Butterfly Transect at Brukner Nature Center...Some Results from the 2016 Season

The 2017 Ohio Butterfly Transect Monitoring begins, weather permitting, on April first.  I have been seeing butterflies on warm days so I know they are on the move.

Last year we saw a greater number of species than we saw in previous years.  I like to think it is because our eyes are sharper now that they are practiced at finding butterflies.

We saw 38 species in 2016. The species we saw most often was the Silver-spotted Skipper.  2016 was a bumper year for Silver-spotted Skippers.  Officially, we saw 424 which was 44% of all butterflies we saw.  By comparison, in 2015 we saw only 54 which was 9% of all the butterflies we saw.

Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)

The Cabbage White was the second most often seen.  Most years, it is the most common seen.  A non-native, it thrives in our area.

Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)

Coming in third in numbers seen in 2016 were the Pearl Crescents. They are one of our common butterflies though not always in the top three.

Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)

In 2016, we didn't see any butterflies that have never been sighted in Miami County but we saw eight that we had never seen before on the Brukner Nature Center Butterfly Transect.

Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius)

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)

Common Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus communis)
.

Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus)

The others, for which I don't have labeled photos were Zebra Swallowtail, Common Sootywing and Tawny-edged Skipper.

If the temperature is warm enough, the minimum being 60 degrees and almost full sun, we will start the 2017 season this weekend.

I hope you are seeing butterflies wherever you are.

Brukner Nature Center, Butterfly Transit, August 30

Jim and Ruth, Stephen and I walked the transit on August 30.  It was a good day to see butterflies.  We saw thirteen species, thirty-four specimen.

I think the Black swallowtail may have been the first one Stephen has ever seen.  They are not as common as some of the other swallowtails.

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) Wingspan: 2.5-4.2 inches (6.4-10.7 cm)  It is sitting on a Field Thistle.

We saw nine Eastern Tailed-Blue (Everes comyntas).  It was especially interesting to see this mating pair.  It is good to know Eastern Tailed-Blues will be around next year.

Eastern Tailed-Blues (Everes comyntas) Wingspan: 0.75-1.00 inches (1.9-2.5 cm)

The other butterflies we saw included five Hackberry Emperors, one Question Mark, Thirteen Cabbage Whites, 2 Summer Azures, one Painted Lady, one Pearl Crescent, and one Silver-Spotted Skipper.

Thanks, Jim, for the photographs.

Brukner Nature Center, Butterfly Transit, July 26, 2014

Thank you, Phil, for sending the following photos.  I didn't come for the transit walk because I was watching a grandson and his dog compete at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus.

Common Wood Nymph (Cercyonis pegala)--Wingspan 1.8-2.8 inches (4.6-7.1 cm)

I like this photo because it shows the delicate vein pattern in the wings.

Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta) Wingspan: 0.80-1.25 inches (2.0-3.2 cm)

There can be two or more broods of Summer Azures during the summer.

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) Wingspan: 1.75-2.40 inches (4.4-6.1 cm)

Many butterflies, like this one and the Common Wood Nymph, nectar at Purple Coneflowers.

Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)  Wingspan: 4.5-5.5 inches (11.4-14.0 cm)

I am really sorry I didn't get to see this butterfly.  It is one of the largest butterflies in North America.  It is in Ohio but not common.  I haven't seen one this year.

Phil took a photo of the upper side of the wings, and also took two nice photos of the underside.  The first time I saw a Giant Swallowtail I was really surprised to see how different its underside is from the upper side.

Butterfly Monitoring Workshop, March 29, 2014

I was glad Tom and I decided to come to the workshop even though rain was pouring down and we had to park in Aullwood's overflow parking lot which is a field.

The morning session  was Introduction to Moths by Mothman, Dave Horn.  He even has Mothman as his license plate.  He is Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University.  Recently he put together a pamphlet of common moths in Ohio for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.  He was asked to choose about seventy which was a problem because he says there are about six hundred common species.

