ALERT UPDATE 2003

LEPIDOPTERA ALERT #2003.030 dated 09 November 2003

Your assistance is requested to keep your colleagues informed!
More to come as notification is provided to Owen A. Perkins at:

lepalert@comcast.net

ALERT UPDATE is always under construction.

Alert Priors - 2001 and Alert Priors - 2002 are found under ALERT UPDATE PRIORS and earlier 2003 Update Reports will periodically be moved to Alert Priors - 2003 to ALERT UPDATE - Priors. Of Course Alert Priors - 2001, Alert Priors - 2002 and Alert Priors - 2003 will now likely be very, very slow loading especially via telephone.

If you view this site, but I do or would not have your email address, please send the address to lepalert@comcast.net so that I may communicate with you.

Any suggestions you may have to assist me in providing the information you may desire are most welcome!

Any photographs you may desire to have incorporated in subsequent 2003 lepalert report(s) are herewith solicited.

Report from Owen, 09 November 2003

It reached 17 degrees F. over night and at 12:30 P.M. upon arriving home from church it was observed that 1 Battus philenor was fluttering in the terrarium in my back yard with the ambient temperature at 37 degrees, but probably higher in the terrarium. I am assuming it emerged on 07 November when the temperature reached 72 degrees ambient temperature in our yard and possibly more in the terrarium. I can’t really tell the temperature, but in the sunlight on the glass in the terrarium this specimen was fluttering. I couldn’t help but photograph it and relate the story following Mark’s story. The hind wings were not fully developed as was Mark’s deformed female.

photo by Owen A. Perkins © 2003
(Papilio philenor)

Report from Mark Schmidt, 07 November 2003

Just when I thought that the season was over, those batty Battus philenors prove me wrong. Though deformed, the female was able to fly away. The larva fed voraciously on those 70 degree days. There were four more of them a few days before but I lost them among the fallen leaves in the flower bed.

photo by Mark Schmidt, © 2003
(Papilio philenor)

Note from Owen

In 2004 I will have a different setup so those who have telephone instead of cable to receive this site, will be able to access the site FASTER. I will use a different setup for the photographs. I am looking ahead.

We are getting near the end of the season. If you voucher any lep that is a late date (per Mo’s MICHIGAN BUTTERFLIES AND SKIPPERS), please alert me.

Any News from anyone?

Owen

Report from Martin Andree, 18 October 2003 who has just returned from Korea, Russia, Netherlands, and many other lands. He has been gone over one year. Welcome back fearless leader of

Dead & Spread.

In the searing vastness of the Gobi our intrepid collector, Maru pa Duke, rasped, "So...how far is it to the 421 Bog anyway and can I get a piece of huckleberry pie once I get there?"

He says he is glad to be back amongst friendly natives.

Report from John Farmer, 31 October 2003

Although it's far short of someone's November 11 sighting in year 2000, I had my latest Monarch of this year today. It was beating a west by southwesterly path about 4' off the ground across the intersection of
Mooreville and Petersburg Roads ~3:30 this afternoon. That, and an orange sulphur that crossed my yard yesterday afternoon are my only recorded sightings in Washtenaw Co. since Oct. 15. Saw a Painted Lady, a Polygonia sp., an Orange Sulphur, 4 Cabbage Whites, and 9 Clouded Sulphurs in Hillsdale County on October 18, my last sightings there.

Report from Mark Schmidt, 20 October 2003

If I'm not mistaken, it is neary Halloween. I'll be darned if I don't have a newly eclosed B. philenor in my cage. I have no idea just what nature's intentions are.

Report from Mark Schmidt, 03 October 2003

Fall seemed to have missed us in SW Ohio. We jumped from the 80's to the 40's really quickly. I still have E. imperialis, A. polyphemus, P. cresphontes, and P. glaucus larvae feeding on trees with turning leaves. There's been frost for two nights now. I had a female B. philenor eclose two days ago! I'm not sure what she had in mind.

Somewhat interesting is the attached larva of P. glaucus. It started out a normal green but as the temperatures dropped, it darkened on its thoracic segments. Frostbite? I thought maybe it was going to darken into the usually pre-pupal color. Nope! I brought it in this evening and it's still feeding.

I'm still hoping for an Indian summer.

photo by Mark Schmidt, © 2003
(Papilio philenor)

"Michigan Entomological Society is holding its Summer Field Trip this week Saturday, August 23rd, in southwest Michigan".

This year the Michigan Entomological Society will hold its Summer Field Trip in Cass County with two

great areas to explore. Bill Westrate has once again invited us to collect on his large farm/natural acre-age.

We have also been invited to collect on a 3,000 acre tract owned by the Lowe Foundation.

Our guide, Bill Westrate, is a well-known all-around naturalist. Bill has an outstanding collection of

most insect species that can be found on his property, all curated in Cornell drawers. Habitats on his

property include: one mile of stream, 3-acre pond, marsh, southern riparian forests, a small stand of

tamarack and shrub carr, an alkaline fen, several rural microhabitats, abandoned field with prairie com-ponents,

and oak-pine forests. With unique plants and a wide variety of habitats, there’s always some-thing

new to observe, photograph, or net. This is another great opportunity to spend the day out of doors

with family and friends.

The Lowe tract is owned by Ed Lowe, founder of Kitty Litter. Our guide will be Mike McCuistion,

property manager. He will give us a short talk on the property’s habitats and drive us around to various

sites. The tract has two lakes, 2,000 acres of undisturbed lands, a wide variety of habitats, and access

throughout the property by roads. The Foundation encourages sampling of its flora and fauna and can

even provide accommodations.

We’ll begin our day at Bill’s “park” just west of his home at 21406 McKenzie Street. Bill is located

approximately 6 miles east of Dowagiac where the road crosses Dowagiac Creek (see maps). If you plan

to make a night of it you’re welcome to camp at Bill’s scenic little park along the Dowagiac Creek.

We’ll meet at 10 AM on Saturday, August 23rd at Bill’s!! If you are late we’ll leave

a map and directions at the park to our planned sites.

Michigan

MES Summer

Field Trip

Saturday August 23, 2003

Closeup map of location of Bill’s home.

Bill’s Park

We’ll begin our day at Bill’s “park” just west of his home at 21406 McKenzie Street. Bill is located

approximately 6 miles east of Dowagiac where the road crosses Dowagiac Creek (see maps). If you plan

to make a night of it you’re welcome to camp at Bill’s scenic little park along the Dowagiac Creek

Report from Roger Kuhlman

Powesheik Skipperling (Oarisma powesheik) was found in good numbers at Embury Swamp in northwest Washtenaw County on July 13. A total of 11 Powesheiks were seen and a good photographic voucher of one was taken. Most of the butterflies were just seen flying around the fen and landing on sedges but a few individuals were noted landing on flowering Shrubby Cinquefoil, Black-eyed Susan, and Marsh Pea and presumably nectaring.

Other prominent species in the fen on Sunday where the Powesheiks were found included Dorcas Copper (Lycaena dorcas), Silver-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene myrina), Black Dash (Euphyes conspicua), Mulberry Wing (Poanes massasoit), Delaware Skipper (Anatrytone logan), and Baltimore (Euphydryas phaeton). All the Dorcas Copper seemed to have recently emerged and no females were found. Interestingly a small Baltimore larva was found while searching for additional butterflies. Its size may have indicated that it hadn’t even reached the last instar before pupation. Considering that Baltimores have been flying for several weeks now, I wonder if it is going to be able to become an adult butterfly.

In a different part of the Embury Swamp area which contains more broad-leaved sedges, both Dion Skipper (Euphyes dion) and Broad-winged Skipper (Poanes viator) were flying. The Broad-winged Skipper was the first sighting for the year. On nearby Embury road--a dirt road that cuts through several wet sedgy locations--several Dun Skippers, Appalachian Eyed Browns, Mustard Whites, Little Glassywings and one Gray Comma (Polygonia progne) were seen. In addition a road-killed Compton’s Tortoise Shell was collected from Embury Road. This Compton's Tortoise Shell was only the third individual of the species found this year so far on the Greater Washtenaw County Survey. Its loss was a sad event. At a dry-sandy Red Pine Oak barren a few miles east of Embury, Southern Cloudywing, Hoary Edge, and Edward's Hairstreaks were seen. This site contains a lot of young Black Oak and Butterfly Weed and the Edward's Hairstreaks were taking advantage of both. The Edward's Hairstreaks were found either perching on these smaller oaks or clustered on the Butterfly Weed.

