July 2022 Sightings

Hot and steamy.

Obs. made at 11:40, sunny and high 80's. Not much action here.

Sunny and hot, 88 degrees.

Incidental sightings late morning.

2:20 to 4:00 pm. Mostly sunny, hot & humid.

Very hot day so didn’t stay very long. The sootywing was a bonus!

Obs. made from 12:10 to 4:15, Sunny at first but south winds 8-18 and increasing clouds and wind gusts after 3. Checked out several areas finding very light activity. A nice exception was a small area with exceptional Bronze Copper activity. One area where I usually find them reliably was void of any activity for no apparent reason. Very localized species. Able to observe and photograph both male & females today from this season's 2nd brood. [FOY Bronze Copper]

Sunny, hot and humid. Mourning Cloak was nectaring on tree sap in wooded area of the Reserve.

One mile walk from 1:00-1:45. 88°, sunny, and humid.

Butterflies have been very scarce so far in our yard. I can always expect to find the Silver-spotted skipper on the Monarda fistulosa when in bloom.

First Monarch this year here.

Combined sightings from 7/2 -3 to avoid repetitions. Each species is shown as a 1 day high count. The total number of species is low and the total number of butterflies is terribly low. There are some shocking absences from the list like rare sk. Generally, numbers are way down following the pattern of the last few years.

Obs. made from 3-5:45, mostly sunny near 90. Decent diversity but low numbers. A nice showing by Wild Indigos.

Finally a grass-skipper! I did see one on May 21st but was unable to positively identify it.

Obs: 12.45-2.15
Tall Pines State Preserve, in partnership with the Rutgers Environmentel Stewards Program, has taken up the challenge of installing a native pollinator garden. 1200 native plant plugs will be put in , including milkweed and other hostplants for butterflies. I’ll volunteering this week.

Anglewing is FOY in my yard.

Another lovely day with a very few butterflies at Lumberton Leas. [FOY Cloudless Sulphur]

2 Banded Hairstreaks in dogfight up in the sunlit oak leaves in the early evening. Monarch laying eggs on C. MW. No caterpillars yet this year.

Quick morning walk

This diverse list was the result of a concerted effort made throughout the day by two sets of eyes.

Late day observations. A couple of spicebush cats and a couple monarch eggs on c.milkweed.

FOY Variegated Fritillary in my yard.

Obs: 1.00-2.15 Temps in the mid 80’s with a little breeze. Most of the BF’s are nectaring on Creeeping Thistle or Spotted Knapweed.

9:30 am to 4 pm. Sunny, temps in the low 80s, nice day. Dogbane still blooming and the main nectar source. Also one grass skipper sp. Still low diversity.

10am-noon. Sunny mid-80's with wind 10mph.