bugs

Fun Day With Naturalist Buddy

I spent a lovely day with Jamestown Audubon Naturalist and Nature Photographer Jen S. here in Allegany State Park today. I am so glad that she suggested that I take some time off from work to enjoy some needed fresh air!! We didn’t go cross-country skiing as planned (I know that I keep on getting out of skiing) but we did hike along some of our snowmobile trails which gave us some great photographic opportunities. The temperatures didn’t feel bad with the sun out but we did still dressed in layers.

Jen captured a photo of me checking out this moth chrysalis. Jen – thanks for giving me permission to use this picture of me!

Jen photographing the texture of this Birch

We also enjoyed checking out the frozen Bridal Falls

6 February 2007 | Categories: Allegany State Park, bugs, Flickr, flickr meet-up, Nature, Weather | Tags: discovery, Fun, Hiking | 9 Comments

Kenn Kauffman Speaking at RTPI

Great news everyone! Kenn Kaufman has been finally schedule to speak for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute distinguished speaker series on the 28th of February 2007. The lecture will be held over at the Stanley Weeks Theater on the campus of Jamestown Community College (is located at 525 Falconer Street, Jamestown, NY for those doing map quest).

Kenn Kaufman will introduce his new book, “A Field Guide to the Insects” and I anticipate him doing a wonderful slide program related to insects. I just learned from his website that this new insect guide has been illustrated with over 2,350 digitally enhanced images and they are planning on setting a new standard with detailed coverage maps. I can’t wait to see this book because I absolutely love how the butterfly guide turned out.

I have had an opportunity to hear Kenn speak twice before and every time he did a amazing job! I can’t wait to hear what he has to tell us again next month regarding the insects in his new book. Price for this event is $5 for member and $7 for non members. For more info you can contact the Roger Tory Peterson Institute at 716-665-2473 or on the web at http://www.rtpi.org.

19 January 2007 | Categories: bugs, Nature | Tags: Author, Author Lecture, discovery, et al.., Lecture, News | 6 Comments

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!

I can’t wait to see what butterflies in 2007 will bring me.

3 January 2007 | Categories: bugs, Butterflies, Flickr, Nature | Tags: checklist, discovery | 12 Comments

Closed Gentian

Here is Closed Gentian which the purple or blue flower is commonly found here in AlleganyState Park in the woods or wet meadows.

This flower is unique that there is a white form of this plant. An interesting fact which we learned about Closed Gentian is that the only insect which can successfully pollinate this flower is the bumblebee (Flora of Michigan). We are double checking to make sure this isn’t a different species but its leaning towards being the white form of Closed Gentian.