2023 Santa Rita Mountains Fall Count

Date & Time: 
October 7, 2023 -
8:00am to 3:30pm
Meeting Place: 
None
Compiler: 
Mary Klinkel
Compiler Email: 
grizzledelfin@gmail.com

In 2021, this count was tops in the nation with 79 species found and an amazing 134,929 individuals recorded. The 15 mile diameter count circle includes Montosa, Madera, Florida, Box and Gardner Canyons along with the higher mountain trails accessed from Madera Canyon.

Please contact compiler Mary Klinkel if you wish to participate in this count. Everyone is welcome to participate!

Trip Butterfly Reports: 

There were 8 groups and 19 people participating.  We all worked hard to find butterflies this year, the hottest year ever recorded.  It's the compiler's guess that the heat kept a lot of butterflies from eclosing and possibly killed some of them.  She did notice more butterflies showing up as the weather is cooling, and it's quite possible that our numbers would have been lower if we had held the count one week earlier.  Butterflies found and counted:

  1. Pipevine Swallowtail                         Battus philenor  8
  2. Two-tailed Swallowtail                     Papilio multicaudata  1
  3. Orange Sulphur                                   Colias eurytheme  4
  4. Southern Dogface                              Colias cesonia  1
  5. Cloudless Sulphur                              Phoebis sennae  24
  6. Lyside Sulphur                                     Kricogonia lyside  2
  7. Mexican Yellow                                   Eurema Mexicana  12
  8. Sleepy Orange                                     Eurema nicippe  5
  9. Dainty Sulphur                                    Nathalis iole  2
  10. Gray Hairstreak                                   Strymon melinus  8
  11. Western Pygmy-Blue                       Brephidium exile  2
  12. Marine Blue                                          Leptotes marina  28
  13. Ceraunus Blue                                     Hemiargus ceraunus  29
  14. Reakirt’s Blue                                       Hemiargus isola  19
  15. ‘Echo’ Spring Azure                           Celastrina ladon   21
  16. Arizona Metalmark                           Calephelis arizonensis  11
  17. Palmer's Metalmark                         Apodemia palmeri  46
  18. American Snout                                  Libytheana carinenta  6
  19. Bordered Patch                                   Chlosyne lacinia  4
  20. Painted Lady                                        Vanessa cardui  103
  21. Common Buckeye                             Junonia coenia  2
  22. Red-spotted Purple                          Limenitis arthemis astyanax  15
  23. ‘Arizona’ California Sister                Adelpha bredowii  69
  24. Hackberry Emperor                           Asterocampa celtis  4
  25. Empress Leilia                                      Asterocampa leilia  14
  26. Tawny Emperor                                  Asterocampa clyton  4
  27. Nabokov's Satyr                                  Cyllopsis pyracmon  55
  28. Red Satyr                                               Megisto rubricata  7
  29. Red-bordered Satyr                          Gyrocheilus patrobas  71
  30. Monarch                                                Danaus plexippus  2
  31. Queen                                                    Danaus gilippus  7
  32. Arizona Powdered-Skipper            Systasea zampa  1
  33. Mournful Duskywing                        Erynnis tristis  2
  34. Pacuvius Duskywing                          Erynnis pacuvius  1 (new for the count)
  35. Funereal Duskywing                         Erynnis funeralis  15
  36. White/Common Checkered-Skipper        Pyrgus albescens/communis  1
  37. Orange Skipperling                            Copaeodes aurantiacus  9
  38. Pahaska Skipper                                 Hesperia Pahaska  2
  39. Arizona Giant-Skipper                      Agathymus aryxna  2