For the day the following species were seen:

Lycaena dorcas 50+
Euphydryas phaeton 25+
Poanes massasoit 10+
Euphyes conspicua 10+
Satyrium edwardsii 10+
Speyeria cybele   10+
Megisto cymela    10+
Oarisma powesheik 11
Anatrytone logan   10+
Cercyonis pegala 10+
Satyrodes Appalachia 9
Euphyes vestries 5
Vanessa atalanta 4
Pieris napi 4
Satyrodes Eurydice 3
Phyciodes tharos 3
Enodia anthedon 3
Epargyreus clarus 3
Boloria selene myrina 3
Euphyes dion 3
Celastrina neglecta 2
Papilio Troilus 2
Achalarus lyciades 2
Thorybes bathyllus 2
Pompeius verna 2
Poanes viator 1
Papilio glaucus 1
Papilio polyxenes 1
Limenitis archippus 1
Polygonia progne 1
Nymphalis vau-album 1

Voucher photo by Bryan Pfeiffer , © 2003
Powesheik Skipperling (Oarsima powesheik)

was found in good numbers at Embury Swamp in northwest Washtenaw County [T1S R3E Section15] on July 13. A total of 11 Powesheik Skipperlings were seen and a good photographic voucher of one was taken. Most of the butterflies were just seen flying around the fen and landing on sedges but a few individuals were noted landing on flowering Shrubby Cinquefoil, Black-eyed Susan, and Marsh Pea and presumably nectaring.

9 July 2003 Message from Mo

A Monarch, tag number BKU255, was tagged by Lisa in Sterling Heights, Michigan, on October 6th 2002 was recovered 1254 miles away in Key West Florida by Jean Curry on October 9th 2002 . 1254 MILES IN 3 DAYS.

26 June 2003 Information from Owen

Fiborn Quarry plant in the active days. Fiborn Quarry – June 2003

For those of you who have visited the Fiborn Quarry complex, the following website presents the History of Fiborn Quarry:

The first page is herewith presented. Go to the site to see it all !

Or click on the Index to The History Of Fiborn Quarry items below to go directly to a chapter.

http://www.caves.org/conservancy/mkc/kioskcredit.html

This material is part of the text from history display at The Fiborn Karst Preserve featuring many photographs, documents and descriptions detailing the history of Fiborn Qaurry.

Sources for this history include:

The Chase Osborn Papers in The Michigan Historical Collection, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mi.
The State of Michigan Archives, Lansing, Mi.
Longyear Research Library, Marquette, Mi.
Eastern upper peninsula regional newspapers, as collected on microfilm at the Michigan State Library, Lansing, Mi.
Several dozen interviews with former residents and workers of Fiborn Quarry and their families, as conducted, recorded, transcribed and archived by the Michigan Karst Conservancy's Fiborn History Project.
Historic records of Algoma Steel, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada.

Mike Warner
P.O. Box 10
Schoharie, NY. 12157-0010

E-Mail mike@speleobooks.com

Written by Mike Warner, Michigan Karst Conservancy June, 1992

Revised December 1994 (text)

Revised June 1996 & October 1996. (graphic version)

Index to The History Of Fiborn Quarry

1. Presenting Fiborn Quarry's History

2. Fiborn Quarry's History

3. Osborn And The Soo

4. Clergue and Carbide

5. The Draw Of Limestone

6. Affairs Of Property

7. The Big Bang

8. Caves Of Fiborn

9. A Series Of Letters

10. Transition

11. Fiborn Today - Under Construction

The lilacs east of the quarry are the location where Proserpinus flavofasciata

was collected by both Harry King and Terry Herig.

PROSERPINUS FLAVOFASCIATA

Proserpinus flavofasciata courtesy of Ward Strong, BC Ministry of Forests.

26 June 2003 Report from Mo

I have summarized the interesting/unusual species that I (we) trapped, attracted to MV/UV lights, from the 'hut' to Copper Harbor and return (June 13 to 20). I have arranged the species per Hodges' 1983 Check List.

Hyalophora columbia males were attracted to the Rest Area (RA) lights, west of Seney (wings were found at the Seney motel, too). Only one immaculate Actias luna was seen during the trip (RA). Antheraea polyphemus males were trapped under northern hardwoods canopy in Schoolcraft Co.

Sphinx poecila was seen in several counties, along with seven other common Sphingidae. Most notable capture was Hemaris gracilis at vetch at the Laketon 'lilac spot', along M-28 in Luce Co., along with H. thysbe, diffinis and Amphion floridensis. H. thysbe was captured by a crab spider on lilac in the Trout Lake cemetery!

Notodontids were very numerous at lights, especially, Gluphisia septentrionis! A good series of Symmerista sp. was trapped in northern hardwoods. Most notable species was Hyparpax aurora, an
immaculate male, at the hut sunlamp/sheet!

At least 60 Noctuids were seen and taken at lights; some unusual species were Autographa rubida, mappa at the hut; Lithacodia concinnimacula, Pyrrhia exprimens in a north hardwoods barrow pit near Copper Harbor. Some 12-15 species of Acronicta, inluding quadrata, superans, laetifica, were recorded at MV/UV throughout the trip. Calophasia lunula male was again taken in a UV trap set on the huge Bullock Ranch^*, about 5 miles west of Seney (a male was taken a week before in the same exact spot!) -first records for the U.P.

Unfortunately, many species of Geometridae and 'Micros' were also seen and taken at lights, but will have to await further ID from 'experts'! Despite clear nights and a northerly breeze (at times), moth collecting was very productive!

^*Note from Owen: The Bullock Ranch

The Bullock Ranch near Seney, was the proving ground for Bullock Tractors in the early 1900s and was developed about 1912 by the maker of the Bullock Tractor, and operated for some years afterwards.

22 June 2003 Report from Owen with supplements by Mo

Mo and I left his hut in Otsego County on Sunday, June 16, and headed across Big Mac on a 5-day surveying trip across the Upper Peninsula. We stopped first at the Laketon lilacs and vetch at M28 & Luce Co Rd 413 (Luce Co.) and we encountered P. canadensis, C. lucia, G. lygdamus couperi, D. plexippus, C. tullia inornata, T. pylades, C. palaemon mandan, H. sassacus, P. themistocles, and P. hobomok

Next stop at the Luce Co Rd 421 bog west (Luce Co.) we encountered Boloria eunomia dawsoni and B. selene atrocostalis and at the bog east B. selene atrocostalis - saw no B. frigga saga.

Monday at the McCormick tract (Marquette Co.) we encountered I. augustinus, C. palaemon mandan, E. icelus and A. hegon.

At the lilacs south of Calumet (Houghton Co.) was P. selenis, C. tullia inornata and C. palaemon mandan. At Amygdule Rd old apple orchard (Houghton Co.) was P. selenis.

At Point Isabelle (Keweenaw Co. section14) was C. lucia, B. frigga saga, D. plexippus and O. jutta ascerta.

Monarch at Bog Laurel Point Isabelle

On Tuesday at Manganese Lake near Copper Harbor (Keweenaw Co.) was P. canadensis, P. themistocles and P. hobomok.

At Point Isabelle (Keweenaw Co. section 11) was B. frigga saga, D. plexippus and O. jutta ascerta.

Cottongrass at Point Isabelle bog Frigga Fritillary at Point Isabelle bog

On Wednesday at the Murphy Lake Rd, Churchill bog (Baraga Co.) was P. Canadensis, B. eunomia dawsoni, B. selene atrocostalis, P. selenis, O. jutta ascerta, E. icelus, and P. hobomok.

At the Shingleton site (Luce Co.) was P. selenis and C. tullia inornata.

On Thursday at Eckerman Corners trail (Chippewa Co.) was C. lucia, L. arthemis arthemis, E. icelus, E. juvenalis, C. palaemon mandan, P. themistocles, and A. hegon,

At the Wilwin Road bog (Chippewa Co.) was P. selenis, B. selene atrocostalis, and A. vialis.
On Friday at Allenville Quarry (Mackinac Co.) was G. lygdamus couperi, C. tullia inornata, D. plexippus and P. hobomok.

Mo will provide moth info.

21 June 2003 Report from Roger Kuhlman

On Saturday (June 21) I got my first hairstreak of the season while butterflying at Crosswinds Marsh (southwest Wayne county). It was a dark, almost black Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus) and was most likely a representative of the boreale subspecies. This subspecies is quite uncommon in our area and I think I have seen it maybe three or four of them over the past five years.

