[TN-Butterflies] Re: Little Yellow
- From: "Bill Haley" <wgh@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <ritavenable@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:46:29 -0400
I agree with Rita Venable. The Little Yellows I've seen this year, on my
last two north Georgia counts, could be counted on one hand. None were
seen in what I'd consider dry, sandy areas, nor were they particularly
close to any dry sandy areas I'm aware of. They are quite uncommon in
the area of SE Tennessee around Chattanooga, much less common than
Sleepy Orange and Orange, Cloudy and Cloudless Sulphurs. Last year only
three individuals were counted on all counts in the NABA Appalachian
area (Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia), all single individuals on
three separate counts. I didn't see a single one in 2009. It is good to
see that they are having a better year in 2010, although they still seem
quite scarce around here. It is a thrill for me to find even one on a
count!
Julius Basham commented the other day how variables from one year to the
next can favor one species over another. There are never two butterfly
years that are exactly the same. One species may be quite common one
year, almost absent the next. This is one value of NABA butterfly
counts, which supply a data base spread over years, not just a couple of
seasons. When that data extends over a number of years it is much easier
to judge the relative abundance of a species over a span of time. This
is why NABA encourages folks to continue counts annually once they've
been started. I've been at it for 16 years now, compiling 70+ counts in
areas around Chattanooga, in northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama.
Little Yellow has always been a very uncommon species, at least in that
area. In fact, I don't think we've ever seen more than 5 on any one
count. Hopefully we'll see some Little Yellows on our Stevenson, AL
count this Saturday, July 31. For the past few years Stevenson is the
only NABA count conducted in Alabama. By the time we get around to this
count, many of the late summer species are with us, which generally
includes large numbers of sulphurs. Stevenson is not that far from the
Tennessee line, and Tennessee butterfliers will NOT be struck blind just
because we've ventured into a nearby state to do a count. We can always
use some help! My e-mail is wgh@xxxxxxxxxx if you are interested in
joining us.
Bill Haley
Chattanooga, TN
Hamilton County
________________________________
From: tn-butterflies-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:tn-butterflies-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Rita Venable
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2010 6:56 PM
To: TN-Butterflies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [TN-Butterflies] Little Yellow
I have yet to find a field guide that does not describe the Little
Yellow habitat as dry and sandy (Okay, I just found one, Butterflies of
the Carolinas). Ditto that they are common in the Southeast. First of
all, I do not always find them in dry sandy areas in Middle TN, plus
they are not as common as Orange Sulphurs, Clouded Sulphurs, Sleepy
Orange and Cloudless Sulphurs here.
Is it the same in your area (East & West TN, Plateau)? I am curious to
see if you see them abundantly/commonly and if you find them in dry,
sandy areas.
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