photo by Anne Anthony
AND MOTH REPORTS For 2002 2001 2000 and 1999 |
Gord,
Better than the birds I saw at Holiday Beach/ Erie Shores on Saturday, Nov. 11, were a Buckeye, a Monarch, and two O. Sulfurs.The temperature was near 2* C. in the morning, and frost was on the ground, but they had survived.
Good butterfly hunting,
Fred Urie
Windsor
fredurie@yahoo.com
This summer on the Pelee Island butterfly count which was held on Saturday, August 5, 2000, Jerry Ball of Peterborough netted a new species of butterfly for Canada. A Zabulon Skipper, Poanes zabulon was observed on the east side of Pelee Island near Middle Point. This is the first confirmed record for this species in Canada. photographs taken by Anne Anthony are shown below.
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| Underside view of Zabulon Skipper photo by Anne Anthony |
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| Upper view of Zabulon Skipper photo by Anne Anthony |
Gord,
On Saturday, November 4, Steve Pike and Dean Ware found a Red Admiral at Pelee along with several other butterflies. Dean also found a late N. Pearl Crescent on Sunday, November 5.On the west beach on Sunday, I observed an American (Painted) Lady, my latest sighting for this specie. With the prdiction for snow next week, I can only hope to find any type of migrant.
Good butterfly hunting,
Fred Urie
Windsor
fredurie@yahoo.com
Hi Gord,
With the unseasonably mild temps this past week, I noted several butterflies at my place of employment during lunch break. Most notably were a fresh Pearl Crescent, fresh Buckeye, and probably two fresh Painted Lady. Also noted were Monarch, cabbage white and numerous Orange Sulphur. The sulphurs seem to be quite plentiful this year. Hope this is of interest for late October.Blake A. Mann,
Wallaceburg, Chatham-Kent, Ont. email: boatmann@kent.net
Visit the Boat Doctor at:
www.kent.net/boatdr
On Monday, Oct. 23 there was a late Monarch butterfly at our cottage on Lake Muskoka near Bracebridge. The poor thing could barely even crawl to the Cosmos flower I placed in front of it, but it was very interested and fed for about ten minutes. It was a cool, overcast, windy day. I placed the butterfly on some Alyssum that were still in bloom and after another feeding and some weak rays of sunshine poking through the clouds, the Monarch flew a few feet and landed at the top of a nearby cedar tree. On Oct. 25 (a much warmer day) there were two Mourning Cloaks fluttering about, but no sign of the Monarch. Lots of ladybugs were flying around too.Barbara Taylor
muskoka_birder@hotmail.com
Gord,
Today the sky was blue and temperatures were warm. At Malden Park, Windsor, I found cabbage 5, O. sulfur 20, c. sulfur 5, N. PEARL CRESCENT , RED ADMIRAL 1, buckeye 1, monarch 1 and a fiery skipper. Species at SpringGarden included fiery 2, buckeye 2, and a late WILD INDIGO DUSKYWING.Good butterfly hunting,
Fred Urie
Windsor
fred_urie@hotmail.com
Gord,
On Friday, Oct. 13, I found an E. T. Blue at Ojibway Tallgrass.Oct. 14 there were many butterflies at Pelee including 2 VARIEGATED FRITILLARIES and 14 Buckeyes. Other species I saw were cabbage 49, c. sulfur 5, o. sulfur 171, n. pearl crescent 1, question mark 1, e. comma 8, mourning cloak 2, and monarch 226.
Good butterfly hunting,
Fred Urie
Windsor
fredurie@yahoo.com
Gord, Temperatures were around 20* C. and the sky was clear. I found a fresh PAINTED LADY and an E. TAILED BLUE at Holiday Beach. Other butterflies were Buckeye 2, E. Comma 1, Monarch 1, Cabbage 9, C. Sulfur 4, and O. Sulfur 25.Good butterfly hunting,Fred Urie
Windsor
fredurie@yahoo.com
Gord,
Temperatures were near 2* C. on the weekend but some butterflies are surviving. Today at Ojibway I found a Silver-Spotted Skipper. I also saw one at Big Creek on Oct. 3, and one at Titcombe bikepath on Oct. 1. I hope the heat lasts for a few more weeks.
Good butterfly hunting,Fred Urie
Windsor
fredurie@yahoo.com
Gord,
I found single Wild Indigo Duskywing butterflies on Sept. 9 in the Ontario Provincial Prairie Nature Reserve and on Sept. 10 on Titcombe bikepath (Windsor)Despite overcast skies and wet conditions at Spring Garden E.S.A. on Sept. 10, there were 33 Wild Indigos near the hill. A single male Fiery Skipper sat on top of the hill.
Good butterfly hunting,
Fred Urie
Windsor
fredurie@yahoo.com
Gord,
The winds were from the east, the air was heavy and the skies were overcast most of the afternoon. Conditions were poor for a hawk or passerine flight.I looked for butterflies and found E. T. Blue, S. Azure C. Sulfur, O. Sulfur, N. Pearl Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Monarch, Viceroy, Cabbage, Least Skipper, Silver Spotted Skipper, GIANT SWALLOWTAIL, and AM. SNOUT.
There would be more species if the nectar sources were better.
Good butterfly hunting,
Fred Urie
Windsor
fredurie@yahoo.com
Hi, Gord.Today at the Grand Bend Sewage Lagoons 6 Buckeyes were seen. They seemed fresh.
In the Pinery, one of the staff caught a GIANT SWALLOWTAIL at the North end of the park. It had both tails missing. As is usual in the Pinery, it was released.
Yesterday Pinery's largest Robber Flys were out. They are formidable predators, catching Bumble bees and large grasshoppers in flight. They get them by the back and inject immediately into the dorsum of their prey. This immobilises very quickly. One day I disturbed a big grasshopper which leaped away. In an instant it was caught, impaled injected and was quiescent by the time the fly landed a few seconds later. Not once did it twitch while it was being photographed in close-up. Formidable! These flies even kill and eat CABBAGE WHITE butterflies- which is where the tenuous link to butterflies and robber flies lies!
Good Butterflying/Birding.
Alf.
rider@xcelco.on.ca
Hi Gord,
I read in your reply to someone that you would like to see a Giant Swallowtail. There was one out at the Anhinga marsh last week. We have had a number of sightings in Middlesex this summer. Down in Skunk's Misery on August 9 there were more Giants than Cabbage Whites flying!Ann White
London Ontario Canada
dwhite@odyssey.on.ca
Hi Gord,Two male Buckeye Butterflys have taken up residence in the vacant lot behind Ideal Supply Co in Listowel, Ontario. I havn't found any eggs or larvae, although there is plenty of Plantago spp. around, so I have no idea whether or not they will breed.
PS.
A larger number of Buckeye's were observed there last year in September.Best Regards
Glenn M. Richardson
18 McDonald Steet West
Listowel, Ontario
N4W 1K4
291-3544
I found this web site while doing a search to try and identify some butterflies I saw this morning while trout fishing near Brantford.They were Giant Swallowtails. I've lived in this area all my life, and don't think I have ever seen them before. Are they at all rare?
Anyway, these two were mating and laying eggs all over the place.
Rudy Essegern
rudi@worldchat.com
Hi Rudy, I have heard of similar Giant Swallowtail reports from a couple of other butterfly watchers in the last few days. They have been seen in the Pelee area and just west of Toronto. I have also heard of one report east of Toronto.Thank you Rudy for your report. I hope I get to see one soon.
Gord Gallant .... gord@web-nat.com
Hi, Gord.Today at Grand Bend Sewage Lagoons there were two BUCKEYES flying around.
Alf.
rider@xcelco.on.ca
Hi, Gord.Pete Chapman found a fresh SNOUT Butterfly in his yard this morning.
This is the 4th.specimen that I have seen in North Lambton. There is a Pinery taken specimen in their collection, caught by Gordon Vogg on mud at the canoe launch. Usually they are a bit later in the year. This specimen had hatched close by, probably on his property.
Thank goodness it wasn't some kind of Skipper to try and get a handle on!!
Good Butterflying/Birding.
