January | 2007 | Mon@rch's Nature Blog

BUTTERFLIES – My 2006 Nature Checklist

I decided to split up my 2006 Nature Checklist into 5 different categories; Butterflies & Skippers, Amphibians, Reptiles, Mammals and Birds! I would like to start this series with my 45 Butterfly & Skipper species found within Western New York State. There is no doubt that my 2006 numbers are slightly lower than previous years and this is primarily due to it raining every weekend from Late July through Columbus weekend in October. The rain kept me from getting out in the field each weekend and shortened the amount of time which adults were able to be located flying around during the late summer/fall months.

Here is my list of Butterflies and Skippers which I have listed in taxonomic order by common name (I would be happy to send you their Latin name for any species in question):

1. Black Swallowtail	16. Meadow Fritillary	31. Common Ringlet
2. E. Tiger Swallowtail	17. Pearl Crescent	32. Comm Wood-Nymph
3. West Virginia White	18. Baltimore Checkerspot	33. Monarch
4. Cabbage White	19. Question Mark	34. Silver-spotted Skipper
5. Clouded Sulphur	20. Eastern Comma	35. Dreamy Duskywing
6. Orange Sulphur	21. Gray Comma	36. Juvenal Duskywing
7. American Copper	22. Mourning Cloak	37. C. Checkered Skipper
8. Striped Hairstreak	23. American Lady	38. Least Skipper
9. Eastern Tailed Blue	24. Red Admiral	39. European Skipper
10. Spring Azure	25. White Admiral	40. Indian Skipper
11. Summer Azure	26. Red-spotted Purple	41. Peck’s Skipper
12. G. Spangled Fritillary	27. Viceroy	42. Long Dash
13. Aphrodite Fritillary	28. Northern Pearly-eye	43. Hobomok Skipper
14. Atlantis Fritillary	29. Eyed Brown	44. Dun Skipper
15. Silver-bordered Fritillary	30. Little Wood-Satyr	45. Pepper n Salt Skipper

My first butterflies were located on the 11th of April with 4 Eastern Comma’s and 1 Mourning Cloak along Bay State Road. My peak of butterflies observed was 22 species within 3 hours on the 21st of July 2006. In past years I have broken 30 species within a day’s time.

Even with this strange weather, there were a few butterfly highlights which I could not forget to report! The first had to be relocating a Baltimore Checkerspot on the 13th of July. This is the first which I have seen these guys flying around since 2002. I also enjoyed photographing the Common Checkered Skipper over at the Jamestown Audubon on the 10th of September 2006. The Silver-bordered Fritillary’s were wonderful while spending the day with Jeremy Martin on a flickr get-together at the Zaepfel Nature Sanctuary. My last memory was raising and releasing so many Monarch Butterflies this year for their migration south!