Recent sightings

10 AM - 2 PM. Overcast, mid 60S.

9:45-12:30

overcast and 63-67

Butterflies seen while leading tree ID walk. Two male and 1 female Zabulon.

1:40-3:30 PM, heavy overcast, 70 F. ETB briefly on white clover.

Leaderless Walks - 10/11 participants. Cloudy with some sun at times. Temps in 60's and low 70's. [Moderators: Report submitted by John Collins and Garry Annibal.]

Observations between about 9:30 and 1pm in the Shuster Pond meadow and adjoining woodland edges, cloudy, mid 60s. Azures galore today, so once again the ID puzzle of Appalachian versus Spring (argh!). Per my previous post and moderator feedback, I will keep to the model of: Any Azure on or nearly on Black Cohosh is counted as Appalachian, with the rest as Spring. For the Black Swallowtails, had one male and one female. Duskywing was on scat (fox maybe?), Juniper Hairstreak on Cypress Spurge. In the field I was convinced the Sulphur was Orange, but upon review I think Clouded. [Moderators: Great list especially given the less than ideal weather. The club has a field trip to White Lake and Shuster Pond on May 25.]

Morning observations, mostly cloudy with temp in the low 60s.

A no-mow April has turned into a no-mow May in our yard. The vegetation in our front lawn is high and thick enough (see photo) to hide a medium-sized Komodo Dragon. Most of the grass in the photo is bluegrass (Poa pratense) and the plant that looks reddish is Sheep Sorrel (Rumex acetosella) which is, though alien, a host for American Copper. And what shows up today on the lawn but an American Copper. More than 200 Common Milkweeds are visible poking up way in the background. These volunteered in our lawn a few years ago and have rapidly expanded by underground rhizome. With luck the milkweeds will take over the entire lawn and I may just have to mow once every other year.

This property is one of many managed by the Ridge & Valley Conservancy in northwest Jersey.

10:30-11:40, mostly overcast, 63-65

Also, a probable Silver-spotted Skipper.

The road is a mix of farm lands, small marshy area, Papakating Creek, and hay fields. Views only from road, private properties. Overcast with on and off showers, was actually looking for Bobolinks.

The Falcate pair almost landed on my pants! Quick check around 11:00, down the trail a couple hundred feet from lot. Sunny

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Cloudy, 73 degrees.

10 - sw11 AM. 70 and sunny. Peck’s Skipper on Allium.

A few afternoon observations while doing yard work. Mostly cloudy with some brief interludes of sun. warm and humid.

FOY Question Mark for us. Worn and faded female was ovipositing on sapling hackberries that have sprung up in our front garden. Note the stack of three eggs on the underside of a tender leaf. Some eggs are deposited singly while others are deposited in stacks or columns of several eggs.

About two hours.

Observed between 9 AM and 11 AM. A short period of sun and blue sky at this point, low 60s. Swallowtail seemed especially fond of the blooms on our Alternate-leaf Dogwoods.

Quick roadside stop around 10:30 while the sun was out. About 64 degrees.
The first brood of Meadow Fritillaries is always the smallest at this location.

Very quick circuit in late morning before the clouds rolled in—mid-60s. In addition to what is listed we saw 4 "white" sulphurs (almost certainly clouded) and 5 duskywings which were probably Juvenal's.

This is the first 2024 report of Little Wood Satyr and Common Ringlet. This preserve, which was a former scout camp, supports one of the largest populations of Little Wood-Satyrs with more than 200 reported daily in late May/early June. North Jersey early date is May 11.

12:35-2:00 Mostly cloudy and hot. I walked to the north end and around parking lots.

2:00-3:30. Partly cloudy, 70 degrees.

1:30-3:30 PM. Cloudy, intermittent sun, 65-70F.

All observed around 1:15 PM in the grassy wetland area right at the start of the main trail, near where The Nature Conservancy has erected a pavilion. Sun came out for a brief time only, about 60 degrees. Then within the forest, one unidentified duskywing but no other sightings during a 2-hour hike.

1-2 PM. 68 degrees and cloudy [Moderators: Peck's Skipper nectaring on Dandelion. Although alien, Dandelion is not notably invasive and is used by many species of bees and other insects especially in spring when pickings for pollinators are pretty slim. So, don't do the Chemlawn thing and shoot dandelions dead at 20 paces.]

Another fly-by while running errands. While not as tiny as the last one I spotted, this Tiger also looked on the smaller side.