When I first saw this butterfly drop into the grasses near a stand of oaks, I thought I was viewing another small duskywing probably a Dreamy. But as I went closer to check out the butterfly I could see it had a blue patch and white lines on the hindwings. Tails were also evident. Surprisingly this 'black' Banded Hairstreak was the only hairstreak I saw on either Saturday or Sunday.

Despite the lack of hairstreaks both Saturday and Sunday were nice days for butterflying with a good diversity of species flying. For the day at Crosswinds Marsh alone, I tallied 31 species. Of course the Banded Hairstreak was the top highlight but other goodies included four species of Swallowtails, four late Dreamy Duskywings, a couple of Long Dash, my first Baltimore of the season, a Southern Cloudywing, six Bronze Coppers, and one lone Monarch.

Adding more spice to the butterflying was the presence of two very talkative Yellow-breasted Chats (uncommon bird species) discovered while checking out a new meadow area filled with plenty of blooming, butterfly-attracting clover.

Butterflying on Sunday was also very good with a total of 29 species seen in various spots in nw Washtenaw county. Two fresh Hackberry butterflies were discovered along a forested section of Cassidy road. One was spending time landing on patches of sunlight on the dirt road and the other seen perched on the trunk of a tree. Also on the dirt road I saw my first summer form Eastern Comma. At Park Lyndon North, I found a Silver-bordered Fritillary, two Harris' Checkerspots, and two Long Dashes where the trail winds its way through the fen. On nearby Embury road I saw Gray Comma and the first members of the summer brood Mustard White. The Boyce road meadows and wetlands produced Northern Cloudywing, Bronze Copper, Long Dash, and another Mustard White.

Altogether a very nice weekend of butterflying. Things seem to be shaping up well for our first two NABA Butterfly counts--Noggles Road Area [ June 30 ] and Chelsea Area [ July 5 ].

Saturday Species                                Sunday Species
=================                               =======================
Papilio glaucus                                 Papilio glaucus
Lycaena hyllus                                  Epargyreus clarus
Phyciodes tharos                                Limenitis arthemis astyanax
Limenitis archippus                             Pieris rapae
Vanessa virginiensis                            Ancyloxypha numitor
Limenitis arthemis astyanax                     Papilio troilus
Megisto cymela                                  Polygonia interrogationis
Celastrina neglecta                             Thymelicus lineola
Poanes hobomok                                  Phyciodes tharos
Epargyreus clarus                               Asterocampa celtis
Thymelicus lineola                              Polygonia comma
Erynnis icelus                                  Megisto cymela
Polites themistocles                            Poanes hobomok
Polygonia interrogationis                       Polites peckius
Pieris rapae                                    Boloria selene
Polites mystic                                  Chlosyne harrisii
Polites peckius                                 Polites mystic
Satyrium calanus boreale                        Satyrodes eurydice
Nymphalis antiopa                               Limenitis archippus
Papilio cresphontes                             Everes comyntas
Ancyloxypha numitor                             Polygonia progne
Papilio troilus                                 Pieris napi
Euphydryas phaeton                              Nymphalis antiopa
Vanessa atalanta                                Polites themistocles
Papilio polyxenes                               Thorybes pylades
Colias eurytheme                                Lycaena hyllus
Everes comyntas                                 Erynnis baptisiae
Colias philodice                                Euphydryas phaeton
Thorybes bathyllus                              Colias eurytheme
Erynnis juvenalis
Danaus plexippus

21 June 2003 Report from Owen

The report is forthcoming later today with some photos. Bob has done an excellent job in his report that follows and I will add what Mo and I did on our own. Later Mo will provide the moth information.

19 June 2003 Report from Bob Kriegel

Hi all,

I'm back. This second spring bog butterfly trip was 8 days long. Didn't lose any sampling time due to rain the entire trip. Wow! This trip follows the 9-day trip I took about 3 weeks ago, and a short overnighter
before that. This year I've been very fortunate to spend 18 days during the last month on the road crisscrossing the UP searching for bolorians and other leps, rocks and interesting photographic opportunities. This posting is the short version of my latest trip. I'll eventually get the full version with pictures up on my website. Owen, please feel free to post this message on LepAlert.
[note from Owen: Bob’s website is: http://www.msu.edu/user/kriegelr/ ]

I left on the morning of Thursday 6/12 heading for Ishpeming. Along the way I hit the following sites: Moran [Owen: aka Allenville quarry] quarry, Kenneth lilacs, Fiborn quarry, Laketon Lilacs, 421 bog and Seney rest area. I caught a black swallowtail at Kenneth. The sphingids were thick at Fiborn quarry: Hemaris thysbe, H. diffinis, H. gracilis and Amphion floridensis, but no Proserpinus flavofasciata. Candian tigers were every where, several monarchs were soaring around the century old lilacs and Amblyscirtes hegon and Poanes hobomok were flying on the road. At 421 bog Boloria frigga, B. selene atrocostalis, B. eunomia and O. jutta ascerta were all flying east of the road.

Just before sunset I searched out and f-I-n-a-l-l-y found Jasper Knob.

It is even more spectacular than I had imagined. It was too close to sunset (and I had 50 ASA film in the camera) to get any pictures. I've been searching for this well-known geological showpiece for a couple of years. Now that I've found it you can bet 'the knob' will be a frequent stop wherever I stay overnight in Ishpeming.

Early Friday morning (6/13) I drove to Watersmeet in Gogebic County and started the second half of the Ottawa National Forest survey work. The 3 days of sampling for the forest service was a lot of hard work, but I found O. jutta at 3 locations within the specified survey plot. The bog just NE of the Pomeroy Lake campground is very nice, as is the forest service campground. I saw about 8 jutta during a 1 hr transect through the bog and also came up with 2 eunomia. That's only the second location for eunomia in Gogebic County. We should put this bog and another one near Cisco Lake on our list to check for freija. Discoidalis is also possible but not highly probable. In several of the bogs I happened upon a small, fuzzy, black and orange caterpillar feeding on cotton grass and another species of bog grass. I would encounter 1 or 2 in a bog, but found over half a dozen total. Mo Nielsen thinks it's an arctiid. He had found them on his previous trip. We are both rearing a few to see what they are. The only other exciting finds during that 3 days were a Polygonia satyrus and a frenzied cluster of Canadian tigers on very fresh wolf dung – those pictures should be fun. Oh yeah, I also saw several monarchs. Looking at Mo's book later in the trip I think this is a county record [Note from Owen: previously vouchered 11 Aug 2000].

I also happened upon a freshly dead (still warm and flexible) barred owl that I ended up taking to the state game warden in the area to be submitted to MSU for West Nile virus testing. That happened after 5 pm on Saturday evening, so tracking down the proper authority and getting the owl to him turned out to be a fairly involved affair.

On Sunday 6/15 I drove to Silver City. Spent the evening photographing loons on Lake Superior and shooting a fabulous sunset. Monday morning (6/16) I drove up to Lake of da Clouds and hiked around that area. Unfortunately, no interesting leps there. However on my way out, back at Silver City I spent 30 minutes at an old, large patch of lilacs. Caught a black swallowtail, H. thysbe, H. gracilis and a county record monarch [note from Owen: previously vouchered 12 Aug 2000]. Then I headed NE to Ontonagon and east on M38. Stopped on high ground with lots of oxeye daisy along the roadside to see what was flying. I had stumbled on a large colony of Tulia inornata, that may have been a county record too [note from Owen: previously vouchered]. While I was sampling along the roadside a state vehicle pulled up. It was Bill Taft, a fellow lepidopterist. He was up there doing water quality sampling for MDNR and wanted to know if I knew where any good lilacs were that he could check for P. flavofasciata. I continued on and did the underground copper mine tour at the Adventure mine; that was cool. South of Calumet I paused along the roadside to talk to a woman who was selling native copper they had found in the Champion Mine dump and even in their own back yard using a metal detector. Finally, around 5 pm I pulled up to the Point Isabelle bog just as Mo and Owen were packing up to leave the bog. They had seen B. frigga, B. s. atrocostalis, and O. jutta. Small numbers of each, but they were all flying. As I headed into the bog, Owen pointed out a Boloria and I netted it. It turned out to be the only B. eunomia any of us actually caught at that site. That night (6/16) we ran sheets and set UV traps along Brockway Drive. We spent both Monday and Tuesday nights at Copper Harbor.

