[TN-Butterflies] butterfly list, Seven Islands BioBlitz, April 17-18, 2009
- From: "Bill Haley" <wgh@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Trently, David J" <dtrently@xxxxxxx>, <schottbirds@xxxxxxxxxxx>, "Audrey Hoff" <ahofftn@xxxxxxxxx>, "Bill Haley" <wgh@xxxxxxxxxx>, "Julia Gregory" <jmg@xxxxxxxxxx>, "TN Butterflies" <TN-Butterflies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:32:03 -0400
Hello all;
The first annual Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge BioBlitz near Knoxville,
Tennessee was held on April 17 and 18, 2009. The goal of a BioBlitz is
for teams to find as many different species of plants and animals as
possible in a 24 hour period. Counting started at 3pm Friday and ended
at 3pm Saturday. We had two very nice sunny days with temperatures into
the 70's both afternoons.
I was asked by David Trently, one of the organizers, to survey
butterflies on this 360 acre refuge in Knox County, a short distance
north of Knoxville. The refuge is a peninsula located at Kelly Bend on
the French Broad River. It is former farmland, so there are lots of open
field habitats. There are also some nice forested areas on hillsides, a
large constructed wetland, a wooded pond and good riparian areas near
the river. Much work has been done to restore the fields to native warm
season grasses and many trees and shrubs have been planted that in time
will provide wonderful bird habitat. I understand the refuge is only
eight years old. Kudos to the folks who have helped preserve this
wonderful area! It is obvious that it will only get better with time.
On the map Seven Islands looks very similar to the Moccasin Bend area in
Chattanooga, but thankfully lacks a busy, and very noisy, interstate
highway and railroad on the other side of the river. (This is probably
more important for birders than butterfly watchers, but the quiet
country setting enriches the experience for all.) It is also far enough
away from the light pollution of Knoxville to assure that the star
gazing on a clear night is wonderful.
We found a total of 22 species of butterflies, which isn't too bad for
early in the season. Before the BioBlitz, the refuge had 51 listed
butterfly species. We managed to add six more: Juvenal's Duskywing,
Great Purple Hairstreak, Juniper Hairstreak, Henry's Elfin, Mourning
Cloak and Gemmed Satyr.
It is still early in the season for grass skippers and some other
species that will appear in the next month. Zebra Swallowtails were
everywhere and it was surprising that this was the only swallowtail
species seen. There are some very nice cedar areas along the fields on
the eastern ridge that could support a good population of Juniper
Hairstreaks.
Those helping with the butterfly survey included Bill Haley, Susan
Schott, Richard Connors, Tom Howe, Audrey Hoff, Ed LeGrand, Dolly Ann
Myers and David Trently. Following is a list of the species found.
Numbers mostly reflect what was seen by party of Bill Haley, Susan
Schott, et al:
Day 1: Ridge trail, open fields, riparian areas on east side of refuge
Zebra Swallowtail - 20
Falcate Orangetip - 1
Clouded Sulphur - 1
Orange Sulphur - 13
'Olive' Juniper Hairstreak - 4
Henry's Elfin - 2
Eastern Tailed Blue - 4
Spring azure/azure sp. - 1
Pearl Crescent - 5
Mourning Cloak - 1
American Lady - 1
Monarch - 11
Southern Cloudywing - 1
Juvenal's Duskywing - 1
Day 2: Open fields around first barn, Steamboat Island Trail, riparian
areas along river - west side of refuge
Zebra Swallowtail - 5
West Virginia White - 2
Falcate Orangetip - 4
Clouded Sulphur- 2
Orange Sulphur - 2
Henry's Elfin - 1
E. Tailed Blue - 11
Pearl Crescent - 7
Question Mark - 1
Mourning Cloak - 1
Painted Lady - 5
Gemmed Satyr - 1
Monarch - 1
Silver-spotted Skipper - 1
Juvenal's Duskywing- 1
Horace's Duskywing - 2
Total = 22 species
Reporting: Bill Haley
Chattanooga, TN
Hamilton County
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