Alf.
rider@xcelco.on.ca
Gord,
I walked the RailTrail from Paris to Cambridge on Aug. 3, and found 25 species of butterfly. The only unusual butterfly was a Hackberry at Glen Morris.The only other places I have seen Hackberry Butterflies are at Ojibway, Pelee, and Holiday Beach in Essex County.
Good butterfly hunting,
Fred Urie
Oakville
fredurie@yahoo.com
Hello Gord,
Thought I'd mention some of the butterflies I saw on a recent trip to the Bruce Peninsula this week. Spots I went to included Black Creek Park, Dorcas Bay, Cyprus Lake, and Flowerpot Island. It was not great butterfly weather--as has been the whole summer, but these were some of the species: Cabbage White, Red Admiral, Northern Pearly Eye, Common Wood Nymph, Eyed Brown, Tiger Swallowtail, Dorcas Copper (at Dorcas Bay!), Great Spangled Fritillery, Aphrodite Fritillery, Northern Broken-Dash, and Northern Crescent.Blake A. Mann,
Wallaceburg,
Chatham-Kent, Ont.
email: boatmann@kent.net
Visit the Boat Doctor at:
www.kent.net/boatdr
Hi Gord,The 1st annual Bruce Peninsula Butterfly Count was a success. 32 species were observed on a beautiful sunny and warm day, July 29/00. The count circle is centred on the west end outflow of Crane Lake. Most species were netted and identified including all skippers and fritillaries.
Species identified included:
- cabbage white, mustard white, clouded sulphur, orange sulphur - dorcas copper, coral hairstreak, eastern tailed blue - great spangled fritillary, atlantis fritillary, aphrodite fritillary, pearl crescent, northern crescent - question mark, eastern comma, gray comma, mourning cloak, red admiral, painted lady - northern pearly eye, appalachian brown, eyed brown, little wood satyr, common wood nymph - delaware skipper, european skipper, long dash skipper, northern broken dash, peck's skipper, tawny edged skipper, dun skipper - dreamy duskywing, monarchNext year's count will be held on July 28th.Cindy Cartwright
pom@bmts.com
Hi, Gord.At Grand Bend Sewage Lagoons today, just before the shower came a GIANT SWALLOWTAIL butterfly crossed my path in the first cell. Not too common in N.Lambton. We also had another Giant S. on Holt line while looking for the Sedge Wrens in S. Lambton two days ago.
On another topic, where have all the Hairstreaks gone? Hardly any here. Henrietta O'Neil told me that it is like that at Pelee too!.
Good Butterflying.
Alf
rider@xcelco.on.ca
I live in the Delaware/London area and we had what I believe, was a Eastern Comma at our Hummingbird feeder drinking the sugar water. Is this possible? When it's wings were closed it looked like a dead leaf and when they were open it had orange, black and brown markings.Monica Clark
mylobo@sympatico.ca
Yes it could have been an Eastern Comma or a Question Mark butterfly. Both are quite similar, but ceratinly have unique field marks if you get a good enough look.Gord Gallant .... gord@web-nat.com
On July 8, 2000 a total of over 30 individuals attended the MacGregor Point Provincial Park NABA Count. The five teams sited a total of 38 species of butterfly.They are listed below:
black swallowtail - 8 Canadian tiger swallowtail - 101 cabbage white - 708 clouded sulphur - 13 orange sulphur - 8 pink-edged sulphur - 1 bronze copper - 3 coral hairstreak - 2 summer azure - 6 great spangled fritillary - 146 Aphrodite fritillary - 17 meadow fritillary - 41 pearl crescent - 7 northern crescent - 138 Baltimore checkerspot - 12 question mark - 7 eastern comma - 1 Milbert's tortoiseshell - 1 mourning cloak - 10 red admiral - 1 American lady - 2 painted lady - 1 red-spotted purple - 5 white admiral - 11 common buckeye - 1 viceroy - 14 monarch - 95 northern pearly eye - 29 eyed brown - 67 little wood satyr - 7 common ringlet - 7 common wood nymph - 29 silver spotted skipper - 1 least skipper - 36 European skipper - 3358 long dash skipper - 10 northern broken dash - 6 hobomok - 2Mary Rapati coordinated the count and did an excellent job.Norah
Hi Gord,We've been running around scouting for the Haliburton Butterfly Count and have turned up some interesting species and numbers. The count was rained out yesterday but we will be trying a "rain date" later this week. I hope the weather cooperates more this time. Here are some species that are around presently:
Least Skipper European Skipper - abundant! Peck's Skipper Tawny-edged Skipper Long Dash Skipper Hobomok Skipper - a few lingering individuals Two-spotted Skipper - 12 individuals observed; 3 colonies. Mulberry Wing - 3 individuals in a small colony Dun Skipper Northern Cloudywing - a few lingering individuals Can. Tiger Swallowtail Mustard White Cabbage White Clouded Sulphur American Copper Summer Azure Silvery Blue - late flying individual Aphrodite Fritillary Baltimore Checkerspot - huge colony discovered by Dennis Barry and Margaret Carney Harris' Checkerspot Northern Crescent Question Mark Grey Comma Mourning Cloak Milbert's Tortoiseshell Red Admiral White Admiral VViceroy Northern Pearly-Eye Eyed Brown Little Wood Satyr Common Ringlet - a few still lingering MonarchNo hairstreaks yet but it shouldn't be long! Happy butterflying to all!Ed Poropat
edporopat@halhinet.on.ca
Hi Gord,
Thought I'd mention some of the butterflies we observed on the Clear Creek Count near Highgate in eastern Chatham-Kent on Sunday July 16. At least 43 species were seen on this new count, and our group had 38 of them. Some of these included Spicebush Swallowtail, American Copper, Acadian, Edward's, Banded, Striped Hairstreaks, American Painted Lady, Common Buckeye, Viceroy, Tawny Emperor, Appalachian Eyed Brown, Silver-spotted Skipper, Fiery Skipper, Peck's, Tawney-edged, Crossline, Delaware, Dun, and Dion Skippers, Northern Broken Dash.This count includes the Clear Creek Forest which the Nature Conservancy has an option to purchase as a nature reserve.
Lots of excellent habitat exists here for birds and butterflies. Not all areas could be covered, so we'll be looking for many volunteers next year.
Happy butterfly hunting!
Blake A. Mann,
Wallaceburg,
Chatham-Kent, Ont.
email: boatmann@kent.net
Visit the Boat Doctor at:
www.kent.net/boatdr
Hi Gord,The results of the Windsor Butterfly Count have been posted at:
http://www.city.windsor.on.ca/ojibway/naba.htm
The count was held on Saturday, July 8. We had twenty-five participants who found 50 species and 1,195 individuals.
Cheers,
Paul
Paul Pratt Naturalist Ojibway Nature Centre 5200 Matchette Road, Windsor, ON N9C 4E8 (519)966-5852 (519)562-5326 cell ppratt@city.windsor.on.ca http://www.city.windsor.on.ca/ojibway/
after getting rained out last Sunday, we managed to get 4 folks out in the field on the 12th for another count. Great weather: sunny and hot for 12 hours, low humidity, and low wind. Some suprising numbers, and some suprising species (no, the European Skipper and Baltimore Checkerspot #s are not mistakes) Here they are:
Skippers Least 115 European 18,484 Pecks 14 Tawny edged: 3 Crossline: 2 Long Dash: 12 N. Broken Dash: 4 Broad-winged: 4 2 spotted: 3 Dun: 29 Common Roadside: 1 N Cloudywing: 1 Dion: 1 Mulberry Wing: 3 Skipper sp: 3 Can. Tiger Swallowtail: 3 Mustard White: 6 Cabbage White: 36 Clouded Sulphur: 4 Orange Sulphur: 10 Harvester: 1 Coral Hairstreak: 7 Striped Hairstreak: 1 Summer Azure: 15 Fritillaries Great Spangled: 18 Aphrodite: 9 Silver-bordered: 28 Meadow: 1 Harris' Checkerspot: 2 Baltimore Checkerspot: 202 N. Crescent: 60 Pearl Crescent: 3 Qestion Mark: 3 E. Comma: 11 Green Comma: 1 Gray Comma: 2 Comma sp: 3 Compton's Tortoiseshell: 1 Mourning cloak: 12 Red Admiral: 2 White Admiral: 34 Viceroy: 4 N. Pearly Eye: 9 Eyed Brown: 79 Little Wood Satyr: 1 Common Ringlet: 8 Common Wood Nymph: 4 Monarch: 50Total sp: 47
Total individuals: 19307
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The first South River (northeastern Parry Sound District) Butterfly Count was held on Saturday June 24th. There were 8 participants on this count.Count Results
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail 41; Mustard White 33; Clouded Sulphur 15; Orange Sulphur 1; Silvery Blue 14; American Copper 35; Meadow Fritillary 1; Silvery Checkspot 1; Harris's Checkspot 32; Northern Crescent 3; Mourning Cloak 16; White Admiral 6; Viceroy 1; Little Wood Satyr 44; Common (Inornate) Ringlet 33; Common Wood Nymph 3; Monarch 50; Northern Cloudy Wing 17; Dreamy Dusky Wing 19; Juvenal's Dusky Wing 1, Arctic Skipper 26; Least Skipper 1; European Skipper 55; Common Branded Skipper 20; Crossline Skipper 3; Long Dash 8; Hobomok Skipper 28, and Common Roadside Skipper 1.Martin and Kathy Parker
Count Compilers
mkparker@onlink.net
Reported bird sightings have been exceptionally low lately, due to a lack of observers.RESIDENT SPECIES still easy to find include Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-breasted Chat (DeLaurier Trail), White-eyed Vireo, Orchard Oriole and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
FALL MIGRANTS recorded lately include Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs and Short-billed Dowitcher (all July 4); Solitary Sandpiper (July 6); and several Least Flycatchers (July 11).