On Tuesday (6/17) we started by setting bait traps and checking out lilacs on a road heading SE from Copper Harbor. The huge patches of very old lilacs along this road are simply amazing. Then we checked out Lake Manganese and the abandoned Clark Mine dump. Next we headed back to Point
Isabelle for a long session in this bog. We worked a different spot than we had the day before and found numerous B. frigga saga and O. jutta. I spent about 1/2 hour following a couple of jutta and trying to get some good photographs. While trying to photograph a female frigga I saw her curl her abdomen and it looked like she laid an egg on a very small heather of some kind. When I brought the camera down from my eye I wasn't sure exactly which plant it was. I searched but found no egg. We'll see if the photos can shed any light on this. That evening I headed out to a sand quarry near the abandoned village of Mandan to search for datolite in an area of unsorted cobbles high on the quarry wall. I was following a tip from an
article in a rock hounding magazine. Around dusk Mo joined me for an evening of blacklighting. We were fortunate to get some cloud cover and the temperature rose from 54.6F at 10 pm to over 58F when we left just before 1 am. The evening started out slowly but we ended up getting quite a few moths, including a couple of nice ones Mo had been hoping for.

On Wednesday (6/18) we headed south to a bog SE of Covington where Mark Churchill recently discovered B. frigga. We didn't see any frigga but did come away with B. eunomia, B. s. atrocostalis and O. jutta. As we left the bog, Mo pointed out moose tracks on the 2-track that led to the bog. The tracks continued for several hundred feet along the 2-track. By the way, this is only a couple of miles from where a moose crossed the road in front of Harry King and I on my previous trip. Late in the afternoon we stopped at the classic northern blue site east of Shingleton to check on the phenology of its host plant, dwarf bilberry. We then tried to find a larger opening in the jack pines to the east where Mo and Ted Herig found a thriving population of the blue well over a decade ago. We didn't find the spot, but once we got to our motel in Seney, I loaded the GPS tracks for the day into my laptop computer and displayed where we walked over an aerial photograph of the site. We discovered that we had indeed been very
close to the locality and learned where we had gone wrong. After dinner we set traps and went to bed. At 4:30 am we got up and went to check the lights at the Seney rest area for moths. I found an immaculate H. Columbia on a bench at our motel. There were not many moths at the lights. It was quite cold, possibly 40F or lower.

By 6:30 am on Thursday (6/19) we had eaten breakfast and were heading NE to Paradise and Whitefish Point. There I photographed beach rocks and a passing freighter. Once it warmed up we headed to Eckerman Corners trail to search for the early hairstreak. We were way too late. Only a few worn C. lucia and a couple of immaculate white admirals were up and about. At this point I left Mo and Owen and headed home.

Boy, does my grass need cutting.

18 June 2003 Report from Dana Gring (Ohio)

We went to 421 bog on 6/14 and found B. frigga and O. jutta worn with just a couple nice keepes each. B. eunomia was just coming out and in ex. fresh condition and good numbers. This was my first time to take it in good numbers We also took a mass of about 20 H. maia larva also. We then came back down the road and stopped at 413/28 intersection (old homestead that Bob told me about. Lilacs were waning, not much around, but in the vetch on both sides of 28 were large numbers of G. lygdamus, with many females taken along with tons of males observed. All were very fresh. I also took one diffinus sphinx, hoping for gracilis and flavofaciata, but none seen.

Sunday we stopped at Thompson Harbor, just in time for the first batesii and nycteis flight, all ex. fresh. Numbers of nycteis was high, but batesii not at height yet, and males only. Hianna was fresh, saw three or four, and saw one E. martialis, many E. lucilius and icelus. Took one fresh C. tullia and two or three fresh F. tarquinius.

Later in the day we stopped at F38 and Big Creek rd (just n. of along dirt rd), looking for more batesii. Saw a few more here, along with only female, and looked for gracilis coming to nectar. May have seen one, probably diffinus, along with a couple worn olympia, one worn metea, and lots of arctic skippers. All in all a good trip.

Following the very successful MES meeting at the MSU Tollgate Center in NOVI:

L to R: Robert D. Kriegel, Mogens C. “Mo” Nielsen, and John Keeler.

These three are also members of the D&S group formed by Martin Andree

who was elected to the Governing Board of MES.

Notice the hats with the emblem of Skull and Cross-nets!

Following the Michigan Entomological Society meeting

at the MSU Tollgate Center in NOVI:

Robert D. “Bob” Kriegel, the new MES President-elect.

Congratulations Bob!

NOTICE:

In June 2004 the Annual Meeting of MES will be the 50^th Anniversary of the organization.

PLAN to attend. More Info to be published later.

03 June 2003 Report from Mark Churchill via message to Mo

Nice to hear from you! I haven't reported back to you for two weekends. This last weekend my cousin Mike from Nebraska came up to visit and go butterflying. This was his first time collecting in a bog. He says it was the toughest collecting he'd ever done, but unique and challenging.

We left on Fri, which with the rain and cold, was a washout but we drove all the way to crystal falls. At the hotel we learned that you, Owen, and Bob had also stayed at the same hotel! The next day was much better and we started off to explore for sites new to us. We drove north on US 141 until we reached Covington, backtracked a bit, and went down King Lake Rd. where we found a neat looking bog on the south side of the road. When it warmed up a bit, no sooner had Mike stepped into the bog, he caught his first frigga! Things were becoming more interesting! After a few hours we had each caught 2 or 3 frigga and 1 jutta each (one of my favorites). The site is in Baraga Co, R. 33 W., T. 48 N., S. 30 off King Lake Rd. south side. Please inform Bob K. if you think this is a new site for him. [note from Owen: This IS a new site.]

Next we explored the Logan Rd. site that Bob informed me of (near Crystal Falls). It was around 5pm and clear, about 60 degrees F., but we observed no discoidalis. We did see one frigga (I think - based on it's size and dark basal area, dorsal side), and two jutta.

Sunday we went to the 421 bog. Saw many frigga and captured a few. Saw 2 jutta at the USFS 3141 bog, Chippewa Co. I also caught a neat fast flying bee - like (in behavior) cat ( I think ). It has about a 0.75" wingspan, solid yellow/orange hind wings and cryptic gray and black forewings. It was hard to catch! I am saving it for you. I don't think it is the species Bob told be to watch for but it may be of interest to you. I think it is a female. There was another one near it but it spiraled up so fast and erratically even my sharp eyes couldn't follow it!

We looked for Erora laetus at the "Churchill Site" to no avail (not surprisingly). There is quite a lot of what I think is beaked hazelnut there. I'm confident we will find her there again! Please inform me if you think finding fresh laetus this spring is too late. How about the second brood - when should I search for it?

On Monday Mike and I went south to look for marcellus and dark form glaucus. We didn't see either, but we did see 2 cresphontes, many yellow glaucus males and a few females, numerous troilus, and 3 polyxenes. We also ran across Bill Westrate on Churchill Rd. (it seems destiny I should catch my first MI marcellus on Churchill Rd. ! ). He said he hadn't seen any marcellus in a few years, and with the cold spring and the late date, he thought it would be a long shot for marcellus. He asked me about you. I told him you were all right except for the bog swim you took awhile back! Ha Ha!

The weekend [May31-June1] before last I went to Channing and found a fair number of discoidalis and freija there. Returned east to St. Ignace but weather turned sour and didn't see any eryphon. I didn't see any last weekend either.

Well, that’s my report for now! Talk to you soon!

4 Jun 2003 Report from Bob Kriegel

After that long trip to the UP I had to spend the weekend doing chores and yardwork. While mowing the lawn on Sunday June 1st I saw the following species: Papilio ployxenes, P. glaucus, P. troilus, Pieris rapae, Lycaena phlaeus americana, Celastrina ladon, Phyciodes tharos, Nymphalis antiopa, Epargyreus clarus and Ancyloxpha numitor.

03 June 2003 Note from Owen

I have been under the weather the last few days. Thus my expectations to go north and the U.P. are on hold. I hope to be better by the weekend and be able to go north some time after the MES meeting, but the weather doesn’t look favorable as of today.

03 June 2003 Report from Mo

I returned from the hut yesterday just after 6:30PM, having spent Sun. and Mon till 2PM under beautiful sunny skies, with a gentle NW breeze. Condition are still somewhat retarded, i.e. basswood leaves at about 2 inches, aspen leaves still not fully developed, black berry flower heads still not developed. Choke berries in full bloom, likewise, bird's foot violets, blueberries, yet trilliums have faded to light reddish purple.

In that time, I observed 14 species of butterflies/skippers, with Papilio canadensis very numerous-everywhere and nectaring on lilacs and choke cherries. Celastrina ladon still common, but fading, whereas Lycaena phlaeas americana and Poanes hobomok just appearing. Oeneis chryxus strigulosa still present in dry open sites with their larval host plant, Carex pennsylvanica. Vouched one immaculate female with considerable orange brown on dorsal side!

