Desert Butterflies

Leon and i have been doing a fair bit of hiking here in southern California this week.  On Wednesday we ventured down to Anza Borrego State Park.  I was happy that Leon suggested Plum Canyon for our hike, because I've seen several species of butterflies that I'd like to photograph there.

The trail winds up a wash with lots of desert apricot bushes, which give the canyon its name.  There were lots of mint flowers in bloom.  I had been hoping to see Great Purple Hairstreaks and the winter color form of Leda Ministreak.  I saw lots of species of butterflies there- about 15.  The first one that paused long enough to be photographed were a bunch of American Snout butterflies.

After a bit, Leon called over to me that he had found a blue.  Turns out it was a Great Purple Hairstreak.  The good news is that it cooperates as a photographic subject.  The bad news is that it wasn't a good specimen.  It was the only individual we saw all day.

A few minutes later I managed to find a Leda Ministreak.  It was also the only one that I saw- but also a reasonable cooperative subject, and in this case a good specimen.

Plum Canyon is like a wild botanical garden with lots of cacti and other types of attractive plants.

Chollas!

Agaves!

We saw interesting insects other than butterflies, too.  This Tarantula Hawk (Pepsis sp.) preys on live tarantulas.  It stings them, drags the papalyzed spiders back to its burrow and lays eggs in them.  The developing wasp larvae feed on the internal organs of the tarantulas.  Befitting a species with such large prey, the was is huge and has a fearsome sting.  I gave this one a wide berth.  I don't think I have ever seen one in California before, though they are quite common in Arizona.

We finished the hike fairly early.  This was good, because I wanted to visit San Felipe Creek.  Becker's whites fly there, though I don't see them every year.  I have previously gotten one bad photo, and wanted to do better.  I was fortunate.  There were more Becker's Whites flying at the creek than I have ever seen at the same time before.  It was a very satisfying end to the day.

Queens Among the Palms

The summer has rushed by.  I just noticed that it's still May at Gossamer Tapestry, and figure that I should change that.  A whole lot has happened over the summer, but right now I'm enjoying the weather in sunny southern California.  Yesterday Leon and I took a hike at Palm Canyon.IT was a lovely day with brillian sunshine and mild temperatures. 

The hummingbird feeder at the trail head was very active.  I felt lucky to get a couple of in-focus shots.  Even at feeders, I find hummingbirds very difficult to photograph. 

The dense palm groves give the area a distinctly tropical feel.  At the same time, you can tell that we are near the solstice at a relatively high latitude.  Even early in the afternoon, the shadows are quite long.

I always enjoy seeing plants that I associate with cooler, wetter climates in the desert oases, like these maidenhair ferns. 

I had told Leon that I was hoping to be able to do at least a bit of insect photography on the hike.There isn't much diversity at this time of the year, but I wasn't disappointed.  I always see Queen butterflies here, but have somehow never managed to get a decent digital image.  I was pleased to see some good specimens today. 

There were also many variegated meadowhawks flying about..There will be much more hiking later in the trip. 

Carolina in my Mind

I'm just back from a long weekend in the Deep South.  I flew into Atlanta, and spent some time in Georgia, which I have only been in briefly, and South Carolina and Alabama, which I have never visited before.  I first went east to South Carolina.  Day 1 involved insect collecting and photography in Sumter National Forest, where I ran into the population explosion of Question Mark butterflies that I recently blogged about.

Along the banks of the Saluda River, I saw lots of cool bugs, including tiger beetles and southern butterflies, including this Sleepy Orange and Clouded Skipper.  On sweetgum roots that had eroded out of the river bank, I saw a buprestid beetle in the genus Chrysobothris. 

Day 2 in South Carolina I ventured north into the mountains.  My first stop was at Cesar's Head, where I hiked for a couple of hours through the woods during rhododendron time. 

There were lots of spring wildflowers still inbloom, including somepink azaleas and handsome red trilliums.  I also got to see some striped pipsissewa, a favorite woodland plant from my childhood in New England.

My afternoon hike was at Table Mountain.  The rhododendrons had gone by there, but the mountain laurels were in full bloom.

The trail meandered up a watercourse that was punctuated with small waterfalls.  There wasn't much insect life to photograph, but it was still a beautiful day of hiking in the mountains.

Questions in Dixie

I'm in South Carolina.  I'll blog more later about the travel and my impressions of the state.  One thing that I noticed right away is that the population boom of Red Admirals that we have at home does not extend to this part of the country.  Oh, sure, I've seen a few Red Admirals- but they have gotten lost in the hoards of thousands and thousands of Question Marks.

 I'm not familiar enough with this region to know whether this abundance is unusual, but it has the feel of a population boom to me.  This species is abundant far out of proportion with other species at the moment.  Dirt roads in the area ar filled with thousands of individuals puddling in the gravel.

I'm seeing a lot of other cool stuff as well.  More to come!

This American Lady was lost in the hige crowd of Question Marks

A bit more on the Admiral Invasion

A lot of folks have been asking follow-up questions regarding the Red Admiral population boom.  Is it happening because of the mild winter or the freakishly warm weather we had in March?  Might it be a sign of global climate change? 