BUTTERFLIES: During the period of June 13th to 25th inclusive there was a significant influx of Zebra Swallowtail, with numbers not seen since the turn of the century; in total there were undoubtedly at least 10 to 20 individuals, as up to six were seen per day. Other immigrants that are now being seen daily are Little Sulphur, Common Buckeye, Snout Butterfly and Pipevine Swallowtail (in extremely fresh condition). Present but observed less frequently are Variegated Fritillary and Fiery Skipper. The 5th ever Point Pelee Harvester was found on July 6th. Also noteworthy for Point Pelee is a rash of recent Gray Comma sightings -- most years this species is not recorded here.
Alan Wormington
Staff, Friends of Point PeleeWEEKEND HIKES:
Every weekend from July through October 22nd we are offering hikes for birds and butterflies, led by local experts. Saturdays at 9:50 a.m. and 1:50 p.m. / Sundays 1:50 p.m. only. For more information telephone The Friends of Point Pelee at (519) 326-6173.
Results of the Hwy 60 Algonquin Butterfly Count Held - Saturday, July 1, 2000 SPECIES AREA A AREA B AREA C AREA D AREA E TOTAL Northern Cloudywing 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dreamy Duskywing 0 2 0 11 3 16 Juvenal's Duskywing 5 1 0 2 0 8 Arctic Skipper 1 0 1 2 1 5 Least Skipper 1 1 0 0 0 2 European Skipper 13 51 4 61 16 145 Peck's Skipper 1 0 0 0 0 1 Tawny-edged Skipper 0 3 1 0 0 4 Long Dash Skipper 20 7 6 8 11 52 Hobomok Skipper 42 13 12 30 33 130 Two-spotted Skipper 4 2 4 3 1 14 Dun Skipper 16 9 4 8 9 46 Pepper and Salt Skipper 1 0 1 0 0 2 Common Roadside Skipper 1 0 8 10 1 20 Canadian Tiger Swallowtail 24 20 10 16 21 91 Mustard White 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cabbage White 0 2 1 0 0 3 Clouded Sulphur 0 0 0 1 2 3 Orange Sulphur 0 4 0 2 1 7 Pink-edged Sulphur 7 0 1 0 0 8 Bog Copper 0 1 11 0 0 12 Banded Hairstreak 0 0 0 0 0 0 Striped Hairstreak 0 0 0 0 0 0 Eastern Pine Elfin 1 0 0 0 1 2 Eastern Tailed Blue 0 0 0 0 0 0 Spring Azure 0 0 0 6 1 7 Summer Azure 0 0 0 0 0 0 Silvery Blue 0 0 1 1 0 2 Saepiolus Blue 0 0 0 0 0 0 Great Spangled Fritillary 0 0 0 0 0 0 Aphrodite Fritillary 0 0 0 0 0 0 Atlantis Fritillary 0 1 2 0 5 8 Bog Fritillary 0 0 0 1 0 1 Silver Bordered Fritillary 0 0 2 4 3 9 Meadow Fritillary 0 0 0 0 0 0 Silvery Checkerspot 0 0 3 23 1 27 Harris' Checkerspot 1 0 6 4 0 11 Northern Crescent 4 0 0 0 0 4 Question Mark 3 0 2 0 0 5 Eastern Comma 0 0 0 0 0 0 Green Comma 0 0 0 0 0 0 Grey Comma 1 0 0 0 0 1 Compton Tortoiseshell 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mourning Cloak 12 19 5 7 9 52 Milbert's Tortoiseshell 7 1 1 0 16 25 American Lady 0 1 0 0 0 1 Painted Lady 0 0 0 0 0 0 Red Admiral 2 3 0 0 1 6 White Admiral 18 14 12 33 6 83 Viceroy 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northern Pearly-Eye 3 0 2 0 1 6 Eyed Brown 2 0 1 3 0 6 Little Wood Satyr 22 9 0 16 4 51 Ringlet 20 5 3 4 1 33 Common Wood-Nymph 0 0 0 1 0 1 Monarch 6 2 4 5 25 42 Skipper sp. 9 4 2 15 6 36 Papilio sp. 0 0 0 0 0 0 Colias sp. 4 0 0 1 1 6 Blue sp. 2 1 0 0 0 3 Speyeria sp. 1 0 0 0 0 1 Boloria sp. 0 0 0 0 0 0 Chlosyne sp. 1 0 0 0 0 1 Polygonia sp. 1 0 0 1 0 2 Satyrid sp. 1 0 0 4 1 6 Grand Total 257 176 110 283 181 1007 Species Total 30 23 56 26 56 56 km on foot 19 6 12.5 6 9 52.5 km on bike 11 0 0 0 0 11 km by car 19 52 62 15 47 195 hours on foot 8.5 10 10 5.5 9 43 hours on bike 3.5 0 0 0 0 3.5 hours by car 0.5 2 1 0.5 4 8 Species marked in Yellow are new for the count PARTICIPANTS:
Area A: Jason Dombroskie, Andrew Keaveney, Jerry Ball, Tom Hanrahan
Area B: Ron Tozer, Dennis Barry, Margaret Carney, Lou Spence
Area C: Colin Jones, Gordon Lewer, Marianne Clark, William Godsoe, Katherine Kitching, Jennifer Neate
Area D: Rick and Kelly Stronks, Peter and Bev Clute, Lee Pauzé
Area E: Dan Strickland, Brenda Laking, Lisa Cornish, Anastasia Kuzyk, Melinda CollinsReport provided by: Colin Jones naturalist@algonquinpark.on.ca
Reformatted for web page by: Gord Gallant gord@web-nat.com
Gord,
On the way to Dundas Valley on July 5, Deb Lebert and I saw a Canadian Swallowtail in Burlington. Five fresh Compton's Tortoiseshell warmed there wings on the dirt at Dundas Valley Conservation Area.Fred Urie
Oakville
fredurie@yahoo.com
Hello Gord,I made my first visit to the Cataraqui Trail today. It is an old rail line that runs north of Kingston between Yarker and Smith Falls. The line passes through many habitats so the potential for butterfly watchers (and birders) is huge. The highlight today was the sheer number of brushfoots. Every few metres there was a comma or a question mark on the trail. Eastern and Gray Commas seemed in about equal numbers when I was able to get a good enough look to ID them. White Admirals were also abundant.
Glad to see you have added a butterfly site.
Cheers,
Ken Edwards
rkfe@post.queensu.ca
Butterfly species included Coral Hairstreak, and Dun, Crossline, N. Broken Dash and Delaware Skippers.Directions:
Exit the 403 at Highway 6. Drive north past Highway 5 and 6 where the Western Meadowlark sings. Continue northward for 13k, and turn left onto regional road 97. Drive another 9k past Valens and Valens Conserva- tion Area is on your right.Fred Urie
Oakville
fredurie@yahoo.com
Participants: Paul McGaw, Carolyn King, Tom Hanrahan, Carol Sellers, Ann Millett, Gord Gallant, Tom Mason & Leon Schlicter.