Perhaps the most interesting records were Papilio polyxenes asterius male (tried but eluded the net), and vouchered Carterocephalus palaemon mandan on my '40'-a first for me! The Incisalia niphon clarki females were sunning on piney trails. Observed Euchloe olympia ovi-positing on a lone Arabis drummondii.

There were a couple of near-misses of 'ufo's that makes one feel that either new glasses or more 'get-up-and-go' is needed!! ha.

I had a great time at the Chippewa Nature Center, 'Bio-Bllitz' on Fri. eve and all day Sat. John Keeler and daughter were attracted to my MV/UV/sheet-surprised me!! ha. Otherwise, leps were still 'shivering' when I departed!

30 May 2003 Report from Bob Kriegel

Howdy do y'all,

I'm back from nine straight days in the UP, eh. Have many tales to tell in the next few days, don't cha know. Tails of moose, deer, fischer, porcupine, skunk, bald eagles, snow geese, copper mines -- and, oh yeah dose scaly winged thins. For now, let me respond to Mo's message about the new B. freija location at Whitefish Point.

The Whitefish Point Marina entrance is on the right (east) side of the road as Mo described. On the other (west) side of the road is the SE end of a narrow, strip-like ridge and swale bog that runs to the NW in an arc. Bog is in the swale and the ridges are dry jack pine. We've seen that before, eh captain. The entire Point is littered with this kind of habitat. We have black lighted on the ridge just north of this bog several times in the last few years. The ridges are Nippising stage strand lines from 5,500 - 6,000 yrs ago when the lake level was higher. A series of these ridges were left as the lake level declined. Its not the prettiest bog I've ever seen, but it certainly could harbor B. freija. I was in that immediate area from 9 am to noon today. Unfortunately, it was raining, cool, windy and overcast the entire time. I didn't bother trying to work the bog. Been there before and done that. You can't budge these critters in that kind of weather. Would encourage anyone with time on their hands to make a day trip this weekend (Sunday) to check it out. Otherwise, it will have to
wait until next year.

The WFPBO is Ken's message stands for, "Whitefish Point Bird Observatory". That's the official name of dat white building across from the maritime museum. The place is birding central for the entire eastern half of da UP. For those who just can't wait to read the full story, here are the headlines from my trip:

- Bog rosemary is in FULL BLOOM near the M123 bog and lilacs in Luce County are starting to show a hint of color. Serviceberry nearing the end of bloom inland in eastern UP. B. frigga will be flying there very very soon, if its not already.
- The Point is farther behind. Serviceberry is still in full bloom, with wild cherry bloom starting.
- Yesterday (May 29th): O. jutta was starting to fly at Point Isabelle. No sign of any Boloria though. Bog rosemary flowers still tightly closed. And, there are definitely moose on da loose in dat bog! Incisalia polia was dirt common among abundant bearberry on Brockway Drive in the Keweenaw. Bearberry flowers were fully formed, but not yet open. Serviceberry, strawberry and dandelions in full bloom. It was sunny, with a light breeze in the mid 70s. Wish ya coulda been there -- but then we'd a hav ta share. Had da call Mo on my cell phone over a lunch of smoked kippers at the overlook, just ta gloat :-) As I drove from Point Isabelle to Seney yesterday evening, I noticed that lilacs are in bloom inland from Houghton east to Shingleton.
- Tuesday (May 27th): Gogebic county record for O. jutta. Also, a few Polygonia with one P. satyrus, I think. Several nice pine elfins, need to double check which species.
- Monday (May 26th): Captured Boloria bellona and B. selene atrocostalis in Gogebic County. After gathering wood to bridge a moat into a new Gogebic County bog, I stepped off the end of my bridge and broke through a thin mat up to my thighs in muck, camera backpack and all. Needless to say, I did not get into that bog :-( Sunday (May 25th): P. faunus and satyrus in the vicinity of Masters E. discoidalis location near Baraga State Park. Very very beginning of B. frigga emergence at Big Lake. Bog rosemary just starting to bloom. Pieris virginiensis flying in mixed hardwoods among trillium in reliable Baraga county location. Late in the day Harry and I head in opposite directions.
- Saturday (May 24th): B. freija and E. discoidalis flying in significant numbers in Iron County. Condition for both ranged from immaculate to average. It felt like peak flight to me. Repeated a visual observation of E. discoidalis NW of Amasa, but no voucher again this year.
- Friday (May 23rd): During morning, visual sighting of E. discoidalis at McFarland bog, in Marquette County (NEW LOCATION AND EASTERN RANGE EXTENSION). Did not see B. freija, but would expect it to be found there too. I'm afraid this one will tease us until next year. Spent afternoon at the Marquette barrens where Harry and I rediscovered E. discoidalis last year. They were present in large numbers again, over a much wider area, including two observations in copula. The barrens are definitely their home! This site will require substantial future work; including a rearing study, identification of unknown grasses/sedges, and direct comparison to
the only other known dry site (near McNair, MN I think). O. chryxus was also flying.
- Observed four out of the 6 Boloria species in the Superior watershed in a single trip -- certainly, never done that before.

30 May 2003 Report from Duke Elsner

Sorry I have not been keeping up my end of the survey work this year-- lots of conflicting uses of my time have popped up.

Gayla and I have made an offer on a house in Interlochen (we were not even officially 'looking" when we checked it out on an open house showing) and now we are busy getting our current home ready to sell. I have had few opportunities to break loose from this task to see what's flying around here.

If we manage to sell ours and get the new place, my workspace for leps will double! I won't see many butterflies on the property though- 1 1/2 acres of woods, surrounded by more woods. Mainly oak (red and white) and maple, no conifers. Sugaring baits will be brewed up long before closing!

I saw clearly, but could not manage to capture despite several attempts, a black swallowtail in Excelsior township, Kalkaska County (not on Mo's list for Kalkaska, I think) on Thursday, May 29.

Canadian tiger swallowtails came out in full force earlier this week. C. lucia and silvery blues are out in many places. The first small sphingids have been seen at lights.

28 May 2003 Report from Harry King (trip to UP)
The most important thing was the colony of Erebia discoidalis in the Marquette Pine Barrens we discovered last year. We found them over in the next section as well. But more importantly they are breeding in the Pine Barrens. I found a pair in copulation twice during our sampling. One at around 3:30 PM and the other around 5:00 PM. From this we know this is a breeding colony using the Pine Barrens as opposed to a bog habitat and Erebia discoidalis breeds between 3:30-5:00 PM in the afternoon. Hopefully Bob's pictures will come out good.

24 May 2003 Report from Owen

Mo and I were in the Upper Peninsula from the 18th through the 22nd. Boloria freija and Erebia discoidalis were reaching peak in the Western U.P. Both were seen in rather good numbers. Boloria freija was just at the first stage of flight period in the Eastern U.P. The weather has not been the most desirable with frost at night and the temps dropping into the low low 30s and although reaching into the 60s during the day, it was usually mostly cloudy and windy. Not ideal.

We encountered in the U.P.: C. interior, I. augustinus, I. polia, I. niphon, C. lucia, B. bellona, B. freija, P. progne, N. vau-album j-album, Nymphalis antiopa, V. virginiensis, E. discoidalis, Oeneis chryxus strigulosa, Erynnis icelus, and E. juvenalis. An attempt to bait trap for Polygonias was not successful, nor was bait trapping for moths of much success as the cold nights, windy cloudy and cool days reduced the potential.

I am anxious to go north to the NLP (Northern Lower Peninsula) later this week, next weekend and/or the following week in order to be back for the Michigan Entomological Society meeting to be held on June 6 and 7.

24 May 2003 Report from Dana Gring (Ohio)

Just a short note. Tom and I went to Allegan last Sunday May 18 and saw the very beginning of H. metea, I. irus and E. olympia, most starting in the afternoon. All were very fresh. I am looking for H. metea and then A. hianna when it comes out. The prairie in Newago for O. chryxus looked to be at least a week to 10 days behind Allegan by the looks of the vegetation. Nothing was near coming out and we left for Allegan. Glad we did.

24 May 2003 Report from Roger Kuhlman

I was at Petersburg SGA May 6 and vouchered two Duskywings. One I am confident is a Wild Indigo Duskywing (Erynnis baptisiae). The second one could be persius since the apical spots looked to be fairly aligned but is probably baptisiae too. If the weather cooperates (substantial sun), I plan to visit Petersburg on Monday. My expectations of finding rarities are quite low but interesting butterflies like Erynnis icelus, Thorybes pylades, Thorybes bathyllus, Achalarus lyciades, and Lycaena helloides either should or could be flying.