 Dave is an entertaining as well as knowledgeable speaker.  One of his slides was a a brief overview of moths.  It looked a little like this.

Moths...Usually cryptic  
             Mostly nocturnal
             Highly variable
             Much more diverse than butterflies (20 moths for every 1 butterfly)
             Often tiny
            Not so well understood as birds and butterflies

And then he entertained us by describing some of the moths that didn't fit this list.

The  Hummingbird Clearwing, (Hemaris thysbe),  in the photo above is one of the exceptions.  It flies during the day and nectars at flowers.  (The first time I saw one, I actually thought it was a hummingbird for a moment and wondered why it was so small. )

Most of us "know" that moths fly at night and come to lights  but in addition to the moths that come to lights at night, there are others like the Hummingbird Moth that fly during the day  and also moths that  come only to ultraviolet or black light.  Still others come to rotting fruit ( or bait made with a homemade mix of ingredients which includes beer.)

We didn't stay for the afternoon session, partly because when we left for the lunch break, the rain had turned to a mixture of sleet and snow.  Guess what the overflow parking lot was like.  Our van ended up stuck in the mud up to the frame. We finally had to give up and call Triple A. ( American Automobile Association ) The  towtruck driver braved the mud, sleet, snow and wind and pulled our van out using a cable attached to the truck.  Still can't believe how pleasant he was.

Butterfly Transit, June 15, 2013

We saw a Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) on the sidewalk before we started our official walk.  It was in  the transit section Ruth has designated as the last one so she didn't list it on the official transit list for the day.  But I think everyone else listed it in their mind.  Tom took these photos a few years ago.  The milkweed are not blooming yet this year.  I wanted to get a photo of the one on the sidewalk with its wings open but it flew when I moved.  Fortunately, I didn't move until others did get photos.

Its wingspan is 2.9-3.8 inches (7.1-9.7 cm)

We were standing talking in the first section when someone said, "There's a butterfly on Pauline's shirt.  Oops, it flew."

Butterfly enthusiasts expect a butterfly which lands on people to be a Hackberry  ( Asterocampa Celtis) or a Tawny Emperor (Asterocampa clyton).

I found its landing spot.  It was a Hackberry, (Wingspan: 2.0-2.6 inches or 5.1-6.6 cm).

We saw other butterflies but none that were different from what we have seen in previous weeks.  And we still had to really search for those we did find.

But the larger dragonflies are fun to find.  Here are two we saw.  I haven't searched the dragonfly field guides for their names yet.  When I do, I will come back to this post and update it.  There are two photos of the second dragonfly.  One shows the insect in general.  The other gives a better view of the face.

Ruth found this caterpillar on a False Indigo.  I don't remember if she said it was False Blue or simply False.  These are two different plants.  A spot of light washed the color from the head end so I colored it with the clone tool.  The caterpillar was so small I didn't see the bit of pattern toward the rear until I enlarged it on the computer so I don't know if the pattern continued up the back.  I expect that it did.  The skin was smooth, not hairy which is typical of many moth caterpillars so I think this is a butterfly caterpillar.

July2 Update.  The green caterpillar is that of the Wild Indigo Duskywing.   Thank you, Ruth Bowell.

Sometimes, a person just has to be looking at the right spot.  As we were returning to the Interpretative
Center, I saw motion on the center flower.  A half -inch long caterpillar was humping along in inchworm fashion.  Then it seemed to be trying to find a way to move to another stem.

Not finding what it was looking for, it settled back on the flower it was on.

As always, click on the photos to get a better view.

Butterfly Transit at Brukner Nature Center, June 8

Little Wood Satyr (Megisto cymela)  Wingspan: 1.5-1-9 inches (3.3-4.8 cm)

The weather was much like the weather last week when we walked the transit, 76 degrees Fahrenheit (24.4 Celsius) and the sky covered with clouds.  There were ten of us which was nice.  Generally, the more people are looking the more butterflies we see.  We saw a fair number of species but not as many as last week.  As I was driving home afterward, a few drops of rain hit my windshield.  I wonder if  the threatening rain had sent the butterflies into hiding.  Later in the afternoon, there was more rain.