Total Hours in the Field - 42
Distance Walked - Approx. 8km on foot
Weather: Warm and wet most of day. 2+ hours of rain. 10 minutes of sun.
Species:
Swallowtails: Papilionidae #s 1/ Eastern black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) 1 2/ Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) 1 Whites & Sulfurs: Pieridae 3/ Cabbage white (Pieris rapae) 10 4/ Clouded sulfur (Colias philodice) 2 5/ Orange sulfur (Colias eurytheme) 5 Gossamer wings: Lycaenidae 6/ Acadian hairstreaks (Satyrium acadica) 13 7/ Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus) 1 8/ Summer azure (Celastrina ladon) 2 9/ Eastern tailed blue (Everes comyntas) 1 Brush-footed butterflies: Nymphalidae 10/ Great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele) 9 11/ Meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona) 2 12/ Baltimore checkerspot (Euphodryas phaeton) 30 13/ Pearl/Northern crescent (Phyciodes tharos/selenis) 21 14/ Questionmark (Polygonia interrogationis) 3 15/ American lady (Vanessa virginiensis) 1(100+ larva) 16/ Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) 1(3 larva) 17/ White admiral (Limenitis arthemis arthemis) 3 18/ Common wood nymph (Cercyonis pegala) 2 19/ Little wood satyr (Megist cymela) 14 20/ Northern pearly-eye (Enodia anthedon) 6 21/ Common ringlet (Coenonympha tullia) 22 22/ Monarch (Danaus plexippus) 3(1 larva) Skippers: Hesperidae 23/ Silver spotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus) 1 24/ Northern cloudywing (Thorybes pylades) 1 25/ European skipper (Thymelicus lineola) 200 26/ Least skipper (Ancyloxypha numitor) 2 27/ Long dash (Polytes mystic) 21 28/ Crossline skipper (Polytes origenes) 1 29/ Tawny edged skipper (Polytes themistocles) 19 30/ Northern broken dash (Wallengrenia egeremet) 11 31/ Dun skipper (Euphyes vestris) 12 32/ Hobomok skipper (Poanes hobomok) 2
Tom Mason
tmason@zoo.metrotor.on.ca
Hi Gord,Our 12th Lake Dore Butterfly Count was held on July 1st with 7 participants. The Count covers an area north of Eganville in Renfrew County. The sun shone until early afternoon when it clouded over and the periodic downpours started.
We totaled 34 species, above average but below our high count of 43 (1999). Some 'good to find' species included: BLACK SWALLOWTAIL, PINK-EDGED SULPHUR, BOG COPPER, CORAL HAIRSTREAK, HARRIS' CHECKERSPOT, EASTERN COMMA and TAWNY-EDGED SKIPPER. Some 'great to find' species included two firsts for count, INDIAN SKIPPER and COMMON BUCKEYE (2nd record for Pembroke circle). First for Pembroke circle was a CROSSLINE SKIPPER.
Our 9th Hog Island Butterfly Count will be held on Saturday, July 15 (rain date July 16).
Good butterflying to you all,
Chris
_____________________________________________ Chris Michener, Golden Lake, ON K0J 1X0 cmichener@renc.igs.net Pembroke Area Field Naturalists: http://www.renc.igs.net/~cmichener/pafn.index.html Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County http://www.renc.igs.net/~cmichener/ccrc/CCRChome.html Lifer Birding Gear http://www.liferbirdinggear.on.ca/home.html
Gord,
This morning was a beautiful day for butterfly hunting. Although nothing special showed up, I found the following at the McKeough Dam along the Holt Line north of Wallaceburg.Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Eastern-tailed Blue (lots), Great-spangled Fritillery, Northern Crescent, Question Mark, Mourning cloak, Red Admiral, Buckeye, Monarch, Common Wood Nymph (lots), Little Wood Satyr, Common Ringlet, Silver-spotted Skipper, European Skipper, and Hobomok Skipper. A couple of days ago I had an American Copper there also. As a side note, I may have miss-identified the Wild Indigo Duskywing at MacGregor Point last weekend. They don't usually occur that far north, so it was likely a Juvenal's Duskywing. Also add Northern Crescent to that list.
Blake A. Mann,
Wallaceburg,
Chatham-Kent, Ont.
email: boatmann@kent.net
Gord,
Just got back from a trip to Algonquin Park and other places. Saw many butterflies. Also did the Pinery Count today (June 24), so maybe someone will post some results from that. My best spot was a MacGregor Point near Port Elgin.I noted the following species there:
European Skipper, Least Skipper, Hobomok Skipper, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Common Sootywing, Eastern Black Swallowtail, Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Summer Azure, Eastern-tailed Blue, Great Spangled Fritillery, Eastern Comma, Question Mark., Milbert's Tortoisehell, Red Admiral, White Admiral, Common Ringlet, Little Wood Satyr, Mourning Cloak, Monarch.Blake A. Mann,
Wallaceburg,
Chatham-Kent, Ont.
email: boatmann@kent.net
Jim Fairchild and I couldn't resist going out on a great sunny day to find some specific butterflies which we needed for the year, and for my life list. In the west end of Toronto we found several Silvery Checkerspot (lifer for me). They don't last too long and require specific habitat. We also found a few Northern Cloudywings there.We also wanted to get some early hairstreaks, so we went to another western Toronto location and were lucky to find a couple of Edwards Hairstreaks (lifer for me), and a Banded Hairstreak.
Another target species was Baltimore Checkerspot, which we located in a central Toronto location. We found several individuals there! After that we headed home with great satisfaction!
Gord Gallant
gord@web-nat.com
Gord,
On June 21 I found Crossline, Meadow Fritillary, Eyed Brown, and Appalachian Eyed Brown at Windsor Ojibway Complex and LaSalle. A Northern Pearly Eye was 7 days ahead of last year in Spring Garden, Windsor.Yesterday, at Pelee, Henrietta O'Neil and Alan Wormington found a Gray Comma, which I was fortunate enough to see.
This morning, June 23, several Banded Hairstreaks, perched at Memorial Park in Windsor. I have to run to stay up with these butterflies.
Good hunting,
Fred Urie
Windsor
fredurie@yahoo.com
Yesterday, June 19th, 2000, Barry Harrison and I went just east and north of the Scarborough city limits to check out which butterfly species were still around, and which new ones have arrived. Here is what we found:
Silver-spotted Skipper (seen in a few locations) Juvenal's Duskywing (late record) European Skipper (many throughout area) Tawny-edged Skipper (many throughout area) Long Dash Skipper (one indentified) Hobomok Skipper (several seen) Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (fairly certain about ID) Cabbage White (only one) Eastern Tailed Blue (only one) Spring Azure (worn - likely last record in area) Summner Azure (near Metro Zoo - first for the year) Silvery Blue (a few seen - end of brood) Pearl Crescent (one - tharos) Northern Crescent (many seen - cocyta) Question Mark (one orange form, one or two black form) Mourning Cloak (several seen) MILBERT'S TORTOISESHELL (one seen - significant sighting for area) Red Admiral (a few seen) White Admiral (several seen) Viceroy (a few seen) Little Wood Satyr (many seen) Ringlet (many seen) Monarch (a few seen)Gord Gallant
gord@web-nat.com
Hi Gord,I snuck out for an hour or so this past weekend while the sun was peeking out. I recorded the following in a short period of time along the old rail line just outside of Haliburton Village. I am also organizing a Haliburton Butterfly Count this year. If anyone is interested in helping out, I would appreciate an e-mail. The date for the count is Sunday, July 9. Here's some of the leps that are around presently:
Dreamy Duskywing - 4 Juvenal's Duskywing - 3 Northern Cloudywing - 5 Hobomok Skipper - 20+ Tawny-edged Skipper - 2 Arctic Skipper - 2 Pepper and Salt Skipper - 2 Indian Skipper - 5 Viceroy - 2 Monarch - 4 Tiger Swallowtail - 7 Mustard White - 1 Harris' Checkerspot - 1 Northern Crescent - 11 Bog Fritillary - 6 Silver-bordered Fritillary - 1 Question Mark - 1 American Lady - 2 Sulphur sp. - 1 Little Wood Satyr - 12 Common Ringlet - 5 Mourning Cloak - 3Cheers,Ed Poropat
edporopat@halhinet.on.ca
Gord,
ZEBRA SWALLOWTAILS have been flying at Pelee for the past week. On Saturday, June 17, I saw 5 ZEBRAS, 2 Variegated Fritillaries, 6 C. Buckeye, 1 Hackberry, and 1 Gray Hairstreak. It is going to be an awesome summer in Ontario.Good butterfly hunting,
Fred Urie
Windsor
fredurie@yahoo.com
Gord,
This morning I took a walk at McKeough Dam C. A. (Holt Line, S. Lambton) and noted the following species of butterflies:BRONZE COPPER, EASTERN TAILED BLUE, GREAT SPANGLED FRITILLERY, COMMON RINGLET, ORANGE SULPHUR, CLOUDED SULPHUR, CABBAGE WHITE, TIGER SWALLOWTAIL, EASTERN BLACK SWALLOWTAIL, MONARCH, NORTHERN CRESCENT, EUROPEAN SKIPPER. These were in the open areas and meadows. I did not go into the woodlots, so there were probably others in there.