By the way when I was at Petersburg May 6, I had one Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) among the scads of American Painted Ladies present at the site. Last year I missed seeing even one Painted Lady for the season and our Greater Washtenaw County Survey only recorded two butterflies of the species each
seen by seperate observers in September. I hope the early sighting is an indication of more Painted Ladies to come this year.

16 May 2003 Report from Owen

Members and friends of the Michigan Entomological Society – Michigan Lepidoptera Survey (aka MI Lep Survey) are surveying starting Friday, May 16 in Northern Lower Peninsula and starting on Sunday, May 17 almost continuously through about Thursday, May 29, depending on the weather. Reports will be forth coming upon the completion of the survey efforts. Further surveys are planned. If you wish to participate contact Owen at lepalert@comcast.net for further information. Leave your name and a telephone number such that I may contact you. I will not be returning email messages during this period of time. I will only be replying by telephone. No UPDATES until about the end of May.

http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/MES/MES.html

12 May 2003 Notes from Owen

Some members of the Michigan Lepidoptera Survey committee have plans to survey in the Upper Peninsula starting May 18 and at varying times after that including through about the end of the month.

This includes searching to document historical sites, new potential habitat locations, obtaining DD50 data and determine range extensions among other projects. Specifically, I will be surveying for bog obligate species, such as Boloria freija, Erebia discoidalis, Boloria frigga saga, and Boloria eunomia dawsoni. In conjunction with this activity I will be on the lookout for Oeneis chryxus strigulosa and for Oeneis jutta ascerta as this is an odd number year in which jutta are more prevalent. I will also be bait trapping for Polygonia satyrus and Polygonia gracilis. In addition I will be surveying for Incisalia henrici, Erora laetus, and Everes amyntula. There are a number of skippers also on my list as well as Pontia protodice and a few other species in the UP for new county records.

I will also be on the lookout for any Monarch in the Upper Peninsula to report to Journey North.

If you sight any Monarch in Michigan or Milkweed first leaves, please report it to Journey North and inform me also, or report it directly to me so I may report it to Journey North.

Western tailed blue (Everes amyntula)

If you are interested in hooking up with some of us, telephone me at 248-288-3769 or email me at lepalert@comcast.net

9 May 2003 Report from Mark Schmidt (of Ohio)

Eacles imperialis pini has provided me with a new experience. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but having raised E. imperialis imperialis for decades, I found that this species has never shown a tendency towards mating in cages or hand pairing. However, its subspecies, E. pini seems to have altogether different sex drive. Males readily pair with the females in close quarters. Their instinct has been one to rival that of Anthereaea pernyi males which tend to attempt copulation with anything with wings.

As evidence, I present the following scenario. Last night, I cleared out my pupation bucket of any adults that had eclosed since early morning. Two males and one female eclosed sometime after midnight. In the morning, I discovered that one of the males copulated with the female. He must have sought her out shortly after expanding his wings. To his disadvantage, the wings were not dry. As he assumed the traditional head-down position for the male, the soft wings folded and dried above his head.

Is this a sad story? Perhaps not, since he had fulfilled his genetic destiny by passing on his genes to the next generation. Though he may never fly, his offspring might.

photo by Mark Schmidt, © 2003
(Eacles imperalis pini)

May 3, 2003 Note from Owen

Any plans this weekend?

May 3, 2003 Note from Owen

Be alert for the Monarch migration. Journey North indicates that they have been sighted in northern Indiana and Northern Ohio.

May 2, 2003 Request from Cindy Schmid, Journey North

Hello Owen ,

The Monarchs will soon be reaching the Michigan border! In most years, few monarchs from Mexico probably advance as far as your state. Instead, it's their offspring that will arrive during the next month. There may be a lull before they appear, but we hope you're ready to report your FIRST adult monarch.

Here's the latest migration map, which shows the arrival of the monarchs last week:

Latest Monarch Migration Map:
"http://www.learner.org/jnorth/spring2003/species/monarch/index.html"

* We hope you'll keep your eyes on the skies and report back when you see your FIRST adult monarch of the season.

* Monarch Habitat Ready? We're also eager to know if local milkweeds are ready for the monarchs. Please report when the leaves on first milkweeds emerge.

Thanks for your help in tracking the migration from Mexico!

Regards,
Cindy Schmid, Journey North
"http://www.learner.org/jnorth"

************************************************************
How to Report to Journey North
************************************************************
E-mail: Simply reply to this message! Be sure to include your town that you are reporting from.

Web: "http://www.learner.org/jnorth"
On the Web, click the "owl" button on any page and fill out a Field Report form.

If you use the Web it's much more efficient for us. However, ANY way you report is greatly appreciated!

So, fellow lepidopterists, email me (Owen A. Perkins at lepalert@comcast.net ) upon sighting adult Monarchs in Michigan and/or emerged Milkweed leaves so I may make the report OR make the report yourself and also let me know that you did, so I may alert others!

May 2, 2003 Report from Duke Elsner

I've been completely swamped between work and renovating an ancient bathroom at home, so I have not been out searching for leps. One cabbage white passed through my yard on April 27.

A few of the western poplar sphinx pupae I have been holding on to since September of 2001 finally emerged last week. This species was a challenge to get to adulthood. A few adults emerged by surprise very quickly after pupating in 2001, and the rest went into dormancy. I took them through at least three cycles of refrigeration and subsequent warming without inducing any more to develop. After a long stay in the refrigerator, the last warming has finally resulted in some adults, after well over a year and a half in the pupal stage. Coming from New Mexico, perhaps they are more affected by swings in moisture rather than temperature... but I did try to provide moisture cues as well!!

May 2, 2003 Note from Owen

Mark Schmidt (of Ohio) and I have been communicating for several years. We have communicated especially pertaining to some of the silk moths, and Papilio cresphontes, Papilio troilus, and especially pertaining to Papilio philenor and Eurytides marcellus. Last year he queried me: “I have E. imperialis pini that I'd like to mate next year with a wild male. Do you ever travel north for any reasons in late May/early June?”

I replied that I do and would work with Mo and Ted Herig since they are the experts for this type of activity and locations. So Mark supplied me with 6 pupa. When they emerge and when it is a ripe time to travel to sites Mo has suggested for this unique activity I (or we, Mo and/or Ted) will attempt to mate Mark’s females with a wild male.

I copied one of the Eacles imperalis pini pupa as shown below:

A recent email from Mark indicates the following: “Just a heads-up. I had a female Eacles imperalis pini eclose this morning. You may have eclosures in the next few weeks. It seems that the adults appear as the hard pines begin to pollinate as indicated by the purple stamen at developing buds.”

photo by Mark Schmidt, © 2003
(Eacles imperalis pini)

April 29, 2003 Note from Owen

Be alert for the Monarch migration. Journey North indicates that they are north of the 40^th degree parallel in Illinois. http://www.learner.org/jnorth/images/graphics/monarch/monarch_map042503.html

Links to some useful web sites

http://www.nagypal.net/links.htm

April 29, 2003 Query from Rob and Molly

I was just wondering if you could tell me the name of this butterfly. I was walking through the woods and found it lying off the path and took this picture. (Thank you for the photo.)

Thank you

(Note from Owen: This is truly one of the most beautiful butterflies with its Royal Purple upper, Blue spotting, and Yellow margins. The specimen you saw over-wintered [hibernated] as an adult and thus is not as brilliant as newly emerged adults later this spring. The yellow in this specimen is almost an off-white. This is the Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa). What a beauty!

Go to Listed species at this website for the address and info on the book Michigan Butterflies and Skippers.

April 29, 2003 Report from John Farmer

At 11:30 A.M. on 4/29/03 a bright Tiger Swallowtail moved northward through the wooded river bank behind the house here at 13475 Petersburg Road.

April 29, 2003 from Roger Kuhlman

Butterfly species numbers are starting to rise to respectable levels in southeast Michigan. On Saturday April 26, I surveyed Crosswinds Marsh in southwest Wayne County and found seven species. Among them were my first American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) and my first two Sleepy Duskywings (Erynnis brizo).

The next day Sunday April 27, I surveyed the Nature Conservancy's Nan Weston Preserve and neighboring state game lands in southwest Washtenaw County. The species total increased to eight for the day. Among them was my first Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). It was floating and landing on the floor of the Beech-Maple forest at Nan Weston. The very smallness of the butterfly made quite an impression. Another good find for the day was a lone Gray Comma (Polygonia progne) on state game lands off of Prospect Hill Road.