I was pleased to get this photo of the Little Wood Satyr.  I usually see it with its wings together like this.  It is found in open woodlands, forest clearings, woodland margins, and in adjacent brushy areas.  It blends in well with its background.  I find that it is barely visible if I look at it with the wing edges facing me. Only when it moves can I find it.  Its larvae feeds on various grasses.  It is a common butterfly but not easy to see because of its coloring.

Those of the group with the better cameras took pictures of other butterflies but I found some other interesting animals.  

This middle-sized bullfrog was sunning itself at Cattail Pond.

As we were finishing up the transit, three of us lagged behind.  Judy decided she wanted to see the other side of a flattened little snake on the drive.

Between the two of us, we loosened it from the pavement.  Joan exclaimed, "Why it's a Ring-neck Snake."

And, of course it was...a Northern Ring-neck Snake (Diadophis punctatus edwardsii)  She and I had
 seen them a few times but this was a first for Judy.  

Northern Ring-neck Snakes are basically nocturnal snakes and never get much longer or bigger in diameter than a new pencil.  In Ohio they are found mainly in the southern and eastern counties and along the border of Lake Erie.  They live in sheltered places in moist areas, usually in or near woods.  They eat earthworms, slugs, small salamanders, and snakes.

As always, click on the photos to get a bigger and better view.

Walking the Butterfly Transit at Brukner Nature Center, Sunday, June 2,2013

Sunday at 2 PM was a good time to look for butterflies.  The sun was shining and the temperature was in the mid-seventies (Fahrenheit)  The previous  butterfly walk days this season were chilly so we saw very few butterflies.

Three walkers carried good quality cameras and I had my little one.  Photographs of butterflies, if the observers can snap them, are an excellent means of identifying butterflies.

There were eight of us which means there were lots of eyes to spot our prey.  We found butterflies in seven of the ten distinct areas of the transit.

In the sunny area behind the photographers we found two butterflies that look very similar.  Both were spread-wing on the mowed vegetation.

This is the most common one, Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos).  Wingspan: 1.25-1.60 inches (3.2-4 cm.)  I remember someone telling me long ago that it is called Pearl Crescent  because it has a silvery pearl colored crescent on its underside.  Pearl Crescents often fly  less  than twelve inches above the grass on trails or in yards.  They land on plant leaves just far enough away to make absolute identification difficult.

Here is the Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis).  Wingspan: 1.4-2.0 inches (3.6-5.1 cm.)

The slightly larger size is not noticeable to me.  If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you will see the white spots along the border of the hind wings which identify it.  Each hind wing has one white spot in the black border and a second white spot in the orange directly above it.The pearl crescent border has no white spots.
The Silvery Checkerspot has silvery bands on its underside. This was a new species for me.  I had never heard of it before and therefore, never looked for it.

Quite a few Azures (Celastrina) were flying low over the vegetation along the Brukner Drive.  The majority of the group thought this one was a Summer Azure. (Celastrina neglecta).  We also have Spring Azures in this area (Celastrina laden).  The Spring Azure is usually found in Ohio in mid-March through May and the Summer Azure is found in June through the end of September.  In these species the males and females are colored differently.

The Azures are tiny butterflies.  Wingspan is 0.75-1.25 inches (2.0-3.2 cm). I often see the tiny bits of blue flying when I walk the prairie trails at Charleston Falls.  The sitting butterfly is hard to find.  Usually they sit with wings together so look for a very small blue triangle half the size of the listed wingspan.  They often are found at muddy spots, maybe sipping up needed minerals.

There are other tiny blue butterflies as well.

And here is another of those "looks like something else" butterflies.  But we know definitely that this is an Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma).  Ruth captured it in the net and we got a good look at the underside.  We saw the silver comma on both of its hind wings.  The similar species of Anglewing has a comma and a dot and is called ...Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis).

