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. Interestingly both these counts tied for third and fourth in the nation with 76 species each. The 2022 summer count had 19 species with the highest counts in the nation and the fall count had 20. The 2022 fall count also had the only Chiricahua White (2 individuals) and new all time high counts for Red-bordered Satyr (172 vs the previous 123 individuals) and Dorantes Longtail (322 individuals!! vs 79), The summer Santa Rita count will be held on Saturday, July 29 and the fall count will be held tentatively on Saturday, October 7. Contact compiler Mary Klinkel (grizzledelfin@gmail.com) if interested in participating in either or both counts. Rain date is July 30.
Note: A US Interagency Recreation Pass is required to access some of the areas in the count circle.
Species counted:
- Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor 18
- Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes 2
- Western Giant Swallowtail Papilio Rumiko 1
- Two-tailed Swallowtail Papilio multicaudata 43
- Orange Sulphur Colias eurytheme 3
- Southern Dogface Colias cesonia 9
- Cloudless Sulphur Phoebis sennae 92
- Mexican Yellow Eurema Mexicana 15
- Sleepy Orange Eurema nicippe 5
- Colorado Hairstreak Hypaurotis crysalus 5
- Siva' Juniper Hairstreak Callophrys gryneus siva 20
- Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinus 2
- Leda Ministreak Ministrymon leda 5
- Marine Blue Leptotes marina 19
- Ceraunus Blue Hemiargus ceraunus 20
- Reakirt’s Blue Hemiargus isola 6
- ‘Echo’ Spring Azure Celastrina ladon 18
- Fatal Metalmark Calephelis nemesis 1
- Arizona Metalmark Calephelis arizonensis 2
- Zela Metalmark Emesis zela 2
- Ares Metalmark Emesis ares 1
- American Snout Libytheana carinenta 2
- Gulf Fritillary Agraulis vanilla 2
- Theona Checkerspot Chlosyne Theona 1
- Bordered Patch Chlosyne lacinia 42
- Tiny Checkerspot Dymasia dymas 6
- Elada Checkerspot Texola elada 3
- Texan Crescent Phyciodes texana 1
- American Lady Vanessa virginiensis 2
- Painted Lady Vanessa cardui 85
- West Coast Lady Vanessa Annabella 1
- Common Buckeye Junonia coenia 2
- Red-spotted Purple Limenitis arthemis astyanax 12
- ‘Arizona’ California Sister Adelpha bredowii 31
- Hackberry Emperor Asterocampa celtis 3
- Empress Leilia Asterocampa leilia 1
- Nabokov's Satyr Cyllopsis pyracmon 2
- Red Satyr Megisto rubricata 121
- Monarch Danaus plexippus 1
- Queen Danaus gilippus 5
- Dull Firetip Pyrrhopyge araxes 9
- Silver-spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarus 1
- Arizona Skipper Codatractus arizonensis 41
- Golden-banded Skipper Autochton cellus 4
- Desert Cloudywing Achalarus casica 2
- Northern Cloudywing Thorybes pylades 986
- Drusius Cloudywing Thorybes drusius 53
- Acacia Skipper Cogia hippalus 129
- Gold-costa Skipper Cogia caicus 1
- Golden-headed Scallopwing Staphylus ceos 26
- Arizona Powdered-Skipper Systasea zampa 4
- ‘Arizona’ Juvenal's Duskywing Erynnis juvenalis clitus 1
- Mournful Duskywing Erynnis tristis 1
- Funereal Duskywing Erynnis funeralis 1
- Common/White Checkered-Skipper Pyrgus communis/albescens 4
- Common Streaky-Skipper Celotes nessus 2
- Common Sootywing Pholisora Catullus 17
- Orange Skipperling Copaeodes aurantiacus 28
- Pahaska Skipper Hesperia Pahaska 1
- Taxiles Skipper Poanes taxiles 35
- Moon-marked Skipper Atrytonopsis lunus 1
- Large Roadside-Skipper Amblyscirtes exoteria 20
- Cassus Roadside-Skipper Amblyscirtes cassus 43
- Bronze Roadside-Skipper Amblyscirtes aenus 156
- Elissa Roadside-Skipper Amblyscirtes elissa 10
- Texas Roadside-Skipper Amblyscirtes texanae 3
- Slaty Roadside-Skipper Amblyscirtes nereus 1
- Nysa Roadside-Skipper Amblyscirtes nysa 8
- Dotted Roadside-Skipper Amblyscirtes eos 1