[TN-Butterflies] Re: butterfly list, Seven Islands BioBlitz, April 17-18, 2009
- From: Allan Trently <ajtcorax@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <wgh@xxxxxxxxxx>, David Trently <dtrently@xxxxxxx>, <schottbirds@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Audrey Hoff <ahofftn@xxxxxxxxx>, <jmg@xxxxxxxxxx>, Tennessee Butterflies <tn-butterflies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:54:24 -0400
Just list is incredible. Great work.
Allan Trently ajtcorax@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [TN-Butterflies] butterfly list, Seven Islands BioBlitz, April 17-18,
2009
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:32:03 -0400
From: wgh@xxxxxxxxxx
To: dtrently@xxxxxxx; schottbirds@xxxxxxxxxxx; ahofftn@xxxxxxxxx;
wgh@xxxxxxxxxx; jmg@xxxxxxxxxx; TN-Butterflies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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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