This site also produced disappointment since no duskywings or Pine Elfins (Incisalia niphon) were flying at the White Pine-dry prairie location there. During the past four years, Pine Elfins have been consistently found here. Hopefully they are still there and will eclose sometime this week.

On Monday April 28, I visited the Geology Center area in northwest Washtenaw County and had a total of 10 species for the day. The best finds were Brown Elfins (Incisalia augustinus) at Cedar Lake bog and a second Blueberry bog north off of Bush Road. At both locations the Brown Elfins seemed most interested in the Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata) and it would not surprise me if they are using it as their host plant. Other good butterfly species Monday included two more Tiger Swallowtails, a Sleepy Duskywing, and three American Painted Ladies. One of the American Painted Ladies was visiting Pussy-toes that were just coming into bloom and spending a lot of time at the plants--a possible indication of oviposition. Again on Monday there was more disappointment in not finding Pine Elfin, this time at Cedar Lake. The campground area at Cedar Lake has several nice patches of White Pine and has been over the years the traditional location to find the Pine Elfin in Washtenaw County. However getting the timing just right to see Pine Elfins there always seems to be tricky. First the species never seems to stay out and be visible for an extended period of time. More trouble arises from the fact that either the campground maintenance people mow down all good nectar sources (Pussy-toes and Wild Strawberry) for the butterfly at the site or squads of hungry dragonflies overrun the area. On top of all this, the breeding population there does not seem large--I have never seen more than 10 Pine Elfins at any one time. The butterfly could well be at risk for a local extinction. That would be a tremendous shame since it is such a beautiful species.

As things now stand I plan to survey Petersburg SGA for persius on Sunday May 4 or soon thereafter when weather conditions prove favorable. Owen, I would be happy if you could join me. (Roger, It would be my pleasure to hike with you again. Let me check the weather forecast, degree days and potential species besides persius. Keep in touch.)

Olive Hairstreak in Monroe or Lenawee County? Is there hope? Where would you look? I might be interested in such an expedition if I could learn more. I have vaguely wondered in the past if I should not check some areas in Washtenaw County where good patches of Red Cedar grow but have mostly considered the effort a wild 'Regal' chase. (Roger: We should check out the Red Cedar sites! This species has not been observed in Michigan, but close by at Point Pelee in Canada, so it is not such a remote possibility. Do you know of any Red Cedar sites that also have Redbud or other nectar sources nearby?)

April 26-28 Butterflying Summary from Roger Kuhlman:
======================================================================
Crosswind Marsh          Sharon Valley Area        Geology Center Area
---------------          ------------------        -------------------
Mourning Cloak           Spring Azure              Spring Azure
Cabbage White            Mustard White             Eastern Comma
Red Admiral              Eastern Comma             Mustard White
Sleepy Duskywing         Mourning Cloak            Brown Elfin
Spring Azure             Tiger Swallowtail         American Painted Lady
American Painted Lady    Red Admiral               Mourning Cloak
Eastern Comma            Cabbage White             Cabbage White
                         Gray Comma                Red Admiral
                                                   Sleepy Duskywing
                                                   Tiger Swallowtail
=======================================================================

April 28, 2003 from Mo

Ted and Terry Herig and I went to the hut on April 25-27, hoping to find a few moths 'worthing' of collecting! The predicted weather was favorable, so we thought; unfortunately, we found it otherwise, with lows in the mid/upper 20's, and windy under clear skies. In two nights, using a MV/UV/sheet, only three (specimens) 'macro-moths' came in: Brachionycha. borealis, Psaphida rolandi, styracis and Gluphisia lintneri. Nothing of note was seen flying along sand trails in aspen-pine barrens, except for a few tiny micros, Adela purpurea, nectaring on willow catkins. "You can't win all the time! ha"

April 27, 2003 from John C. Farmer

Butterflies have been few and far between for me so far this spring. I've had your trap up behind the house for the past several days, as well as a few days in late March when we had that warm spell. Thought I'd pick up a Mourning Cloak and a Comma or two by now, but no such luck. Have had a couple of Polygonia's buzzing around the trap, but none entered yet.

Two cabbage whites at home today, and one punctuation mark (couldn't get a positive ID on it - size would say a comma, but this time of year I know either species would be small) while out on an archaeological survey this afternoon. A red admiral yesterday. A few other Polygonia sp.'s over the past couple of weeks. And one spring azure - that was in Hillsdale County.

April 27, 2003 from Owen

One Redbud tree is in full bloom in Royal Oak in Oakland county and another is about ready to burst into bloom. That means that the Redbud in Monroe, Lenawee and Hillsdale counties should be in bloom and it is time to think about the Olive Hairstreak! Has Terry Herig been to Kentucky this year and seen it there in April? What about a go at it Mo?

April 21, 2003 from Roger Kuhlman

LepAlert looks great. It is very nice having this source of Michigan Lepidoptera news. (Thank you Roger!)

I have a question about Incisalia irus (Frosted Elfin) and its host plants. I just checked out the classic Opler and Krizek "Butterflies East of the Great Plains" and it lists Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis) and Wild Indigo (Baptisia tinctoria) as hostplants for the species. I know Mo only lists Lupine as a hostplant in Michigan but I wonder if tinctoria could also serve as well here too.

(Owen says: It has been noted in other places that tinctoria may be the larval host so, Roger, I suggest you look for it at Petersburg.)

Petersburg State Game Area has both Lupine and Wild Indigo (tinctoria). The Wild Indigo is rather common there and serves to support a thriving Erynnis baptisia (Wild Indigo Duskywing) population at the site. I have never found Frosted Elfin at Petersburg but I have never specifically looked for it among the Wild Indigo plants not knowing of this connection. It would sure be nice to have I. irus established or re-established at Petersburg SGA. How is irus doing statewide?

Owen replies:

I. irus has been recorded per my records from May 8 to May 31 in various years in Allegan County. The earliest flight date is 25 April at 173 DD50 and the optimum seems to be about 265. The DD50 at Petersburg SGA for April 24 2003 was 139 and predicted to be on May 4 at 184. So, I suggest you survey for it beginning the first of May. We would need vouchers for this species in historical and new sites. The lupine and indigo habitats seem likely in Monroe and nearby counties! Roger, let me know when you are going to survey in the Petersburg SGA, I would like to join you for irus, persius, samuelis and hianna.

April 20, 2003 from Harry King

If you have looked at the degdays lately you have noticed they are ahead of last year by lots. I looked back over the last 6-7 years and the years they compare like 1999 and 2000 and some others we would be looking at around the 4-6 May ( 1st weekend ) the leading edge and 10-11 May ( 2nd weekend ) right on target for E. discoidalis. I hope to take 3-4 days western end UP. Are there any other discoidalis hunters out there ?

Note from Owen. It seems the degdays for 2003 have caught up with 2002 as of April 24. See chart below for Upper Peninsula data.

Go to this site for the whole state information and for the future:

http://www.agweather.geo.msu.edu/Misc-Data/degday2.txt

ACCUMULATIONS SINCE MARCH 1 2003 (*)

                     BASE 42 BE DEGREE-DAYS        BASE 50 BE DEGREE-DAYS

 STATION

   OR              AS OF 04/24     BY     BY      AS OF 04/24    BY     BY

 DISTRICT           2002  2003    04/29  05/04     2002  2003   04/29  05/04

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+

WEST UP NORMS**             99     130    169              37     52     72

  HOUGHTON            77    74      80    102        37    24     25     31

  IRONMTN            131   157     170    216        76    66     69     84

  IRONWOOD           113   123     133    169        60    56     58     71

  MARQUETTE           98   113     122    155        57    45     47     57

  STAMBAUGH          120   113     122    155        66    44     46     56

  STEPHENSON         152   156     169    214        75    70     73     89

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+

EAST UP NORMS               55      79    109              14     22     32

  CHATHAM             96    76      84    112        50    23     25     31

  CORNELL            106    95     105    141        52    31     34     42

  MUNISING            88    58      64     86        44    16     17     22

  NEWBERRY            90    62      69     92        43    16     17     22

  SSMARIE             80    86      95    127        41    24     26     33

So, the chart bears out what Harry is saying. The weekend of May 4 will be the (very) leading edge in the western upper peninsula for both Erebia discoidalis and Boloria freija (at about 90 DD50). Since the optimum degdays for both species is about 150 DD50, the following weekend or thereafter, may approach optimum degdays.

