[TN-Butterflies] impressions of the 2010 season
- From: kjchilds <kjchilds@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: TN Butterflies <TN-Butterflies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2010 12:04:50 -0800 (PST)
2010 had a very slow start but it ended being a pretty good, and in some cases,
an unusual year for butterflies.
More than usual:
Sachem
Little Glassywing
Common Sootywing
Red Admiral
Swarthy Skipper
A lot more than usual:
Gulf Fritillary
Common Buckeye
Dainty Sulphur
Little Yellow
Cloudless Sulphur
Red-spotted Purple
Common and/or White Checkered-Skipper
Fewer than normal:
Black Swallowtail
Orange Sulphur
Coral Hairstreak
Carolina Satyr
Little Wood-Satyr
Later than normal:
Clouded Skipper
Earlier than normal:
Checkered-Skipper (middle of August)
Dainty Sulphur (early August)
2010 was similar to 2009 in numbers and scheduled appearances for Confused
Cloudywings but this year I saw them all over the farm instead of mainly in
just
one spot on my driveway.
I saw another American Copper in Henderson County...this time a lot closer to
my
home. The sighting in 2009 and this one in 2010 were in places that I hadn't
looked before so I don't know if these sightings are significant.
I found 3 White M Hairstreaks, which were the first 3 I've ever seen. The first
one was a worn looking individual found in late March. It may be significant in
that one found that early in the season should look very fresh so it's possible
this one may have been able to overwinter.
After making a big showing in 2009, Goatweed Leafwings were few and far
between.
Considering I hadn't seen any here before 2009, this doesn't seem to be unusual.
I didn't see as many butterflies in the lowland forests this year and the
spring
floods may or may not have had something to do with that. 2009 seemed like a
good year for the forest species but since it was the first year that I spent
any time looking in the local forest, I really don't know what normal is for
this area.
I haven't done a count for how many species I saw this year but it feels like
it
was less than in 2009. Part of that may be because I didn't spend as much time
photographing and IDing brown grass skippers this year.
Ken Childs
Henderson, TN
Chester County
http://www.finishflagfarms.com
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