The count circle includes the Chiricahua Mountains from Portal to Rustler and Barfoot Parks and the SW Research Station. In 2023 the Portal count recorded 83 species which was one of the highest counts in the nation.
Meet at the Portal Visitor Center at 8:30 AM. Compilation dinner will be at Portal Peak Lodge at 5PM. Let Lori know if you plan to attend.
. Contact compiler Lori Conrad (lconrad6853@gmail.com) to participate in this count.
We ended up with a total of 49 species, which I think is quite extraordinary, considering how dry it was here overall. The only real blooms we had were at the Visitor Center & in our lovely neighbors' gardens! We had 4 different "groups" this year, each contributing a few butteflies not found by the others. Count results:
- Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor 4
- Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes 1
- Two-tailed Swallowtail Papilio multicaudata 10
- Checkered White Pontia protodice 2
- Cabbage White Pieris rapae 2
- Orange Sulphur Colias eurytheme 373
- Southern Dogface Colias cesonia 23
- Cloudless Sulphur Phoebis sennae 11
- Lyside Sulphur Kricogonia lyside 1
- Mexican Yellow Eurema Mexicana 4
- Sleepy Orange Eurema nicippe 11
- Dainty Sulphur Nathalis iole 9
- Thicket Hairstreak Callophrys spinetorum 1
- Siva' Juniper Hairstreak Callophrys gryneus siva 31
- Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinus 1
- Leda Ministreak Ministrymon leda 1
- Marine Blue Leptotes marina 80
- Ceraunus Blue Hemiargus Ceraunus 82
- Central Dotted-Blue Euphilotes centralis 15
- Reakirt’s Blue Hemiargus isola 5
- ‘Echo’ Spring Azure Celastrina ladon 1
- Mormon Metalmark Apodemia mormo 17
- Palmer's Metalmark Apodemia palmeri 1
- Variegated Fritillary Euptoieta claudia 43
- Elada Checkerspot Texola elada 5
- American Lady Vanessa virginiensis 1
- Common Buckeye Junonia coenia 2
- Red-spotted Purple Limenitis arthemis astyanax 1
- ‘Arizona’ California Sister Adelpha bredowii 1
- Empress Leilia Asterocampa leilia 1
- Red Satyr Megisto rubricata 22
- Monarch Danaus Plexippus 1
- Queen Danaus gilippus 11
- Silver-spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarus 4
- Northern Cloudywing Thorybes pylades 47
- Drusius Cloudywing Thorybes drusius 3
- Golden-headed Scallopwing Staphylus ceos 30
- Funereal Duskywing Erynnis funeralis 3
- Common/White Checkered-Skipper Pyrgus communis/albis 4
- Common Sootywing Pholisora Catullus 33
- Four-spotted Skipperling Piruna polingi 1
- Orange Skipperling Copaeodes aurantiacus 5
- Snow's Skipper Paratrytone snowi 1
- Taxiles Skipper Poanes taxiles 6
- Moon-marked Skipper Atrytonopsis lunus 3
- Cassus Roadside-Skipper Amblyscirtes cassus 1
- Bronze Roadside-Skipper Amblyscirtes aenus 5
- Texas Roadside-Skipper Amblyscirtes texanae 5
- Orange-edged Roadsd-Sk Ambyscirtes fimbriate 1
Total 49 species 928 individuals.
Field Notes: Severe drought, carried over from previous year. Hardly anything blooming, except in gardens.