2017 Sabino Canyon Spring Butterfly Count

Date & Time: 
March 26, 2017 -
7:30am to 4:00pm
Meeting Place: 
Sabino Canyon Visitor’s Center Plaza
Compiler: 
Mary Klinkle
Compiler Email: 
munchita@msn.com

 

Join your new & old friends for a fabulous day in the field counting butterflies in the Santa Catalina Mountains on Sunday, March 26, 2017.  This is the 7th year for this Spring count in NE Tucson AZ.  Meet at 7:30 am at the Sabino Canyon Visitor’s Center Plaza or stake your claim to specific territory by emailing the compiler, Mary Klinkel Munchita@msn.com .  Weather permitting, we generally see around 60 species including Spring-only flyers such as Spring White, Sara and Desert Orangetips, Desert Marble, Sagebrush Checkerspot and Sleepy Duskywing.  Even if you only have one hour or know only one species of butterfly, you can help with this count!

 

Bring binoculars, cameras & batteries, snacks, water, sun protection, $3 for NABA compilation fee per person, personal items, and lunch if you plan to be out all day.  Compilation dinner will be at Risky Business on Tanque Verde Road at 5pm.  Please email the compiler if you plan to attend the dinner so she can let the restaurant know the number of people planning to attend.

Special Note: A National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass (Annual, Senior, Access, Military, Volunteer, Golden Age or Golden Access) or a fee is required for parking at the Sabino Canyon Visitor Center parking lot and some areas in this survey.

Trip Butterfly Reports: 

27 observers in 10 parties spent the day in the field counting every butterfly they could identify (and some they couldn't). A total of 2,183 individuals in 63 butterfly species were identified and counted:

 

  1. Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor 162
  2. Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes 2
  3. Giant Swallowtail Papilio cresphontes 5
  4. Two-tailed Swallowtail Papilio multicaudata 73
  5. Checkered White Pontia protodice 42
  6. 'Desert' Pearly Marble Euchloe hyantis lotta 3
  7. Sara Orangetip Anthocharis sara 11
  8. Southern Dogface Colias cesonia 62
  9. Mexican Yellow Eurema mexicana 43
  10. Sleepy Orange Eurema nicippe 68
  11. Dainty Sulphur Nathalis iole 48
  12. Great Purple Hairstreak Atlides halesus 3
  13. Brown Elfin Callophrys augustinus 10
  14. Thicket Hairstreak Callophrys spinetorum 1
  15. 'Siva' Juniper Hairstreak Callophrys gryneus siva 10
  16. Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinus 20
  17. Arizona Hairstreak Erora quaderna 4
  18. Western Pygmy-Blue Brephidium exile 2
  19. Marine Blue Leptotes marina 54
  20. Ceraunus Blue Hemiargus ceraunus 1
  21. Reakirt's Blue Hemiargus isola 8
  22. ‘Echo’Spring Azure Celastrina ladon 394
  23. Acmon Blue Plebejus acmon texana 1
  24. Fatal Metalmark Calephelis nemesis 4
  25. Zela Metalmark Emesis zela 1
  26. American Snout Libytheana carinenta 154
  27. Gulf Fritillary Agraulis vanillae 1
  28. Black Checkerspot Chlosyne cyneas 1
  29. Fulvia Checkerspot Chlosyne fulvia 13
  30. Bordered Patch Chlosyne lacinia 27
  31. Sagebrush Checkerspot Chlosyne acastus 21
  32. Tiny Checkerspot Dymasia dymas 355
  33. Elada Checkerspot Texola elada 50
  34. Texan Crescent Phyciodes texana 79
  35. Mylitta Crescent Phyciodes mylitta 7
  36. Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa 2
  37. American Lady Vanessa virginiensis 1
  38. Painted Lady Vanessa cardui 2
  39. Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta 4
  40. Common Buckeye Junonia coenia 21
  41. Tropical Buckeye Junonia genoveva nigrosuffusa 1
  42. Red-spotted Purple Limenitis arthemis astyanax 3
  43. Empress Leilia Asterocampa leilia 179
  44. Monarch Danaus plexippus 3
  45. Queen Danaus gilippus 27
  46. Silver-spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarus 2
  47. Desert Cloudywing Achalarus casica 2
  48. Acacia Skipper Cogia hippalus 1
  49. Golden-headed Scallopwing Staphylus ceos 16
  50. Arizona Powdered-Skipper Systasea zampa 15
  51. Meridian Duskywing Erynnis meridianus 1
  52. Mournful Duskywing Erynnis tristis 3
  53. Pacuvius Duskywing Erynnis pacuvius 1
  54. Funereal Duskywing Erynnis funeralis 18
  55. White Checkered-Skipper Pyrgus albescens 17
  56. Desert Checkered-Skipper Pyrgus philetas 1
  57. Erichson's White-Skipper Heliopyrgus domicella 2
  58. Common Streaky-Skipper Celotes nessus 16
  59. Orange Skipperling Copaeodes aurantiacus 42
  60. Fiery Skipper Hylephila phyleus 13
  61. White-barred Skipper Atrytonopsis pittacus 41
  62. Eufala Skipper Lerodea eufala 1
  63. Violet-clouded Skipper Lerodea arabus 8

Immatures: Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) 6 caterpillars on Pipevine (Aristolochia watsonii).

Field Notes: Bold type denotes new count species or new high count number