The NABA Fall Santa Rita Mountains Butterfly count will be on Sunday, September 28th. Please contact Gerry & Vicki Wolfe @ SEABA_publicity@yahoo.com if you wish to participate. If you have a specific area that you would like to cover, please let them know and they will do their best to accommodate you. Also, please let them know if you would like to join a post-count compilation dinner, location in the Green Valley area to be determined.
Seventeen counters in 6 parties scoured the Santa Rita Mtns for butterflies on a nice, sunny day to be in the field! Unfortunately, the party planned for the high country called in sick at the last minute, so we didn't get coverage high up in the mountains so undoubtedly we missed missed finding a few species. Count numbers reflect the continuing severe drought in the area alnong with a late, less than average Monsoon Season. Three species that are new to the count are in BOLD print. Butterflies observed and counted:
- Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor 15
- Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes 2
- Western Giant Swallowtail Papilio Rumiko 9
- Two-tailed Swallowtail Papilio multicaudata 22
- Checkered White Pontia protodice 4
- Orange Sulphur Colias eurytheme 7
- Southern Dogface Colias cesonia 80
- Cloudless Sulphur Phoebis sennae 7
- Mexican Yellow Eurema Mexicana 9
- Tailed Orange Eurema proterpia 151
- Sleepy Orange Eurema nicippe 19
- Dainty Sulphur Nathalis iole 90
- Great Purple Hairstreak Atlides halesus 1
- Marine Blue Leptotes marina 70
- Ceraunus Blue Hemiargus Ceraunus 70
- Reakirt’s Blue Hemiargus isola 6
- ‘Echo’ Spring Azure Celastrina ladon 16
- Fatal Metalmark Calephelis nemesis 1
- Ares Metalmark Emesis ares 1
- Palmer's Metalmark Apodemia palmeri 25
- American Snout Libytheana carinenta 148
- Gulf Fritillary Agraulis vanilla 2
- Variegated Fritillary Euptoieta claudia 18
- Bordered Patch Chlosyne lacinia 23
- Tiny Checkerspot Dymasia dymas 6
- Elada (AZ) Checkerspot Texola elada 405
- Texan Crescent Phyciodes texana 1
- Vesta Crescent Phyciodes vesta 1
- Pearl Crescent Phyciodes tharos 2
- American Lady Vanessa virginiensis 5
- Painted Lady Vanessa cardui 13
- ‘Dark’ Tropical Buckeye J.genoveva nigrosuffusa 1
- Red-spotted Purple Limenitis arthemis astyanax 23
- ‘Arizona’ California Sister Adelpha bredowii 16
- Hackberry Emperor Asterocampa celtis 12
- Empress Leilia Asterocampa leilia 62
- Tawny Emperor Asterocampa clyton 5
- Red-bordered Satyr Gyrocheilus patrobas 68
- Monarch Danaus Plexippus 1
- Queen Danaus gilippus 32
- Dull Firetip Pyrrhopyge araxes 52
- Dorantes Longtail Urbanus Dorantes 10
- Desert Cloudywing Achalarus casica 2
- Northern Cloudywing Thorybes pylades 1
- Acacia Skipper Cogia hippalus 4
- Golden-headed Scallopwing Staphylus ceos 8
- Arizona Powdered-Skipper Systasea zampa 1
- Mournful Duskywing Erynnis tristis 1
- Funereal Duskywing Erynnis funeralis 16
- Common/White Checkered-Skipper Pyrgus albis/communis 5
- Common Streaky-Skipper Celotes nessus 1
- Common Sootywing Pholisora Catullus 1
- Orange Skipperling Copaeodes aurantiacus
- Arizona Giant-Skipper Agathymus aryxna 2
Phoebus sp. 2
Pyrisitia/Abaeis sp. 80
Blue sp. 38
Total Individuals 2,136