October 2019 Sightings

Five monarch cats in addition to two adults. First milkweed tussock moth cat found in yard this year.

Had Cloudless Sulphurs daily through Aug/Sept. Last date I had one in Camden County was 10/1.

9am-11:30am. Mostly cloudy right until the end of our walk.
Also saw 2 white-lined sphinx moth caterpillars

Upper 70's and sunny; observations made between 9:00 and 3:00. A rare 20 species in October day, which is the yard's record for October. Some of the nice surprises included an astounding number of Am. Coppers (many of them fresh), a ragged Tawny-edged sk, and a fresh m. Zabulon sk (see Dave Amadio's Zabulon sk comment posted 9/27). We rediscovered a Spicebush cat that had gone missing for the past week and Alice discovered two Variegated Frit cats on walkabout in different areas of the drought-toasted grass. Pretty sure we also had a Swarthy sk, but could not get a second look.

Monarch emerged this morning.

Obs. made after 5 p.m.

Obs. made mostly after 5 p.m. Pat photographed our first Variegated Fritillary in the garden this year.

12:10PM-12:50PM

A quick look at a very small amount of Frost Aster yielded a female Fiery Skipper.

Sunny, warm and little wind. Pleased to have #44 species for 2019 in the yard - Common-checkered Skipper. Good number of Monarchs with 25 tagged here on 10/1. Red -spotted Purple is into chrysalis. Butterflies not counted just enjoyed.

Took a walk around the preserve after finishing the day's project. Cutting across the neighbors' property to get to the south field I noticed that the barnyard was covered in frost Asters. I thought goats ate everything. Looking from outside the fence I could see lots of Checkered Skippers. I went in to try and get a quick count but the goats wouldn't leave me alone. There was a lot more Checkered Skippers than I put on the list. The Sleepy Orange was the reddish winter form. Good looking bug.

[Be careful out there, Brian ;-) We need you! jc]

Did my first October check of the colony today. Very hot and humid, but active none-the-less.

Counts are from Dix WMA and along Schoolhouse Road for both colonies in existence now.

11:45-12pm Breezy, overcast and spritzing, 68 degrees.

One Monarch high over yard heading south, while second one spending time in garden. Taking in their beauty while the season wanes.

Coming back from Beach Plum Farm I decided to have a quick look around my yard. Sunny but windy here along the bay. Looked at the butterflies on the berm first. Lots of skippers low down close to the plants. Went to the center garden and saw a dark bug that was flying. Waited til it settled on Blue Rhea Salvia. Got a few ID Photos before it flew but returned several times. Lastly on the Miss Huff Lantana. I was sure it was either a Zabulon or a Clouded Skipper. Clouded it was. #45 species for this yard for 2019 and #55 species overall. Looking forward to a few more species to stop by.

Still have many buckeye caterpillar on snapdragons. Plus Black Swallowtail and Monarch cats on their host plants. I also have chrysalis from Spicebush Swallowtail, BS, CB, and Red-spotted Purple. (front yard not included in numbers)

[Congratulations on a new species for the year and yard, B.P. And it's a good one indeed – and looks as fresh as JM's. Any chance it followed your car from Beach Plum Farm ;-) jc]

19 (adult) species three better than our previous best October yard count (16, 10/5/12). Also one black swallowtail cat. (Half a dozen monarch cats continue).

Upper 60's, sunny and windy. Barb and I spent a couple of lovely hours at the Point watching a steady flow of hawks and falcons. Afterwards, at her urging, we went to BP Farm in W. CM for a sandwich. Having never been there, I was surprised when I found out that with each sandwich comes a side choice of long-tailed sk or clouded sk. Barb and I had one of each.

[Good finds, not counting the sandwiches. These are our first clouded skippers since Sept 29 and in a different spot – also one photo'd looks fresh, suggesting this year's vagrant flight might not be over for the year. Our late date for the species is Nov 3 (2008) found by Will Kerling at Leamings Run, CMY. jc]

During guided nature walk from 9-11:30am.

Lots of caterpillars crossing the trail, including Buckeye, Milkweed Tussock moth, and both species of wooly bears. Winds were sustained at 15 mph and gusting to at least 30 mph or more which kept the butterflies and dragonflies hunkered down and out of sight.

At JM's urging I went over to Beach Plum Farm to see the Clouded Skipper but nary a sighting.

Good day in the Garden. A Long-tailed Skipper. 2nd for the season, and a Sleepy Orange. The Sleepy stopped on the Senna for awhile…..All the butterflies were nectaring on the Salvia greggii.

[Still more evidence that sleepy orange could be breeding in CMY after many years of being seen there only sporadically. jc]

Sunny but only reached 63 today. Activity light.

Windy ~ 13 MPH, sun off and on temps mid 60's. Bugs move in and out of the shelter of the plants depending on whether the sun is out. Cloudy Skipper continues. One and possibly 2 Common Checkered Skippers here (1 front garden looked F and back garden looked more M and fringe at edge looks different but was it a trick of light?) I do have malva here which is a host plant. First time they have been here twice in one season that I have seen them.

Early afternoon observations.

Warm, but overcast.
My No-tailed Skipper continues and nectars only on my Salvia greggii. Monarch and Buckeye numbers have crashed in the past 2 days

Long Tailed Skipper.

[Good find, C.R! jc]

Sunny, windy, mid 70's - 13-15 MPH keeping everything fairly low. Sachem & Fiery Skippers are my most common butterfly at this time and they are still all over front and back. Surprised to still have 19 species flying plus 4 species of pupa along with CB and BS caterpillars.

Another Sleepy. And the Long-tailed Skipper continues. Yet the bug of the day is a Pearl Crescent that just won't quit. Have to admire that!

[And the Aaron's breaks our latest date ever for the species – previously 10-6-16. jc]

The butterfly was not found after we were ready with cameras.

[A frustration too many of us have known! jc]

Smith's Woods butterfly garden only, 2:40-3:20pm
80 degrees but very windy
11 black swallowtail caterpillars
Ocola skipper was a first time sighting for this location.

[Good to see! jc]

A not-so-good photo of a sleepy orange but the butterfly did not wait around for me to get a good focus.

[Nice find, CC! This is our first photograph and second report ever for sleepy orange in BUR – following Tom Bailey's find at Palmyra Cove on 9-28-19. We had no previous records of the species in BUR Co, nor did Jim Springer when he compiled his excellent state map for the species on the North Jersey Butterfly website. A significant record! jc]