Santa Rita Mountains Summer

Date & Time: 
July 31, 2026 -
8:30am to 4:30pm
Meeting Place: 
TBA
Compiler: 
Gerry & Vicki Wolfe
Compiler Email: 
seaba_publicity@yahoo.com

The Count Circle includes Montosa, Madera, Florida, Box and Gardner Canyons and surrounding areas in the Santa Rita Mountains. Santa Rita Mountains counts are held twice, one in the summer and one in the fall. This count regularly records over 60 species.

There will be a compilation dinner after the count, meeting place TBD.

Contact Gerry & Vicki if you wish to participate on this count.

 

Trip Butterfly Reports: 

Considering the ongoing drought in SE AZ and extreme heat on count day, the 13 individual counters in 7 parties had a pretty successful count. A huge thanks for all of your efforts! We hope you can join us for the fall count about the end of September - date TBA.

 

The highlights:  

  • 65 species - and new to the count:  Hammock Skipper, Tropical Least Skipper, and Sheep Skipper (species in bold print).
  • Highest numbers for Cloudless Sulphur, Bordered Patch, Acacia Skipper, and Dotted Roadside-skipper.
  • Highest number of individuals counted on any previous summer count.

Butterflies identified and counted:

  1. Pipevine Swallowtail                 Battus philenor  13
  2. Black Swallowtail                        Papilio polyxenes  3
  3. Western Giant Swallowtail      Papilio Rumiko  6
  4. Two-tailed Swallowtail             Papilio multicaudata  52
  5. Orange Sulphur                           Colias eurytheme  11
  6. Southern Dogface                      Colias cesonia  3
  7. Cloudless Sulphur                       Phoebis sennae  480
  8. Lyside Sulphur                             Kricogonia lyside  15
  9. Mexican Yellow                           Eurema mexicana  12
  10. Tailed Orange                              Eurema proterpia  2
  11. Sleepy Orange                             Eurema nicippe  12
  12. Dainty Sulphur                             Nathalis iole  3
  13. Siva' Juniper Hairstreak            Callophrys gryneus siva  6
  14. Leda Ministreak                          Ministrymon leda  2
  15. Marine Blue                                  Leptotes marina  16
  16. Ceraunus Blue                             Hemiargus Ceraunus  51
  17. Reakirt’s Blue                               Hemiargus isola  7
  18. ‘Echo’ Spring Azure                    Celastrina ladon   41
  19. Acmon Blue                                  Plebejus acmon  2
  20. Fatal Metalmark                         Calephelis nemesis 2
  21. Arizona Metalmark                    Calephelis arizonensis  7
  22. Zela Metalmark                           Emesis zela  3
  23. Palmer's Metalmark                  Apodemia palmeri  1
  24. American Snout                          Libytheana carinenta  55
  25. Gulf Fritillary                                 Agraulis vanilla  3
  26. Variegated Fritillary                   Euptoieta claudia  2
  27. Bordered Patch                           Chlosyne lacinia  627
  28. Tiny Checkerspot                       Dymasia dymas  168
  29. Arizona Checkerspot                Texola elada perse  588
  30. Texan Crescent                           Phyciodes texana 7
  31. American Lady                             Vanessa virginiensis  2
  32. Painted Lady                                Vanessa cardui  1
  33. West Coast Lady                         Vanessa Annabella  1
  34. Red-spotted Purple                  Limenitis arthemis astyanax  12
  35. Weidemeyer's Admiral            Limenitis weidemeyerii
  36. Arizona Sister                              Adelpha eulalia  23
  37. Empress Leilia                              Asterocampa leilia  5
  38. Nabokov's Satyr                          Cyllopsis pyracmon  5
  39. Red Satyr                                       Megisto rubricata  42
  40. Queen                                            Danaus gilippus  19
  41. Dull Firetip                                    Pyrrhopyge araxes  27
  42. Silver-spotted Skipper             Epargyreus clarus  2
  43. Hammock Skipper                     Polygonus leo  1
  44. Arizona Skipper                          Codatractus arizonensis  17
  45. Dorantes Longtail                       Urbanus Dorantes  7
  46. Desert Cloudywing                    Achalarus casica  1
  47. Northern Cloudywing               Cecropterus pylades  295
  48. Drusius Cloudywing                  Thorybes drusius  2
  49. Acacia Skipper                             Cogia hippalus  151
  50. Golden-headed Scallopwing  Staphylus ceos  33
  51. Mournful Duskywing                Erynnis tristis  2
  52. Funereal Duskywing                 Erynnis funeralis  3
  53. Desert Checkered-Skipper     Pyrgus philetas  35
  54. Common Streaky-Skipper       Celotes nessus  23
  55. White-tufted Sootywing         Pholisora albicirrus  23
  56. Orange Skipperling                    Copaeodes aurantiacus  12
  57. Pahaska Skipper                         Hesperia Pahaska  2
  58. Tropical least skipper (Ancyloxypha arene)  1
  59. Sheep Skipper (Atrytonopsis edwardsi)  1
  60. Taxiles Skipper                            Poanes taxiles  8
  61. Large Roadside-Skipper          Amblyscirtes exoteria 8
  62. Cassus Roadside-Skipper        Amblyscirtes cassus  10
  63. Bronze Roadside-Skipper       Amblyscirtes aenus  19
  64. Texas Roadside-Skipper          Amblyscirtes texanae  2
  65. Dotted Roadside-Skipper       Amblyscirtes eos  7

Total individuals counted: 3050