Blake A. Mann,
Wallaceburg,
Chatham-Kent, Ont.
email: boatmann@kent.net
I had a couple of hours to kill while I was running diagnostics on my system, so I grabbed a couple of field guides and headed out for some butterfly hunting, since the weather was cooperating for a change. I went to a location south of Uxbridge and north of Whitby on a tip by Barry Harrison and Jim Fairchaild. While there, I found the following butterfly species:
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Cabbage White Orange Sulphur Clouded Sulphur Silvery Blue Northern Crescent Little Wood Satyr Common Ringlet Monarch Viceroy Arctic Skipper (lifer) European Skipper Tawny-edged Skipper Hobomok SkipperI needed to get back in a reasonable time, so I headed back home. Just before getter back, I stopped in at a location in the Rouge near the Metro Zoo. There I found the following:Silvery Blue Mourning Cloak Little Wood Satyr Common Ringlet Red-spotted Purple (lifer - photographed) found as soon as I got out of the car Hobomok Skipper
Earlier at home I had a Question Mark as soon as got into the backyard.Gord Gallant
gord@web-nat.com
Gord,
A bikepath runs past Tallgrass Prairie, Ojibway Prov. Prairie, and through Spring Garden. The sun came out after the rain and fog lifted, and many butterflies sipped moisture and nutrients right on the trail. I was fortunate to observe around thirty species, including Baltimores, N. Cloudywings, S. Cloudywings, Great Spangled Fritillaries, Question Marks, many Europian Skippers, Silvery Checkerspots, a Milbert's Tortoiseshell, and three Northern Broken Dash.Cheers,
Fred Urie
fredurie@yahoo.com
Hi Gord,This was a great weekend for leps with the hot, humid weather. I got out for several hours on Saturday on an old abandoned rail line near Haliburton Village and found the following:
Dreamy Duskywing - 3 Juvenal's Duskywing - 6 Arctic Skipper - 7 Indian Skipper - 6 Tawny-edged Skipper - 4 Hobomok Skipper - 15 (including 2 pocahontas forms) Canadian Tiger Swallowtail - 19 Mustard White - 2 Clouded Sulphur - 3 Pink-edged Sulphur - 1 American Copper - 1 Brown Elfin - 1 Spring Azure - 2 Silvery Blue - 4 Silver-bordered Fritillary - 1 Bog Fritillary - 8 Northern Crescent - 3 Mourning Cloak - 2 American Lady - 1 Red Admiral - 1 Viceroy - 2 Little Wood Satyr - 8 Common Ringlet - 4 Monarch - 5Cheers,Ed Poropat
edporopat@halhinet.on.ca
Gord,
New butterflies are emerging in Essex County. Some of my recent sightings are:
Least Skipper- June 4- Spring Garden (Windsor) Europian Skipper- June 6- Spring Garden Baltimore- June 6- Ont. Prov. Prairie Nature Reserve Great Spangled Fritillary- June 7- Ont. Prov. Pr. N.R. Red Spotted Purple- June 8- Pelee Summer Azure- June 8- Pelee
Temperatures will be pushing 32* C. this weekend and southern strays will probably be hitting Pelee.Good hunting,
Fred Urie
fredurie@yahoo.com
Hi Gord,Here is a list of leps observed this week (June1 - 7) in Haliburton County. Most of the sightings are from the area between Haliburton and Minden. Its been an unusually cool week so many species hunkered down. Lots of stuff emerged today with the warmer weather.
Dreamy Dusky Wing (25) Juvenal's Dusky Wing (10) Columbine Dusky Wing (1) Hobomok Skipper (8) Arctic Skipper (16) Indian Skipper (1) Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (25+) Mustard White (9) Cabbage White (10) Clouded Sulphur (5) Pink-edged Sulphur (1) Harvester (2) Eastern Pine Elfin (1) Western Pine Elfin (1) - actually observed mid-May but thought it was worth a mention! Brown Elfin (3) Spring Azure (5) Summer Azure (2) Silvery Blue (10) Bog Fritillary (10+) Silver-bordered Fritillary (2) Grey Comma (2) Mourning Cloak (1) American Lady (4) Red Admiral (1) Little Wood Satyr (10) Chryxus Arctic (8) Inornate Ringlet (1) Monarch (4)Cheers,Ed Poropat
edporopat@halhinet.on.ca
Gord,
June the first in Windsor was hot, humid and sunny. On a seven hour amble through Ojibway Park, Tallgrass Prairie, Spring Garden, and Ojibway Privincial Prairie Nature Reserve I found:
Black Swallowtail 23 E. Tiger 1 Spicebush 2 Cabbage 1 C. Sulfur 2 O. Sulfur 8 E. T. Blue 19 Pearl Crescent 1 N. Pearl Crescent 23 Mourning Cloak 1 Am. (Painted) Lady 10 Viceroy 26 Little Wood Satyr 352 Monarch 4 Silver Sp. Skipper 17 S. Cloudywing 32 N. CLOUDYWING 6 Juvenal's Duskywing 5 Wild Indigo Duskywing 26 C. Sootywing 1 Peck's Skipper 15 Tawny-edged 18 LONG DASH 14 Hobomok 139 (2 Pocahontas Forms) AM. SNOUT 1Good Ambling,Fred Urie
fredurie@yahoo.com
Gord,
I was unable to find a Red Knot at Harrow Sewage Lagoon, on May 29, but I did see 2 Bronze Coppers.Cheers,
Fred Urie
fredurie@yahoo.com
Gord,
Remnant prairies and butterflies dependant on plants specific to them are being reduced because of economic growth. A new street is under constuction into the Springgarden area. On May 24 the sun came out in the afternoon. At the Ojibway Provincial Prairie Nature Reserve and Springgarden I found:
Black Swallowtail 7 Tiger Swallowtail 1 Spicebush Swallowtail 9 Cabbage 3 C. Sulfur 4 O. Sulfur 11 E. T. Blue 26 Pearl Crescent 2 N. Pearl Crescent 1 Mourning Cloak 1 Red Admiral 5 Am. (Painted) Lady 4 Viceroy 6 L. Wood Satyr 12 Silver Spotted Skipper 5 S. Cloudywing 2 Juvenal's Duskywing 8 Wild Indigo Duskywing 31 Peck's Skipper 3 TAWNY-EDGED 3 Hobomok 66Cheers,Fred Urie
fredurie@yahoo.com
Gord,
At Ojibway, Windsor, on May 23, I found a Harvester male, which was 17 days ahead of last year. Other butterflies at Ojibway visitor centre- Black Oak- Tallgrass Prairie were:
Black Swallowtail 1 Spicebush Swallowtail 4 Cabbage 3 C. Sulfur 1 O. Sulfur 9 E. T. Blue 44 N. Pearl Crescent 1 Red Admiral 2 American (Painted) Lady 1 Viceroy 1 Little Wood Satyr 9 Silver Spotted Skipper 3 S. CLOUDYWING 13 Juvenal's Duskywing 9 Wild Indigo Duskywing 19 PECK'S SKIPPER 4 HOBOMOK SKIPPER 71The sky was mostly overcast, but the temperatures were warm. With clear skies there will be more.Good butterfly hunting,
Fred Urie
fredurie@yahoo.com
Hi Gord,
On my trip to Pinery yesterday, I noted a large number of JUVENAL DUSKYWING butterflies. Others were:
PAINTED LADY SPRING AZURE RED ADMIRAL CLOUDED SULPHUR CABBAGE WHITE EASTERN BLACK SWALLOWTAIL TIGER SWALLOWTAIL EASTERN COMMA various skippers which I could not get close looksBlake Mann, Wallaceburg
boatmann@kent.net
While birding in the Durham area over the last two days I kept my eyes open for butterflies as well. Here is what I saw:RED ADMIRALS - Thickson's Woods, Cranberry Marsh, Port Perry area
ORANGE SULPHUR - (didn't get a close look - 90% sure) Thickson's Woods area
AMERICAN PAINTED LADY - at Pumphouse Marsh in Oshawa
SPRING AZURE - in a few locations throughout Durham
CABBAGE WHITE - throughout Durham and ScarboroughGord Gallant ... gord@web-nat.com
Hi Gord;
Just to let you know what I saw at Rondeau this weekend in the butterfly department.