Red Admirals, along with a whole bunch of other butterfly species,  started showing up extremely early this year.  I had seen one by the third week of March.  That early arrival is almost certainly a result of the early warm weather.  I'm not so sure about the huge numbers being a result of the mild winter and hot spring, however.

This is an American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis).  It's a close relative of the Red Admiral- they are both in the same genus.  And like the Red Admiral, it started appearing very early.  I've been seeing them for weeks on the grounds of the Nature Museum in Chicago, where this one was photographed.  This species has not, however, undergone a population boom.  Numbers are very typical of what I have seen in in other years- just a few weeks ahead of schedule.  Whatever is happening to cause the large numbers of Red Admirals seems, at least for the moment, to be particular to that species.

Admiral Invasion

Depending on where you live, you may or may not be experiencing a huge invasion of Red Admiral butterflies.  I have gotten reports from friends and colleagues in Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, upstate New York and Ontario confirming the influx.  On the other hand, I was in eastern Massachusetts just a week ago and saw none, so it hadn't made it that far east.  They are migrating up from their wintering grounds in the deep South.  The mild winter and warm spring are probably responsible for their early arrival, and may or may not be responsible for the huge numbers.  This species is well known to undergo occasional population booms. 

Yesterday I went out to Bluff Spring Fen.  With temperatures hovering around 60, it was on the cool side for butterfly activity.  Bright sunshine, however, allowed them to warm up via basking and the admiral invasion was much in evidence.

Nettles (Urtica dioica) at Bluff Spring Fen

There were scores of butterflies in this open area. 

Red admiral caterpillars eat plants in the nettle family.  We have several large patches of stinging nettles at the Fen.  There were dozens and dozens of admirals flying in the patches.  I saw numerous females laying eggs.

Given the cool temperatures and abundance of individual butterflies, I thought that I maght have an especially easy time with photography. My hopes that the butterflies would be more sluggish and approachable were not to be realized.  I got photos of butterflies on bad backgrounds.

I got shots of bad specimens.

I did manage to get a couple of photos that I was reasonably happy with.  I saw a couple of other species out and about yesterday, as well.  There were a bunch of clouded and orange sulphurs.

The real story continues to be the admirals.  I don't know how long it will last, but I've never this species undergo such a huge population explosion.

Brown County Camping Trip- With Butterflies

Our beautiful home away from home

Two weekends ago, Leon and I took a long weekend and headed south to Brown County, Indiana for some camping. It was a trip down memory lane. We used to go camping there on a regular basis with the gay and lesbian outing club- but we haven't been back since the late 1980s. We drove down on Saturday morning, arriving just in time for the requisite lunch at Nashville House, a country-style restaurant that features amazing yeast raised, deep fried biscuits with apple butter. Health food it isn't.

Leon with Flowering Dogwood

Rattlesnake Master (Goodyeara pubescens)
An orchid whose foliage is much prettier than its flowers

The weather was uneven during the trip. Although the drive down was cloudy, we began out hike in beautiful sunshine with temperatures in the mid 60s. The trees were not yet leafed out, but the dogwoods and redbuds were in full bloom, as were many wildflowers. It was splendid. We began seeing butterflies as soon as we parked the car.

Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus)

Juvenal's Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis)

Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

We camped near a pretty stream. Dinner was pasta with pesto and Raspberry Newtons. Sometime during the night, I was awakened by the flicker of what I at first thought was somebody approaching the tent with a flashlight. The rumble of thunder followed moments later. It rained with thunder for the rest of the night and for much of Sunday morning. We ended up in the tent until about 11 waiting out the rain.

Pretty Stream

A gloomy, rainy Sunday morning

During our late breakfast the sun emerged. Our camping site was was quite beautiful. In addition to the stream, we were treated to a profusion of spring wildflowers, including all 3 colors of violets.

Purple Violets

White Violets

Yellow Violets

Sunday afternoon, we left our backpacks in camp and took a day hike. It ended up to be a bonanza of both butterflies and wildflowers. We saw several clumps of dramatic scarlet fire pinks.

Fire Pinks! (Silene virinica)

Before departing Chicago, I made a shopping list of early spring butterflies that I had hoped to photograph on this trip. Chief among them were Henry's Elfins and Falcate Orangetips. Although I only got a brief glimpse of the elfin, the orangetips put on quite a show.

Falcate Orangetip (Anthocharis midea)
Only the males have bright orange wing tips.

Orangetips are hard to photograph, as they land infrequently- and then only fleetingly. I wasn't pleased with even the best image of a male that I was able to get. I got luckier with a female. They are far less frequently seen then the males- this was the first time I had ever encountered a female of this species. She was being intensely courted by a male- who she was rejecting by raising her abdomen. So intent were they on the courtship display that I was able to approach closely for a crisp photo.

Female Falcate Orangetip
Translation of her raised abdomen:
Buzz off, creep!

Sunday night dinner was an old camping favorite- a pasta and cheese dish nicknamed aquarium gravel due to its appearance. Monday we enjoyed a leisurely drive back home. It was a wonderful weekend that included opportunities to see a total of 17 butterfly species.