All observations between 9:30 AM and 2 PM, mostly sunny but cool, mid-50s, in the Shuster Pond meadow and immediately adjoining woodland edges. The two Azures found on Black Cohosh I am calling Appalachian (one photo provided); the two Azures found far from the Cohosh (in the meadow) I'm calling Spring Azures. (Moderators, please confirm/correct my assumptions here). FOY Meadow Fritillary for me. [Moderators: Many of us long-time butterfliers remember that nearby White Lake Natural Area used to be an excellent place to see Meadow Frit, with more than 50 reported daily. But that population has virtually disappeared, and other than the odd individual here and there, now the best we can hope for is to spot a few (to sometimes many) from the roads at Waterwheel Farm in Fredon Twp. Now to the azures. Separating Spring Azure from Appalachian Azure in the field with confidence can be very difficult if not impossible. However, Carla reports seeing azures flying about and landing on Black Cohosh, the only known host plant for Appalachian Azure, which is flying at this time of year. So, identifying these individuals as Appalachian seems reasonable. And identifying azures far from Black Cohosh as Spring Azure also seems reasonable. However, we caution readers that identifying azures in the field to species (whatever that is) without evidence such as witnessing egg laying is often not possible at least with any degree of metaphysical certitude. We refer you to Wade's amusing response to a more-than-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-azures post on the May 2, 2021 South Jersey butterfly blog. And despite the death threats Wade is sticking to his guns on this one.]

12:45 - 2:45. Sunny, breezy, in the 60s. Attended today's open house on the Liberty State Park Master Plan. Afterwards, I did a lot of walking before finally finding two butterflies in a small rain garden near the nature center. Hopefully the NJ DEP Liberty State Park Revitalization Program will include extensive pollinator fields! They are encouraging the public to post comments on their website until May 19. [Moderators: We receive fewer sightings from Hudson County than from any other county. Pollinator fields at Liberty State Park would no doubt attract many butterflies and perhaps inspire visits from butterfliers.]

12:30-3:30 PM. 70 degrees and cloudy. Black Swallowtail on Fennel.

1:30-3:30 PM. 70F, cloudy. Neither weather nor habitat conducive to butterflies. Only some Golden Ragwort blooming in entrance fields. Admiral periodically chased away by a Carpenter Bee.

Short walk between 2:00-3:00 around the field by the headquarters. Mostly cloudy with temperature in the mid 60's.

Flybys while driving. This swallowtail in particular was quite tiny looking.

Sunny, nearing 80 degrees, between 1PM and 3PM. FOY Monarch for me. Flew around the garden for about 5 minutes, landed on our Common Milkweed twice (which is only about a foot out of the ground at this point). An unidentified Lady was also observed, and actually seemed to be hassling the Monarch at one point. Also an unidentified Duskywing observed. [Moderators: First report of Monarch from North Jersey this year. Well done, Carla!]

Observations during a 30-minute dog walk on the grassy trails around the cornfields. [Moderators: Possibly the first reports from Point Mtn. Reservation. Few reports from Hunterdon County in general except from Horseshoe Bend Preserve.]

Followed up on Maria's report from this location (May 2). The Juniper Hairstreak, Falcate Orangetip, and a few other species continue to be seen.

I came for the azaleas, but found a Zabulon Skipper!

Lots of purple clover blooming here but not seeing insects. Did have an orange flyby - possibly one of the the Ladies but could not ID it.

3:30 to 5:00. 82 degrees and partly cloudy.

1:30 to 2:30. 77 degrees and partly cloudy.

Leaderless Walk. 6 participants. Sunny and warm in the 80's by the end of the walk.

Hung out in my front yard while doing my lesson plans for some butterfly and bee watching. This spring I’ve noticed all the Vanessas seem to have an interesting habit of flapping around my 8 x 8 front garden bed (which is only currently seedlings, none of which are even Vanessa hosts), then flying over my roof towards my backyard, and vanishing. They keep doing this routinely in the same pattern, and fly by this spot a disproportionate amount compared to the rest of my yard. There are flower beds in other spots in my yard that I haven’t seen any of them check out.

I’ve now put a puddler in this location to encourage them to possibly land and stop. Looks like I’ll also be planting my nettle seedlings here.

And my first Clouded Sulphur of the reason! Woohoo!

Sunny all day, around 70 degrees early afternoon. All sightings in and just off the Shuster Pond meadow between about 10 AM and 1 PM. ID on Appalachian Azures made due to (1) timing; (2) location, that is, they were flying in the same abundant Black Cohosh stand as last year, exactly where Sharon and Wade W. confirmed there's a population. So an informed guess!

3:30 - 4:30 PM. Cloudy and 73 degrees.
The grass skippers are back! Looks like 2 different individuals but couldn’t get sufficient multi-angle photos or looks for definitive IDs on either. [Moderators: Both are Peck’s Skippers, but not an early date (4/27).]