45pm) and found fewer butterflies, than yesterday's briefer visit.

Excellent count of Sleepy Orange's on this first November day. One was dancing around a flower/leaf that was the same color as the butterfly and I couldn't help but wonder if it was confused. It landed next to it (see photo) and made for a fun shot.

Walked the 5 mile loop from 10:45 to 11:15 in bright sun and temps climbing through the 60's. I believe all of the anglewings were commas.

There is no nectar along the right of way yet I had 4 species two of Witch were Halloween treats!
Cloudless Sulphur and Sleepy Orange !!!!
I believe Sleepy Orange is a new butterfly for LTS

[Yes, that is correct as far as I know, Harvey. We have only a handful of sleepy orange reports from CMY in our 11 years of logging and none from Lizard Tail SP, as far as I know. Excellent find! jc]

Nectar scarce here. Only one lone Cabbage White on this warmer day.

Discovered the Monarch around 1:30; she was still on the same stalk at twilight although she had moved further up the plant. In the photo, you can see the chrysalis to her upper right. I'll check in the morning to see if she is still there, although a morning rain is forecast.

Orange Sulphur present from 11am - 12:30. Seemed to prefer phlox in sunny, sheltered areas. Sachems spotted around 2pm. among the Zinnias.

1 monarch flying over the interior meadow (not feeding) around 3:00pm

This is the only Butterfly I saw along the road.
Note the odd markings. Even odder is that is was at the end of the road in the Marsh

Last stop of day. By 2:00 it was 70 and overcast with winds approaching 20. I had not seen an ET Blue here in weeks; maybe it was because they were so worn they were almost see-through.

Cloudy but 70+. I surveyed the garden for plants and counted 26 species of flowers still blooming. Best nectar sources at this point are Lantana & Buddleia. That will change soon. Perhaps the last mild day in the garden.

I checked this morning around 9:00 and saw that the newly-emerged Monarch from yesterday was still positioned on the stalk where it was at the end of day. When I came back from a Burlington County Parks walk around 1:30, I checked again for the Monarch. This time, it was on the ground. I moved it to some asters so it was off the ground and, after a minute or so, it flew off. It flew briefly, then landed on the ground again. I noticed that it wasn't flapping its wing like other Monarchs. I put it on some butterfly weed and it began to drink nectar immediately. After a few minutes, it flew around the yard for a longer time this flight, but, again landed on the ground. If you take a close look at today's photo and the photo from yesterday, you'll see that the lower wings did not expand completely. Is there anything I can do expand the wings?

4 monarch chrysalises left. I hope they make it!!

Observation made while doing volunteer work @ 1 pm.

while driving, 12 pm.

While birding in the park today I observed a few b'flies once it warmed up. Also, unfortunately, found a Spotted Lanternfly (see photo).

[This is a significant discovery of this very destructive non-native pest, which now is apparently invading NJ from hot spots immediately across the Delaware River in PA. All NJ sightings (especially those photo'd as Tom did here) should be reported to the NJ Dept of Agriculture. It's a leafhopper that feeds by sucking plant sap. Adults prefer Ailanthus trees but the black and white nymphs feed on more than 70 plant species. See more info about them, the destruction they cause, and how to report here: https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/spottedlanternfly.html

Thanks to Tom for his alertness and sharp eyes!

jc]

Sad to see the butterfly season ending. Still nectar in the garden with lantana & zinnias. Cleanup today of some of the cannas. I found 1 large Brazilian cat creating a nest perhaps getting to to pupate plus 4 Brazilian Skipper Chrysalises. All look viable. 14 monarch cats mostly last instars and a few Black Swallowtail cats on host plants. Black Swallowtail (2), Spicebush Swallowtail (3), Question Mark (2), Monarch (1) and Brazilian Skipper (4) chrysalises here. Was surprised to have a Fiery Skipper hang around all afternoon.

Both sachems were ragged. This was the first day in weeks that I did not see monarchs or buckeyes.

Commas were soaking up the sun on fallen oak leaves.

eclosed Brazilian Skipper today

[The magic continues! jc]

Sunny, little wind and low 60's.

Mid-day; full sun; temp in near 60.

Suprising to see the Buckeyes trying for another brood.

Stopped briefly to look for dragonflies.

Stopped her briefly around 1:00. I had not seen a Pearl Crescent in weeks. The one that I focused on was mint fresh. Shocked not to see a sulpher here today.

Having just returned from Ocean City, I did a quick tour of the yard and found it surprisingly active. A later walk about around 3:00 only revealed one monarch.

Monarchs were flying west along the Delaware Bay beachfront and over the marsh.

I was birding. I was surprised at the butterflies. Cool this morning. But sunny. This report covers Langley Rd, Glade Rd, East Point Rd, and the dirt road through Heislerville. The back entrance. First butterfly was a Monarch at 8:00AM. Flying low in a field.