MONARCH (several) SPICEBUSH SWALLOWTAIL TIGER SWALLOWTAIL RED ADMIRAL (large number) QUESTION MARK EASTERN COMMA ORANGE SULPHUR CLOUDED SULPHUR SPRING AZURE BUCKEYE (2) COMMON SOOTYWING (possible--not a good look!)Blake Mann, Wallaceburg
boatmann@kent.net
While family issues continue to preoccupy my time, in the past few days I have received reports of a number of Ontario monarch sightings. Most seem to be at least a week earlier than usual. Last weekend, monarchs were seen on the weekend along a wide band of southern Ontario and along the north shorelines of Lakes Ontario and Erie, from Point Pelee in the extreme west to Presqu'ile in the east. And I am now wondering if the large butterfly that flew quickly across the front of my car on Sunday as I was driving along the 401 (major four-lane express way that runs from Windsor to the Quebec Border) near Kingston, 100 km east of Presqu'ile, wasn't a monarch. It was a momentary sighting, but the butterfly was monarch shaped.Weather conditions on the weekend were ideal for migration - very warm temperatures and southerly winds.
I've just received a report that a monarch was seen at Presqu'ile Provincial Park near Brighton on May 7th. Other reported sightings last weekend came from Point Pelee National Park, Rondeau Provincial Park, Long Point, London, Toronto and St. Catharines.
Don Davis
Toronto, ON
May 5, 2000
Olympia Marble 15 Dreamy Duskywing 2 Spring Azure 4 Meadow Fritillary 2 Eastern Comma 1 Mourning Cloak 2May 6, 2000 (different location)
Black Swallowtail 1 Olympia Marble 20 Mustard White 2 Spring Azure 5 Silvery Blue 2 Eastern Comma 2 Hoary Comma 1 Red Admiral 1 Mourning Cloak 3 Columbine Duskywing 4 Dreamy Duskywing 2 Juvenals Duskywing 1Bob Bowles
Orillia
bowles@bconnex.net
May 6-7 was a good weekend for butterflies. In Toronto a Painted Lady paused briefly in Paul McGaw's backyard near Birchmount & St. Clair on Saturday and Dan & Silvia Wineland reported a very early Monarch in Sunnybrook Park on Sunday.A walk on the North Shore Trails in Dundas turned up at least 5 male Black Swallowtails, many Cabbage Whites, a few Spring Azures and Common Sulphurs and a possible Duskywing.
--
Carolyn King
Toronto
Hi Gord,
New butterflies today in the Rondeau area included:
Monarch 1 (Blenheim Sewage Lagoons) Spicebush swallowtail 1 Black swallowtail 3 Orange sulphur 2Steve Charbonneau
steve.charbonneau2@sympatico.ca
Sat May 6, driving & walking the Swift Rapids Rd, Nancy Ironside & I observed the following butterflies:OLYMPIA MARBLE 22, COLUMBINE DUSKYWING 8, JUVENAL'S DUSKYWING 35, SPRING AZURE 20, MOURNING CLOAK 12, E. PINE ELFIN 78, RED ADMIRAL 3
Margo Holt
Horseshoe Valley Rd
holtm@bconnex.net
A butterfly trip to Carden on Tues. May 2 by Nancy Ironside & Margo Holt produced the following species:
Columbine Duskywing 4 Mustard White 3 E. Pine Elfin 3 Brown Elfin 1 Spring Azure 18 Mourning Cloak 4 Milbert's Tortoiseshell 1Margo Holt
Horseshoe Valley Rd
holtm@bconnex.net
GordToday a walk along the old New York Railway right-of-way east of the city yielded the following species:
Mustard White (1) Henry's Elfin (3) Spring Azure (5) Compton Tortoiseshell (1) Mourning Cloak (3)Tom Hanrahan
Ottawa, ON
Hi Gord:I managed to spot a Milbert's Tortoiseshell butterfly on Rondeau's Marsh Trail this morning.
There were the usual common butterflies also.
Blake Mann, Wallaceburg
boatmann@kent.net
Gord,
Red Admirals and American (Painted) Lady at Pelee on the weekend were to be expected, but something funny is going on with the natural world. Today at Ojibway I found 2 Wild Indigo Duskywings which were 12 days earlier than 1999, and 3 E. Tailed Blues which were 13 days before the listed earliest day for Ojibway. At Brunet Park in LaSalle, there was a Juvenal's Duskywing and a Black Swallowtail.Good butterfly hunting,
Fred Urie
Windsor
fredurie@yahoo.com
Here are my sightings from April 24 in Ottawa:
Spring Azure (1) Eastern Comma (2) Compton Tortoiseshell (1) Mourning Cloak (7) Milbert's Tortoiseshell (1)Steve
sansell@engr.uvic.ca
On Sunday Apr. 23,2000 I saw a Morning Cloak and a Compton Tortoise Shell at the Shorthills Prov.Park (Roland Road entrance near Fonthill)Don Mills
jkmills@iaw.on.ca
Hi Gord:
A beautiful day at Rondeau P.P. brought out at least 7 species of butterflies.
Red Admiral Mourning Cloak Eastern Comma American Lady Cabbage White Clouded Sulphur Spring Azure These were found throughout the park.Blake Mann, Wallaceburg
boatmann@kent.net
.. Also a spring azure butterfly.Ian Cannell, Concord, Ontario
Cannell@home.com
GordI had a American Painted Lady at Darlington Provincial Park in Oshawa. Sunday, April 23.
Rayfield Pye
Oshawa
raypye@oix.com
Without wanting to get too far off topic, I received two reports for Saturday, April 15th, when Ontario temperatures in Toronto rose to about 24 C. (The previous monday, the 10th, we had snow!). A red admiral butterfly was seen at Presqu'ile Provincial Park and another was seen at the far west end of Lake Ontario at Hamilton (about 250 km east of Presqu'ile). I am told that the red admiral is a migrant and does not overwinter here. The one at Presqu'ile was in very fresh condition and actually landed on the observer's car. So...we'll be watching for early monarch arrivals.Don Davis
Toronto, ON
Donald_Davis@stu.wdw.utoronto.ca
Gord,
Sorry, the Windsor city net is down.
On Friday, April 14, the following butterflies were seen fromm the tip to Sleepy Hollow at Pelee:
Spring Azure 13 E. Comma 8 Mourning Cloak 1 Cabbage 2 Red Admiral 3I found a yellow-throated warbler at the tip at 11:55, but it was only seen by 6 or 7 people before it departed.Saturday at Pelee I saw one dragonfly, sp. The temperature hit 78* F. (Detroit) and cabbage butterflies were everywhere in Windsoor. At Ojibway Complex, I found 13 cabbage, 2 spring azure, 1 e. comma, and 4 mourning cloaks. I also found a JUVENAL'S DUSKYWING in the Ontario Provincial Prairie Nature Reserve that was five days earlier than the previous Ojibway early date - the upside of global warming.
