May 2021 Sightings

10:15 to 12:45. Temp 50 to 63 degrees. Sunny & windy.

9:10 to 9:45. Temps in the upper 40s. Very windy.

17 Intrepid butterflies met outside Lucille's at 9:30am with the temperature at 51°F and winds 20+ mph. However, when we got to our first stop, the butterfly were aleady flying in protected places, no doubt assisted by the full sun we had all day. The sand roads west of Warren Grove have never been that great but and we were surprised by the number and depth of the road spanning craters. filled with water. People driving cars parked them along the side of the road and everyone piled into the vehicles with higher clearance and 4WD. This got us further down the road but then we ran into water hazards that we didn't want to chance getting stuck in so those vehicles were parked and we walked from there. All photos from MIke Newlon.

[Thank you for gathering the group, pushing over the challenging road, and giving us the report. Thanks also to Mike Newlon for the nice shots. jc]

3:15-4:30pm, sunny, less wind than earlier, 63°F

Just for the record.
I saw my first Monarch on May 1st this year. I didn’t expect the monarch butterfly so early in spring.
Posting now, as I’m new in this group.

On French Lilac. A male

While leading a botanical walk, we happened to see a few butterflies in the afternoon when the wind was not so strong.

Admiral was hanging around blueberry patch in our woods.

Temperatures finaly made it to the low 60's
Photos from Mike Newlon.

1:15 to 2:30. Sunny, windy. Temps in mid-60s.

Fun sighting while gardening

Quick stop from 3 to 3:45. @65 degrees, sunny, breezy.

Fun sightings while whipping the garden into shape. E. Comma was interested in the Hops. Red Admiral laying eggs on Stinging Nettle.

[Can't remember when we last had a photo of red admiral laying eggs on stinging nettle, though it's a primary host for them. Good shot! jc]

Tigers were male & female both on French Lilac. Brief visit from A.Lady also on the Lilac.

Only a quick half hour tour here this afternoon.

Question Mark and American Ladies laying eggs on their host plants

Late afternoon. Yard's FOY monarch.

Around 10:30am, full sun. It was really exciting to see my first NJ monarchs of the year! Especially to see so many arriving off the SW winds

Very windy, bright sun 12:52 pm. Milkweed in garden up 6-8 inches.

Incidental sightings while birding in the park today. Cabbage White numbers are an estimate.

[Tom's sootywing and wild indigoes are both FOY's for 2021. Nicely done. - jm]

Incidental butterfly sightings while doing a bird sound workshop.

Recently, Am. Ladies have been moving through yard and laying eggs on Pussytoes. FOY Juniper Hairstreak.

Brian and I each independently and unknowingly walked the whole powerline cut today and it is strange that we missed each other. The wind made things challenging. A Juvenal's was seen ovipositing on baptisia.

[Jack M modified this report to eliminate repeating data. -jm]

3rd stop; 12:30- 1:15. Cloudy with rain sprinkles.

4th stop. 1:30- 3:15. Continued cloudy with weak showers. There were lots of bflys around, but I missed many due to my intense focus on Hessel's and cobwebs. Cruddy new camera could not come up with a decent photo in low light which was frustrating because these cobwebs are not what I am used to seeing. They are generally different, especially on the forewing dark mark. Goodbye camera.

[Exciting to see a dozen cobweb skippers at one spot. Double-digit counts of them have been very few over last several years. jc]

2nd stop. A red admiral took as much time as I did deciding on tomato, pepper, basil plants, etc.

First stop. 10:15- 11:45. 100% clouds, mid 70's. Hessel's was a fly-by.

10:20-12:00 75 degrees . We had a fast flyby of a very large sulphur? Possibly a cloudless sulphur but never got my binoculars on. Same with the Anglewing.

[Cloudless sulphurs are being reported from Maryland, so chances seem good for us here as well. jc]

Short walk around 330 to 4 o’clock before the rain started. Mixed sun and clouds