Hi Folks,
Here are the results from Saturday's Clifton Bend fall count. We had a
remarkable day considering that it was cloudy almost the complete day and the
butterflies were just perching or being flushed as we walked past for almost
the entirety of the morning. We only saw about 5 Cloudless Sulphurs before
lunch, and with a final count of 171, you can get an idea of how things picked
up in the afternoon. The sun did finally shine for the last 1.5 hours and the
last two patches of thistle and a nice barrens area with lots of Silphium were
really hopping. It's a shame the weather wasn't great for this count because
the flowers were as good as I've ever seen them for it. The Liatris
cylindracea in Carroll Cabin Barrens was at peak and the Melanthera nivea along
Ferry Road was, too. The Verbesina virginica was nearly at peak and the
Cirsium discolor was just beginning to get good. Even with the uncooperative
weather, we still managed to have an average number of species and a slightly
higher than average number of total individuals. The count/party-hour was the
second highest we've had, however. The highlight of the day was definitely the
5 Long-tailed Skippers, by far the most I've had on a count. This marks the
3rd observance for this species on this count, so Clifton Bend is staking a
claim to being the premier count for Long-tailed Skippers in West TN. Also
nice, were the 11 Ocola Skippers seen. This species is a regular on fall
counts, but 11 is a very good number. We did have a few species that had poor
showings. We had by far the lowest number of Hackberry Emperors we've had on
this count and it was also the first year that Tawny Emperors were no-shows.
Red-spotted Purples also seemed to be way down.
Bart Jones,
Memphis, Shelby Co.
Region 13
Appalachians (KY, TN, WV)
William Haley, Regional Editor
1. Clifton Bend, TN. Yr. 9, 35.3759°, -88.0379°, center at jct. of TN Hwys. 114
and 128 in Hardin Co., just W of Clifton. See 2011 report for habitats. 24
August 2019; 0930-1730 hrs; sun AM 10%, PM 11-25%; 72-82°F; wind 0-5 mi/hr. 4
observers in 2 parties. Total party-hours 12.5; total party-miles on foot 5.
Observers: Bart Jones (2047 Higbee Ave, Memphis, TN, 38104;
bjones7777@xxxxxxxxxxx), R. Light, A. Trently, D. Ward.
Pipevine Swallowtail 42, Zebra Sw. 2, Black Sw. 4, Giant Sw. 3, E. Tiger
Sw. 63, Spicebush Sw. 23, Orange Sulphur 3, Cloudless Su. 171, Little Yellow
87, Sleepy Orange 45, Gray Hairstreak 5, Red-banded Ha. 13, E. Tailed-Blue 68,
'Summer' Spring Azure 65, Gulf Fritillary 27, Variegated Fr. 1, Gr. Spangled
Fr. 1, Silvery Checkerspot 2, Pearl Crescent 165, Question Mark 1, Am. Lady 1,
Painted La. 3, Red Admiral 2, Com. Buckeye 81, Red-spotted Purple 5, Viceroy 3,
Hackberry Emperor 8, Carolina Satyr 38, Monarch 6, Silver-spotted Skipper 174,
1Long-tailed Sk. 5, Hoary Edge 3, N. Cloudywing 1, Swarthy Sk. 12, Clouded Sk.
78, Fiery Sk. 5, Tawny-edged Sk. 1, Crossline Sk. 1, S. Broken-Dash 13, N.
Broken-Da. 6, Little Glassywing 7, Sachem 34, Zabulon Sk. 11, Dun Sk. 20,
Lace-winged Roadside-Sk. 1, 2Ocola Sk. 11. Unidentified: Anglewing sp. 2. Total
46 species, 1323 individuals. Field Notes: Rain the previous evening coupled
with cloudy conditions for most of the day meant vegetation stayed wet until
early afternoon. Most butterflies in the morning were seen perching or were
flushed from grass and vegetation. The sun finally appeared for the last 1.5
hours of the count.1High number for rare stray to TN. 2Higher than average
number.