Good bird and butterfly hunting,
Fred Urie
Windsor
fredurie@yahoo.com
Hi GordOn Sat Apr 15 a SPRING AZURE was sighted in Simcoe Cty at Matchedash Bay.
Margo Holt
Horseshoe Valley Rd
holtm@bconnex.net
Hi Gord;This morning while birding in Rondeau Park, I noted 5 species of butterflies on South Point Trail and Harrison Trail.
Mourning Cloak (several) Eastern Comma (several) Red Admiral (two) Cabbage White (one) Clouded Sulphur ? (it was yellow!) (I also noted a few dragon flies)Blake Mann, Wallaceburg
boatmann@kent.net
Well, after a week of snow, +7 degree C temperatures were enough to bring the butterflies back out of hiding here. Today's sightings:Mourning Cloak (3)
Eastern Comma (2)
Steve Ansell
Ottawa, ON
sansell@engr.uvic.ca
Hi GordOn Friday, March 24, I took a quick trip up the Opeongo Rd in Algonquin on my lunch hour (I work in the Park) and got a Mourning Cloak and a Compton Tortoise Shell.
I also saw 2 Infants (small diurnal moth). If anyone is up that way look in the vicinity of the Opeongo Rd and the Cameron Lake Rd (this is the first road on the right; gated). Look in the vicinity of the stop sign where there seems to be a "mineral lick" that attracts butterflies at this time of year.
This website is a great idea!
Jeremy Inglis
Bancroft On.
ingliscj@bancom.net
No, not 2000 , about 20 so far. Here is what has been seen in Middlesex in the YEAR 2000.On Friday, March 24 I saw 7-8 Mourning Cloaks, and 2 Eastern Commas. Mourning Cloak was seen first on March 8 by Olive Ireland. Several sightings of Mourning Cloak were reported for 23/24 March. also 2 Milbert's Tortoiseshells on 24th, (Jack Mayos), and 2 Compton's Tortoiseshells the day before by Eleanor Heagy. A Cabbage White hatched out in someone's kitchen early in January, but we're not counting that one officially. While in S.Carolina and Georgia during the spring break I was amazed at how many butterflies were about. Besides several new species including Hairstreaks and Skippers, there were some of "ours" which we don't see until late like Buckeye and Fiery Skipper.
Ann White
London Ontario Canada
dwhite@odyssey.on.ca
Gord,It was 14* C. and butterflies perched on logs and on the leaf litter in protected sunny spots along 16 Mile Creek. I went from the QEW to Dundas on the west side, and from Dundas to Upper Middle Road on the east side. I found 15 Mourning Cloaks and 4 E. Commas. New trails are being constucted along Neyagawa Blvd. and its going to be great.
Good butterfly hunting,
Fred Urie
Oakville
fredurie@yahoo.com
Hi Gord,Being from the west coast I'm used to having my butterfly year list up to about 5 species by now, but I figure I'm not doing too poorly with my first sighting of the year in Ottawa today. At lunch I had 5 (at least) Mourning Cloaks -- including a mating pair -- in the woods near Nortel's buildings on the west side of the city. Just thought I'd give you some more info for your sightings page!
Cheers,
Steve Ansell
sansell@engr.uvic.ca
Gord,The sky was blue on March 21 and 22, and the temperatures were from 10* C. to 14* C. I searched the ravines and woodlots near Upper Middle Road in Oakville and found the following species:
Mar. 21- Iroquois Shoreline Woods- Mourning Cloak 4 - Bayshire Woods- Mourning Cloak 1 Mar. 22- Sheridan Hills Park- Mourning Cloak 1 - Morrison Creek East- Mourning Cloak 7 - Morrison Creek West- Mourning Cloak 11 - River Oaks Gasline Rt. of Way- E. Comma 1 Mar. 23- Algrove Park- Mourning Cloak 1Yours sincerly,
Fred Urie
fredurie@yahoo.com
Gord,
The past few days of record high temperatures have been fantastic. Someone, I think a Mr. Faggan, had a Mourning Cloak at Pelee in February.Tuesday, March 7, Paul Pratt found an E. Comma in the parking lot at Ojibway Nature Centre, Windsor. I saw a Mourning Cloak at the river at Black Oak, across the parkway from Ojibway. As the heat increased during the day I was able to locate 3 E. Commas and one Mourning Cloak along the trails at Ojibway.
Wednesday, March 8, there were no butterflies at Devon Woods in Windsor. Paul Desjardins found 4 Mourning Cloaks at Memorial Park in Windsor.
Thursday, March 9, the temperature hit 21* C. in Toronto. In the woodlots along Fourteen Mile Creek between the QEW and Upper Middle Road in Oakville, I found 2 Mourning Cloaks and 1 Compton's Tortoiseshell.
Friday, March 10, there's light snow and I'm going through withdrawal. More heat please.
Fred Urie
Oakville
fredurie@yahoo.com
What a beautiful March day - more like early May. Today, just after 1:00 I found both Mourning Cloak and Compton Tortoiseshell butterflies south of the Metro Zoo along the border of Toronto and Pickering. I got excellent views of both of them - within a few feet, and actually at my feet! I checked with Barrie Harrison and found that I broke the old record for early date by 10 days for the Compton Tortoiseshell !Leon also broke a record yesterday for the Mourning Cloak for Toronto in the Scarborough area !
Gord Gallant ..... gord@web-nat.com
Hi, Gord.Pete Chapman came up with something else spectacular! He has had Mountain Bluebird and Brambling in his garden (North Lambton County) at various times,and he has done it again!.
As of Saturday 3/3/2000 he has a Comptons Tortoiseshell butterfly in the yard. He has set up some sugar water for it.to help until some nectar sites or broken branches leak sap.
This is the first butterfly for the year that we have heard of. Have you any reports?
I will talk to you soon, Thanks.
Good Butterflying!
Alf.
rider@xcelco.on.ca
Alf, Fred Urie submitted a report before you (see below), but Pete Chapman's sighting appears to be the first for the year in Ontario! If anyone else has any butterfly sightings to report, please e-mail me the info.Gord Gallant ----- gord@web-nat.com
I gained a lot of knowledge last year about butterflies, but I still consider myself a rank amature compared to several butterfly watchers that I have met. I would appreciate any help in locating species which I haven't seen yet, as well as any interesting species. Last year I was able to find and identify 59 species - not too bad for my first year of butterfly watching ... if I may say so. I would like to find quite a few more - especially in the spring, since I missed many of the early species last year.Please send me your butterfly reports (and photos if you have some) for Ontario, and I will post them here. I have already received a butterfly report from Fred Urie, which I posted following this message - thanks Fred!
Gord Gallant
gord @web-nat.com
Gord,Today, March 6, 2 E. Comma and a Mourning Cloak were in the Malden Park woodlot, a mile north of the Ojibway nature centre.
Directions to Ojibway: Travel west on the E.C. Row Expressway, exit at Matchette Road, turn left for Ojibway Centre or right for Malden Park, which is immediately on your right.
Fred Urie
fredurie@yahoo.com
Hi Gord,
I just found your butterfly website. Looks pretty good.My report is a little late, but I saw a Mourning Cloak at Browning Island, Lake Muskoka on Nov. 9th.
Bye now,
Barbara
muskoka_birder@hotmail.comThe Muskoka Bird Board:
http://pluto.beseen.com/boardroom/h/21826/
Hi Gord,Thanks for the note about your new butterfly site - this will be a valuable resource for the many of us who have started watching butterflies as well as birds.
I didn't expect to have any reports to pass along for this site until spring, but I did surprisingly turn up three species of butterflies today while (unsuccessfully) searching for Cave Swallows. There were 2 Clouded Sulphurs and an Orange Sulphur at the Port Rowan sewage lagoons, and 2 Mourning Cloaks near the playground at Long Point Provincial Park. Not rare species by any stretch of the imagination, but I was pleasantly surprised to find them flying so late in the season.
