This count covers many canyons in the Santa Rita Mountains, including: Gardener, Box, Florida, Madera, and Montosa. Of the 62 species found on the 2017 count almost ¼ (15) were national high counts, including 6 species found only on this count: White Angled-Sulphur (1), Tailed Orange (1), Colorado Hairstreak (4), Arizona Metalmark (3), Tropical Leafwing (1), and Sheep Skipper (1). The after-count compilation dinner will be held at Manuel’s Mexican Restaurant, 121 W. Duval Road (close to but not Duval Mine Road, please Google this for directions) Green Valley at 4:00 pm
.
Please confirm your participation by email with compiler Mary Klinkel prior to the date of the count.
Sixteen butterfly lovers enjoyed a perfect Fall day in the Santa Rita Mountains of SE AZ on 9/29/18. The biggest challenge was the unbelievable numbers of American Snouts, which I am certain were vastly under-reported due to the difficulty of counting them all in the grasses, trees, shrubs, air, flowers, puddles, streamsides, spiderwebs….well, you get the picture. I had practiced counting them for several days in advance in various habitats just to get some idea of how many there were and how to count them, and I anticipated we would easily have over 150,000 (which is the highest number previously reported, according to the regional count editor for NABA). The dilemma for counters was creating a visual snout filter so we could see other butterflies, while somehow maintaining a count of snouts. 64 species were found and counted. Mary Klinkel, compiler
- Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor 39
- Black Swallowtal Papilio polyxenes 7
- Two-tailed Swallowtail Papilio multicaudata 4
- Western Giant Swallowtail. Papilio rumiko 12
- Chiricahua White Neophasia terlooii 1
- Checkered White Pontia protodice 9
- Orange Sulphur Colias eurytheme 7
- Southern Dogface Zerene cesonia 74
- Cloudless Sulphur Phoebis sennae 89
- Large Orange Sulphur Phoebis agarithe 1
- Mexican Yellow Eurema Mexicana 292
- Tailed Orange Pyrisitia proterpia 177
- Sleepy Orange Abais nicippe 24
- Dainty Sulphur Nathalis iole 69
- Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinus 8
- Leda Ministreak Ministrymon leda 4
- Marine Blue Leptotes marina 260
- Western Pygmy-blue Brephidium exilis 23
- Echo Spring Azure Celastrina ladon echo 59
- Ceraunus Blue Hemiargus ceraunus 52
- Reakirt’s Blue Echinargus isola 12
- Acmon Blue Plebujus acmon texana 2
- Fatal Metalmark Calephelis nemesis 3
- AZ Metalmark Calephelis arizonensis 11
- Palmer’s Metalmark Apodemia palmerii 4
- American Snout Libytheana carinenta 64,558
- Gulf Fritillary Agraulis vanilla 17
- Variegated Fritillary Euptoieta Claudia 32
- Mexican Fritillary Euptoieta hegesia 1
- Theona Checkerspot Chlosyne theona 4
- Bordered Patch Chlosyne lacinia 90
- Elf Microtia elva 1
- Tiny Checkerspot Dymasia dymas 189
- Elada Checkerspot Texola elada 13
- Texan Crescent Anthanassa texana 2
- Tropical Buckeye Junonia evarete 10
- Common Buckeye Junonia coenia 3
- Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa 1
- Painted Lady Vanessa cardui 6
- American Lady Vanessa virginiensis 14
- Red-spotted Purple LImenitis arthemis 29
- Arizona Sister Adelpha eulalia 96
- Tropical Leafwing Anaea aidea 1
- Hackberry Emperor Asterocampa celtis 11
- Empress Leilia Asterocampa leilia 146
- Tawny Emperor Asterocampa clyton 25
- Nabokov’s Satyr Cyllopsis pyracmon 10
- Red Satyr Megisto rubricate 4
- Red-bordered Satyr Gyrocheilus patrobas 82
- Monarch Danaus plexippus 9
- Queen Danaus gilippus 37
- AZ Skipper Codatractus arizonensis 4
- Dorantes Longtail Urbanus dorantes 3
- AZ Powdered-skipper Systasea zampa 5
- Mournful Duskywing Erynnis tristis 2
- Funereal Duskywing Erynnis funeralis 9
- Common/White Checkered-skipper Pyrgus communis/albescens 10
- Desert Checkered-skipper Pyrgus philetas 19
- Orange Skipperling Copaeodes aurantiaca 52
- Pahaska Skipper Hesperia pahaska 3
- Sheep Skipper Atrytonopsis edwardsii 1
- Nysa Roadside-skipper Amblyscirtes nysa 1
- Arizona Giant-skipper Agathymus aryxna 1
- and new for this count, Tropical checkered-skipper Pyrgus philetas 1