Join your new and old friends for a fun day in the field finding butterflies in the spectacular Santa Rita Mountains of SE AZ! Meet at 7:30 a.m. on WEDNESDAY, July 26, 2017 at the Safeway parking lot at Continental Road just west of I-19 in Green Valley, if you have not staked your claim to your favorite territory prior to that time. Everyone is welcome to join us, even if you only know one butterfly or have only a few hours you can help with this count. Compilation dinner will be at Pub 1922 (Exit 75 east onto Sahuarita Road then north on S Rancho Sahuarita Blvd to shopping center) at 5:00PM.
Please contact compiler Mary Klinkel to claim your territory or for more information.
Compilation fee is $3/person collected by compiler and paid to NABA.
We’ve had a great monsoon so far this year and plants are lush. Butterflies are just catching up and we were fortunate to have mostly sunny weather for the count. Box Canyon was unreachable the day before due to road washout after the Idiot Fire (started by a recreational shooter blowing up liquid propellant in bone-dry, windy conditions last Spring). Luckily for us, a grader went through and fixed the road so counters could visit Box (which was only partially accessible due to high water). Montosa Canyon was also problematic due to road issues, and the upper areas were inaccessible. Results follow. Please join us for the Fall Santa Rita butterfly count Sept. 30, 2017!
Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) 18
Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) 4
Two-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata) 18
SW Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) 1
Checkered White (Pontia protodice) 1
Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme) 23
Southern Dogface (Zerene cesonia) 13
Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) 32
Mexican Yellow (Eurema Mexicana) 1
Sleepy Orange (Abais nicippe) 3
Dainty Sulphur (Nathalis iole) 1
Siva Juniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus siva) 7
Leda Ministreak (Minstrymon leda) 3
Marine Blue (Leptotes marina) 66
Echo Azure (Celestrina ladon echo) 15
Ceraunus Blue (Hemiargus ceraunus) 10
Reakirt’s Blue (Echinargus isola) 1
American Snout (Libytheana carinenta) 1
Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanilla) 1
Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta Claudia) 1
Bordered Patch (Chlosyne lacinia) 27
Elf (Microtia elva) 9
Tiny Checkerspot (Dymasia dymas) 216
Elada Checkerspot (Texola elada) 153
Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) 5
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) 33
American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) 1
Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis) 8
AZ Sister (Adelpha eulalia) 8
Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis) 1
Empress Leilia (Asterocampa leilia) 1
Nabokov’s Satyr (Cyllopsis pyracmon) 2
Red Satyr (Megisto rubricata) 8
Queen (Danaus gilippus) 3
Silver-spotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus) 1
AZ Skipper (Codatractus arizonensis) 15
Golden-banded Skipper (Autochton cellus) 18
Northern Cloudywing (Thorybes pylades) 28
Drusius Cloudywing (Thorybes drusius) 6
Acacia Skipper (Cogia hippalus) 34
Golden-headed Scallopwing (Staphylus ceos) 39
Mournful Duskywing (Erynnis tristis) 4
Funereal Duskywing (Erynnis funeralis) 2
Common Streaky-skipper (Celotes nessus) 17
Common Sootywing (Pholisora Catullus) 23
Orange Skipperling (Copaeodes aurantiaca) 2
Taxiles Skipper (Poanes taxiles) 15
Large Roadside-skipper (Amblyscirtes exoteria) 8
Cassus Roadside-skipper (A. cassus) 13
Bronze Roadside-skipper (A. aenus) 17
Elissa Roadside-skipper (A. elissa) 36
Slaty Roadside-skipper (A. nereus) 5
Nysa Roadside-skipper (A. nysa) 15
Dotted Roadside-skipper (A. eos) 4
and new for this count: Monarch (Danaus plexippus) 1