Date & Time:
October 30, 2021 - 10:00am to 2:00pm
Meeting Place:
Various Members residences
Trip Leader:
Peggie Allen and Karen Gravely
Trip Butterfly Reports:
Peggie Allen and Karen Gravely organized a Tucson butterfly garden tour for members on October 30, 2021. About 10-12 people attended, although not all the attendees got to all four gardens. Garden owners were Cindy Bethard, Joan Hood, Chris Bittle and Peggie Allen. Everyone enjoyed seeing all the native and nectar plants in the four gardens and the butterflies that were visiting them. In Cindy’s garden, the butterfly mist, Ageratum corymbosum, was the big draw. In Joan’s garden, the pipevine was everywhere, enjoying the partial shade. A Giant swallowtail drifted through Chris’s garden as we were admiring several Black swallowtail caterpillars on rue. And in Peggie’s garden, the desert broom in the afternoon sun was the butterfly hotspot.
Special sightings were several Palmer’s metalmarks and Great Purple hairstreaks, as well as the Fall form of Leda ministreak, on desert broom; and a Pipevine swallowtail that had just eclosed from its chrysalis and was still pumping its wings out. All in all, the group identified 24 species.
- Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor
- Western Giant Swallowtail Heraclides rumiko
- Southern Dogface Colias cesonia
- Cloudless Sulphur Phoebis sennae
- Mexican Yellow Eurema mexicana
- Tailed Orange Eurema proterpia
- Sleepy Orange Eurema nicippe
- Dainty Sulphur Nathalis iole
- Great Purple Hairstreak Atlides halesus
- Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinus
- Leda Ministreak Ministrymon leda
- Western Pygmy-Blue Brephidium exile
- Marine Blue Leptotes marina
- Ceraunus Blue Hemiargus ceraunus
- Reakirt’s Blue Hemiargus isola
- Palmer's Metalmark Apodemia palmeri
- American Snout Libytheana carinenta
- Texan Crescent Phyciodes texana
- Empress Leilia Asterocampa leilia
- Queen Danaus gilippus
- Funereal Duskywing Erynnis funeralis
- Desert Checkered-Skipper Pyrgus philetas
- Fiery Skipper Hylephila phyleus
- Eufala Skipper Lerodea eufala
Photo: Great Purple Hairstreak (Atlides halesus) © John Gilkey
General Information
Beginners are welcome on all field trips! Experienced members will share their butterfly knowledge and expertise with all field trip participants. Children accompanied by a responsible adult are welcome on SEABA field trips. A donation of $5 per person to benefit SEABA will be appreciated. Carpooling from the meeting place is encouraged and it is kind to share gas expenses. If high clearance vehicles are required for a trip, it will be noted in individual trip descriptions. Dress for the field with sturdy shoes, hat, sunscreen, and insect repellent. Bring your own water, snacks, and lunch. Close-focusing binoculars, cameras, and field guides will be helpful aids for butterfly observation and identification. Trips usually end by mid-afternoon unless noted differently in individual trip descriptions.
Please be aware that:
1. Collecting or netting is NOT allowed on SEABA field trips.
2. Pets, with the exception of service animals, are NOT allowed on SEABA field trips.
3. All field trip participants are required to sign SEABA's Release and Assumption of Risk form at the beginning of the trip. The form may be viewed at SEABA Release.
4. Please arrive a few minutes prior to the meeting time posted for trips to facilitate paperwork and introductions to other trip participants.
5. Field trips may be cancelled or rescheduled on short notice due to changing weather or road conditions. Please check the website for updates prior to the Field Trip.
Our Southeastern Arizona Butterfly Checklist can be downloaded here. Please note that the SEABA checklist is copyrighted.
Local NABA Butterfly Counts are listed at NABA Counts
Field trips organized by the Central Arizona Butterfly Association are listed at their website: CAzBA.