Marcel Gahbauer
Scarborough ON
gsteve6@attglobal.net
Hi Gord, Last Saturday, July 24th, Gavin Platt, Sandra Pusey and I went to help with Rondeau's first butterfly count. Returning to London we stopped at Eagle, and went down by the lake, to an area that unfortunately is slated as a housing development. We were there about an hour and saw 22 species, which included Black, Tiger, Spicebush and Giant Swallowtails, Am.Copper, Grey Hairstreak, E.Tailed Blue, American Snout, Buckeye and Northern Pearly Eye, and (just), 3 sp. of skippers. Just after we left they had a possible tornado in the area!Ann White
London Ontario Canada
dwhite@odyssey.on.ca
Hi Gord,First off, I would like to say that having a report section for Butterflies is a great idea. Today at the Port Stanley Sewage Lagoons, I found Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, Delaware Skipper, Monarch, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, and best of all a PIPEVINE SWALLOWTAIL. The Pipevine was a life butterfly, putting my list at 52. Around my yard in London, I have had Silver-Spotted Skipper, Northern Broken-Dash, Eastern Comma, Monarch and a GIANT SWALLOWTAIL.
Andrew Ross
radiorob@serix.com
Hi, GORD.On the 8th. of July we had a LITTLE SULPHUR and a STRIPED HAIRSTREAK. On 18th. the first BUCKEYE was found. These are all in the general area of the Lake Huron shoreline.
I saw both these species at Pt. Pelee over two weeks ago.
Alf
rider@xcelco.on.ca
After meeting up with Gary Stephey from Bushnell at the Kirkfield locks, we proceeded to Wylie Road and did a combination of birding and butterfly watching. At this time of year, many of the bird species are hard to find, or no longer there, but some were very evident, and in good numbers.The most abundant bird species today were Vesper Sparrows, Eastern Bluebirds, Eastern Kingbirds, American Goldfinch, Eastern Meadowlarks, Savannah Sparrow, Tree Swallows, Brown Thrashers, and Song Sparrows. Our best bird sighting was an American Bittern which we first spotted flying from the west side of the marsh to the east side, and belted out a loud "kok" as he flew over the road. Soon after, we spotted him along an open area of reeds pointing his bill into the air, trying to blend in. At the short distance from us, his brown and white streaking didn't blend in very well amongst the lust green reeds. After he realized that we were no threat to him, he went about his business and caught a fish in front of us! On the other side of the marsh Gary found a Virginia Rail. It was sunning himself on a mud pile, not really looking like a rail. Then he seemed to compose himself and strutted off into the reeds - just as I was accustomed to seeing.
We also saw a Merlin and an American Kestral in the marsh area, and Red-tailed Hawks farther up the road. We heard, and got looks at Grasshopper Sparrows. We could hear Clay-coloured Sparrow, but couldn't locate them - the same with Sedge Wren. In one patch of bushes along the right side of the road (about half way up the road) we noticed a variety of bird species including Baltimore(Northern) Oriole and Purple Finch. There was no sign of Shrike, that we could detect.
This is my first year of serious butterfly watching, and I had just broken the fifty species mark yesterday. Now I my next goal is to reach 60 species - more if I am lucky. My main goal today was to find additional Fritillary species. I was hoping for Meadow and Silver Bordered Fritillaries - if they were still around. I managed to identify 22 species of butterflies, with Aphrodite Frilillary, Gray Comma, and Milbert's Tortoiseshell being new ones for me. That brings my butterfly life list to 54. I don't know moths yet, but I did discover a species of Hummingbird Moth. It had a redish body and wings (which were barely visible as it hovered and fed on Wild Beebalm), the back and top of its head was green (like Ruby-throated Hummingbird), and it had a white throat and chin. I could actually see it nectaring on the flowers as it buzzed around. I had really close looks it as I made mental notes of its field marks. A very cool moth!
Gary and I had a great outing. I was using my Bausch & Lomb 8x42 Elites, and Gary was field testing the new Bausch & Lomb 10x50 Elites. We both prefered the 8x42's because of the close focus - especially good for butterfly watching (probably the best - in my opinion). They were also considerably lighter than the 10x50's. However, the 10x50's were very bright, clear, and ideal for hawk watching, shorebirds, and nature viewing, where detail of distant objects is critical. They are very sharp and bright, but not quite suited for butterfly watching, wereas the 8x42 are considered one of the best for that purpose, as well as for serious birdwatching.
Gord Gallant ...... gord@web-nat.com
During the last two weeks or so I have gone out looking for butterflies on my own, and a few times with Jim Fairchild, Leon Schlicter. They, and Barrie Harrison have taught me enough of the basics to make butterfly watching more enjoyable. I am now able to look for new species, while verifying species previously seen. Unlike birds, you don't need to learn any songs or calls. But, to assist in locating more species of butterflies, you should learn as much as you can about habitat and a wide variety of flowers and trees and grasses.Some species of butterflies are only in an area during a specific time of year, so you need to be out looking for them in an appropriate habitat during the period you expect to find them. Like birds, get as much detail about each sighting as you can - especially anything you think may be a new species for you. Flight pattern is an important factor when determining what family and species you may have found.
Here is a list of new species that I have been able to identify in Scarborough and Durham since the last report
(June 26-July 13, 1999):
My total life list is now standing at 51. I will report again in a week or so. I will be venturing a little farther away, and will hopefully get a few more lifers soon.
- Harvester
- Bronze Copper
- Acadian Hairstreak
- Dun Skipper
- Northern Broken-dash
- Appalachian Brown
- Banded Hairstreak
- Broad-winged Skipper
- Eastern Comma
- Delaware Skipper
- Dion Skipper
- Little Glassywing
- Peck's Skipper
- Striped Hairstreak
- Baltimore Checkerspot (good look at several this time)
We would be very happy to receive and post other butterfly reports from other butterfly watchers across Canada. Please send them in to me, and I will post it here. Thank you!
Gord Gallant .....gord@web-nat.com
Now that the spring bird migration is over, and most of the birds are on their breeding territories, birding has slowed down a bit. Now is the time to really get into butterfly watching! If you are a birdwatcher, you are already equipped with most of what you need to be a butterfly watcher. Butterflies love the hot weather when birds seem to disappear.A few birder friends of mine have introduced me the wonderful world of butterflies. I have quickly found out that not only is it challenging to identify butterflies, but it uses the same skills needed for birdwatching. One can casually watch butterflies in your own backyard and local wild flower fields and trails, or wander farther afield and search for the rarer winged beauties. I have gone out in the areas east of Toronto and have been amazed at the diversity of butterfly species that can be seen. Once you start to understand where and when to find them, a whole new world opens up to you.
I have basically been watching butterflies seriously for a week now, and have already identified 37 species this year. Some, like the Monarch and Cabbage White are quite easy to identify, but even then, there are other butterflies that are very similar to these and can be easily misidentified. There are plenty of butterfly field guides and reference books available in the better bookstores, but I highly suggest that you go out with experienced butterfly watchers to learn some very important tips to help you identify the various species and families of butterflies - and moths.
Here is a list of what I have been able to identify this past week
Scarborough and Duraham Region areas (June 21-25):
While on Pelee Island on the 12th of May this year I identified a Painted Lady. Last summer in Morningside Park I identified a Compton Tortoiseshell, among several other common species. I obviously have a long way to go, but I am really looking forward to finding and identifying many many more. I would be more than happy to post other peoples butterfly findings.
- Black Swallowtail
- Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
- Cabbage White
- Mustard White
- Orange Sulphur
- Clouded Sulphur
- American Copper
- Bronze Copper
- Coral Hairstreak
- Eastern Tailed-blue
- Spring Azure
- Summer Azure
- Great Spangled Fritillary
- Northern Pearl Crescent
- Baltimore Checkerspot
- Question Mark
- Red Admiral
- Mouring Cloak
- Common Buckeye
- White Admiral
- Viceroy
- Monarch
- Eyed Brown
- Little Wood-Satyr
- Northern Pearly-Eye
- Common Ringlet
- Common Wood-Nymph
- Silver-spotted Skipper
- Northern Cloudywing
- Dreamy Duskywing
- Least Skipper
- European Skipper
- Long Dash
- Tawny-edged Skipper
- Crossline Skipper
- Hobomok Skipper
Gord Gallant
gord@web-nat.com
This page was created: Saturday, 17 July, 1999
Last Updated: 11:19:14 15/04/01