Hello Everyone,
Here are the results from Saturday's Ocoee count. It was a long hot day.
Everyone worked hard and we ended up with 46 species and 1063 individuals.
This year the affect of no-till farming was very noticeable. Any of the
adjacent areas to these farms had very few butterflies. The contrast is
really noticeable when you enter the Mennonite farm where traditional
farming is practiced. There were large numbers of butterflies along the
road and throughout the fields. It was encouraging to see the good
diversity of species. Thank you to those of you that endured the heat and
helped with the count.
Carl Swafford
Region 13
Appalachians (KY, TN, WV)
William Haley, Regional Editor
*1. Ocoee, TN.* Yr. 12, 35.1556°, -84.5755°, center at 2.6 mi. N of
Parksville Lake Campground, Cherokee National Forest. See 2001 report for
habitats. Imminent threats to habitat: Many of the fields are using no-till
farming. This chemical agriculture method appears to have an affected the
adjacent roadside areas. Very few butterflies were observed where
previously we had large numbers. The Mennonite farm has the best fields for
observation now. Habitat changes since last year: More no-till farming than
last year. *22 July 2017;* 0930-1730 hrs; sun AM 76-100%, PM 76-100%;
80-95°F; wind 0-4 mi/hr. 4 observers in 3 parties. *Total party-hours*
17; *total
party-miles on foot* 4. *Observers: *J. Basham, D. Spicer, S. Spicer,
Carleton Swafford (P.O. Box 47, Collegedale, TN, 37315; droffaws@xxxxxxxxx
).
Pipevine Swallowtail 2, Zebra Sw. 1, E. Tiger Sw. 15, Spicebush Sw. 38,
Checkered White 8, Cabbage Wh. 2, Clouded Sulphur 68, Orange Su. 258,
Cloudless Su. 43, Sleepy Orange 17, Harvester 1, Gray Hairstreak 2,
Red-banded Ha. 4, E. Tailed-Blue 56, 'Summer' Spring Azure 9, Am. Snout 10,
Gulf Fritillary 1, Variegated Fr. 49, Gr. Spangled Fr. 1, Silvery
Checkerspot 3, Pearl Crescent 46, Question Mark 1, E. Comma 1, Am. Lady 1,
Red Admiral 2, Com. Buckeye 74, Red-spotted Purple 2, Hackberry Emperor 44,
N. Pearly-eye 1, Appalachian Brown 3, Carolina Satyr 1, Silver-spotted
Skipper 33, Long-tailed Sk. 1, Hoary Edge 14, N. Cloudywing 4, Horace's
Duskywing 4, Zarucco Du. 3, Wild Indigo Du. 3, Com. Checkered-Sk. 7,
Clouded Sk. 1, Least Sk. 2, Fiery Sk. 178, Little Glassywing 1, Sachem 39,
Zabulon Sk. 4, Dun Sk. 5. *Total* 46 species, 1063 individuals.