These are middle-sized butterflies in our area.  The Eastern Comma has a  wingspan of 2.0-2.4 (5.1-6.1 cm) and the Question Mark is similarly sized.  Its wingspan is 2.25-3.00 inches (5.7-7.6 cm.)  I see these flying at eye level or higher as I walk the trails in Miami County woodlands.

Butterfly Survey, September 16, 2 PM to 3:30 PM

Ruth brought in this beautiful Black Swallowtail caterpillar. (Papilio polyxenes) It is on Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota) which is one of the members of the carrot family which it feeds on. When she touched it a bit to irritate it, the caterpillar extended its normally hidden  osmeterium which is a protrudable forked scent gland which emits a foul odor. I had trouble getting a photo with my little camera and eventually the caterpillar was so irritated by Ruth that it emitted the foul odor. Ruth says the smell reminds her a bit of citrus.

We walked the survey route in the afternoon because mornings have been below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Butterflies are more likely to be flying if the temperatures are above 70. We debated about continuing the survey into October which is the official last month and decided we would wait and see what kind of weather October brings. We saw more Pearl Crescents, Cabbage Whites, and Sulphurs than any others. We did see one Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma). Yvonne got a good look at the comma-like silver spot on its ventral side (below). We saw a skipper which we couldn't identify even using the field guide. 

Skippers get their name from their characteristic rapid darting flight. They are generally distinguished from butterflies by their larger bodies in comparison to their wings, their relatively small angular wings and antennae ending in a thin extension. Butterfly antennae have more of a club-like end. Both Yvonne and I took photos. I hope Yvonne's were better than mine.

 

I did get a decent photo of an Eastern Tailed-Blue (Everes comyntas).

We noticed lots of small moths flying about. One stopped long enough on Ruth's arm for me to get this photo.

 If you click on the photo, it will enlarge so you can get a better view of its antennae. The "fuzzy " antennae are a distinguishing characteristic of many moths. I hesitate to say "always" because there is very little that is "always" or "never" in the natural world.

Butterfly Survey, September 8, 2012

Saturday was cool, less than 70 degrees Farenheit, when we started off on our regular route about 11 AM. Butterflies like temperatures a bit warmer. I had seen a couple Cabbage Whites (Pieris rapae) as Tom drove our van up Brukner's lane so I was hopeful that we would see at least a few since the day was warming up. But Tom took more photos of insects other than butterflies as we walked the route.

If you click on the photos, you will see them in a larger format.

 

 

 

A Wheel Bug,(Arilus cristatus), named for the wheel-like protusion on its back. It is a member of the order, Hemiptera, commonly called "True Bugs". It belongs to the family, Reduviidae, or Assassin bugs and Ambush bugs. They kill and eat other insects.

 

 

One of the Katydids, (family Tettigoniidae) also called longhorned grasshoppers. One genus makes a "katydid, katydidn't" call.

 

 

I'm guessing this is a variety of True bug, but it might belong to a different order entirely. Do you have a guess? Or do you know?

 

 

Here's a Cabbage White. And below is an Orange Sulphur. (Colias eurytheme). This is often called the Alfalfa Butterfly because it is common in alfalfa fields.   Tom took the Dorsal (above) view and the Ventral (below) view.  Afterward, Ruth released it.

 

 

 

 

As you can see in the above photos  butterflies look different from above with their wings spread, and from the side or bottom when their wings are closed. Thanks to Yvonne, I learned about a butterfly I didn't know about which has to be identified from the side or bottom. Here is the Pearl Crescent. (Phyciodes tharos)  which I did know.

 

 

 

She told us there is a similar butterfly called the Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) which is  very similar and most easily identified by looking at the ventral.  She said she had been seeing them in her garden. We didn't find any. Maybe next week.

 

 

We did see Silverspotted Skippers. (Epargyreus clarus).

We got a nice long look at a Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) with its wings closed so it was easy to identify. Unfortunately, it flew before Tom was in position to get a unobstructed photo.