The count circle includes Sabino Canyon proper as well as all the areas along the Catalina Highway up to Mount Lemmon itself. There are two Sabino Canyon counts, one in the spring and one in the summer. The spring count which has already been run this year, finds most of its species in the lower parts of the circle, while this summer count does much better in the higher and cooler elevations. Compilation dinner TBA.
Contact compiler Greg Greene if you wish to participate in this count.
The high temperatures made it one of the more challenging days in the field, but I think we all did our best given the conditions. Unsurprisingly, our totals were among the lowest we’ve ever recorded—just barely surpassing 2020’s numbers.
As some may recall, 2020 was the second driest year on record in Tucson (4.17 inches) and also when the Bighorn Fire consumed a large portion of the mountain. Looking at rainfall from August 1, 2024, through July 31, 2025, we’ve likely just experienced the third driest 12-month span on record (4.56 inches). If you omit August and July, the 10-month rainfall total drops to just 1.54 inches—possibly the lowest ever recorded for that length of time. Timing is everything, and with the lack of consistent monsoon moisture and winter rains, we’re clearly seeing the negative impacts on the region’s flora and fauna.
One of the most striking findings from this year’s count, which I also noticed from the Santa Rita count a couple days prior, was the scarcity of brush-footed butterflies: just 8 individuals we observed on this year’s count, representing 7 species. This is by far the lowest total we’ve ever recorded for this group. Count results:
Swallowtails (Papilionidae)
1 Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) 14
2 Two-Tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata) 6
Whites and Sulphurs (Pieridae)
3 Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme) 10
4 Southern Dogface (Zerene cesonia) 14
5 Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) 27
6 Lyside Sulphur (Kricogonia lyside) 8
7 Mexican Yellow (Eurema mexicana) 1
8 Sleepy Orange (Abaeis nicippe) 5
Sulphur sp? 7
Hairstreaks and Blues (Lycaenidae)
9 Thicket Hairstreak (Callophrys spinetorum) 1
10 Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) 1
11 Arizona Hairstreak (Erora quaderna) 3
12 Marine Blue (Leptotes marina) 47
13 Ceraunus Blue (Hemiargus ceraunus) 5
14 Reakirt's Blue (Echinargus isola) 1
15 'Echo' Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon echo) 7
Blue sp? 3
Metalmarks (Riodinidae)
16 Fatal Metalmark - (Calephelis nemesis) 2
17 Nais Metalmark - (Apodemia nais) 42
Brush-footed Butterflies (Nymphalidae)
18 Bordered Patch (Chlosyne lacinia) 1
19 Tiny Checkerspot (Dymasia dymas) 1
20 Elada Checkerspot (Texola elada) 1
21 Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) 1
Comma sp.? (Polygonia sp.) 1
22 Red Satyr (Megisto rubricata) 1
23 Queen (Danaus gilippus) 2
Skippers (Hesperiidae)
24 Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) 2
25 Northern Cloudywing (Thorybes pylades) 5
26 Acacia Skipper (Cogia hippalus) 8
27 Golden-headed Scallopwing (Staphylus ceos) 6
28 Mournful Duskywing (Erynnis tristis) 2
29 Pacuvius Duskywing (Erynnis pacuvius) 12
30 Common Streaky-Skipper (Celotes nessus) 1
31 Common Sootywing (Pholisora catullus) 3
32 Orange Skipperling (Copaeodes aurantiaca) 1
33 Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) 1
34 Taxiles Skipper (Poanes taxiles) 52
35 Cassus Roadside-Skipper (Amblyscirtes cassus) 1
36 Bronze Roadside-Skipper (Amblyscirtes aenus) 1
Species Total: 36
Individuals 307