However, if the western upper peninsula has exactly the same weather as last year for the period May 7 through May 31, 150DD50 won’t be reached until May 28.

However, if the western upper peninsula has exactly the same weather as in 2001 for the period May 1 through May 15, 150DD50 will be reached by May 9.

SO, WE WILL JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE WHAT THE WEATHER BRINGS OR IS PREDICTED TO BRING IN THE NEXT 7 TO 14 DAYS…

Harry, I am ready! (Owen)

April 25 from Mark Schmidt (Thank you Mark!)

Thought I'd share a pleasant harbinger of spring with you. I've had two female zebra swallowtails hatch so far. I had my first silk moth hatch too; a luna moth!

photo by Mark Schmidt, © 2003
Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides Marcellus)

April 25, 2003 from Linda Koning (Thank you Linda!)

This week April 23, I found about a dozen Viceroy Limenitis archippus hibernaculums on what I think are Sandbar Willows Salix exigua. They were on 3'-5' trees, mostly about 3-4 feet off the ground. There were 2 larva seen inside the hibernaculums and 2 laying on top. One was a 4th stage larva. Yesterday April 24 there were 2, 3rd-stage larva, and 4 outside on the outside of the hibernaclums enjoying the wonderfully mild 64 degree weather. The 4th-stage larva was missing. (Lunch for some other hungry creature?). The location was Hudsonville Nature Center in Ottawa County. It was a fun discovery for me because I had never found any in spring before.

photo by Linda Koning, © 2003
Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) hibernaculum

April 22, 2003 from Owen A. Perkins

On Saturday April 12, my son Paul and I left Royal Oak for the U.P. to place a HOBO Temperature Data Logger in a bog in Luce County. The purpose is to collect the MAXIMUM and MINIMUM temperatures in the bog to compare with the corresponding data from the Newberry Weather Station for Degree Day comparisons. When we arrived at the site at 3:00 P.M. it was cloudy and cold. The road was covered with water and was running from the west side across the road to the east side. It was questionable if even with a jeep we would be safe to traverse the distance to the bog. It wasn’t easily discernable as to the depth of the water, but more importantly if the road was soft under the water such that even a jeep might have a problem, we were going to chance it with no assistance in sight. As late afternoon was approaching and no evidence that other autos had gone through, but many tracks where cars had turned around we put on our bog boots, gathered up the equipment we needed and walked along the edge on the snow.

The bog was snow covered and seemed colder than when out of the bog.

The HOBO temperature data logger was secured beside a tamarack.

What a difference a season makes. Just think, in about a month we will be surveying this bog for Boloria frigga.

April 21, 2003 from Owen A. Perkins

I will update this site within the next couple of days with information about my trip to the Upper Peninsula as well as provide some information about the degree days for 2003 compared to previous years as was brought to my attention by Harry King. You will note that I have changed the format of the ALERT UPDATE section. Any suggestions or constructive criticism?

April 17, 2003 from Roger Kuhlman

See Roger’s web-site entitled Greater Washtenaw County Butterfly Survey Homepage at:
http://home.att.net/~r.a.kuhlman/SEMIYTD2001.htm

Intermittent warm weather in Southeast Michigan in the second and third weeks of April has begun to bring out some other butterfly species than our typical over-winterers. Cabbage Whites (Pieris rapae) are appearing on the scene with more regularity and the first migrant butterfly Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) was found April 16 in two locations in Ann Arbor.

Of special interest was the sighting of two Brown Elfins (Incisalia augustinus) on April 14 by Roger Wykes at the Discovery Center in the Waterloo Recreation Area in northwestern Washtenaw County. That tied the earliest sighting date for the species in the nine-year history of the Greater Washtenaw County Survey.

Altogether our Survey has reported seven or eight species of butterflies so far this season. The one species in doubt is a possible Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) seen on April 14. Only the underside of the butterfly was seen and it appeared to have a question mark on it. Its size was reported as seeming bigger than Eastern Commas seen that same day. Unfortunately the butterfly was not netted for a more detailed examination of both dorsal and ventral wing surfaces.

Species and their first sighting dates seen so far in the Greater Washtenaw Survey are as follows:
Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)                  March 16
Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)               March 17
Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)                     March 27
Compton's Tortoise Shell (Nymphalis vau-album)   April 12
Brown Elfin (Incisalia augustinus)               April 14
Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)        April 14?
Gray Comma (Polygonia progne)                    April 16
Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)                   April 16

April 15, 2003 from Mogens Nielsen

Bob Kriegel, Jim Vargo and I spent two days, April 14/15 at my cabin (WW2 Quonset hut in Otsego County, MI. Bob and I had planned to go north once the DD data [Baskerville-Emin Degree Data for 50 degrees] was approaching 25, the timing for the two day-flying geometrids, Archiearis infans and Leucobrephos brephoides. Both species fly on warm, sunny days, along sandy roads and trails in proximity to aspen and/or birch.

_______________________________________________________________________________

For an image of ‘The Infant’ Moth (Archiearis infans) go to a site with photographs by Cindy Mead. Click on address below:

http://www.pbase.com/image/1662358

Also see other photos by Cindy Mead for butterflies, skippers and moths at the following addresses:

http://www.pbase.com/lilwings/butterflies&page=all

http://www.pbase.com/lilwings/moths_identified

http://www.pbase.com/lilwings/new_moths

http://www.pbase.com/lilwings/moths_unidentified

She does most of her photography in Ogemaw County.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Once we arrived at the cabin and unloaded our gear and food, we immediately began to search along a sandy trail that extended southerly into a cutover pine barrens, now covered with a mix of aspen, some white pine and of other trees and shrubs. It was the same site where we found both species a year ago to the day! At about 11 A.M. on the 14^th, we encountered the first of each species as we had hoped for and predicted! Unfortunately, it was a very windy two days, strong gusts, and unusually hot up to 83 degrees! The few piles of snow we saw just after arriving were gone when we departed after the noon on the 15^th. In less than two days, we saw several of each species, but felt fortunate to collect three very fresh specimens of each species!!

In addition to the above activity, we set out four bait and five UV traps, and had four MV/UV/sheet set-ups during the evening hours. Jim also baited trails in mixed aspen, black cherry, and in a conifer swamp. The number of both macro and micro moths were down, especially due to the strong wind and the full moon that lasted all during the collecting hours. Some of the common hibernators and spring emergers were taken, i.e. Xylena, Lithophane, Eupsilia and Orthosia. The most desirable species included Homoglaea hircine, Brachionycha borealis and Lithophane fagina. Many Aclens species were taken at lights and bait, some will have to wait final determination at a later date.

During the day a few Nymphalis vau-album j-album, antiopa and milberti were seen along sunny trails. Bait traps produced singletons of Polygonia comma and Vanessa atalanta rubria. After breakfast in Waters at McDonalds we found many small, round larval cases of the tiny bagworm, Apterona helix, on an outside light structure. This is a new county record, and a northern extension of this small European pest!

All in all, it was the first Michigan collecting trip for the trio, and a successful one, especially for Bob and me!! Now for some REST! Ha.

April 15, 2003 from Mogens Nielsen

How was your (Owen A. Perkins) trip to the U.P. Did you get the not weather we had at the hut on April 14/15? Anyway, Bob K. J. Vargo and I had a successful trip, esp. by getting specimens of two species of day flying geometrids! We saw more, but just couldn’t net them, as it was TOO windy with strong gusts practically all day and night, and the following day. I agreed to send you an account for you web page. Edit it as you see fit!! Ha.

April 11, 2003 from Bob Kriegel

Winter might finally be breaking its grip on Michigan, even in the western Upper Peninsula. Today Sean Dunlap, an aquatic ecologist at the Ottawa National Forest near Watersmeet, observed a Compton’s Tortoise Shell. He saw it during the morning and was able to go back out at lunch and net it. Sean then sent me digital photos so I could confirm the ID. Sean said that today was warm and sunny (50s?) and the snow is melting fast.

P.S. I (Bob) took my first tortricids (Acleris sp.) almost three weeks ago at my porch light. And last week the winter geometrids were fluttering about. Last evening was the first time the spring frog serenade was quite loud. It is finally feeling like spring may be upon us.

April 9, 2003 from John C. Farmer

No butterflies yet - except for all that I saw along the road to Fort Walton Beach, FL and back last week.

March 17, 2003 from Duke Elsner

Dear Mo and Owen:
A very slow Compton's tortoise shell almost few into my hand in Traverse City on Sunday afternoon, March 16. Let the season begin!