| Alert Update August 2007 |
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Last Updated: 03 September, 2007 11:05 PM |
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Notice from OAP: This concludes the August reports. From: Harry D. King, 31 August 2007, From: Brenda Dziedzic, President, Southeast
Michigan Butterfly Association, 31 August 2007 I'm happy to be sending out the
newsletter to all you wonderful members. See you soon. [Note
from OAP: If you would like to join SEMBA, contact Brenda at her
email address.] From: Mike Leski, 30 August 2007,
This weekend I plan to visit the UP to search for P. gracilis.
Do you know any good sphagnum bogs in Delta or Schoolcraft counties?
If so, could you give me the locations ASAP?
I will report to you on my trip next week.
[Note from OAP: I supplied Mike with 5 sites. I will be anxious to hear from Mike and his accomplishments.] From: Sue Greenlee, 29 August 2007, From: Kyle E. Johnson, 28 August 2007,
From: Harry D. King, 29 August 2007, From: Harry D. King, 28 August 2007, Got back about ½ hour ago, along the river in the cane I took my first ever Creole Pearly-eye (Enodia creola). Saw 5-6 got one. Boy are they are difficult to catch back in the cane and prickers. Going back tomorrow to see if I can get several more. From: Harry D. King, 28 August 2007, These
are the Dusky Wings that accrue here. Any idea which one this is? From: Tom Bentley, 28 August 2007, On Saturday, August 25, I decided to get out away from all of our water
and mosquitos in N Illinois and head up to Wisconsin. The day
started off with low clouds, fog and rain in Illinois. By the time I
was west of Madison, not a cloud was to be seen! This was a big deal
after the unprecedented amount of rain we just received. From: Kirk Zufelt, 26 August 2007
They were feeding on Knapweed which was virtually always the nectar
plant of choice on their yearly incursion to Pt. Pelee. On Aug. 23 I
encountered 2-3 individuals along the Tahquamenon Rivermouth in Chippewa
Co. south of Paradise again nectaring on Knapweed. I noted in your book
that as of 1999 there were no UP records so I thought I would let you know
and provide you with some documentation of these occurrences. I was on
Mackinac Island for the last few days and despite excellent conditions I
didn't encounter any at this location. I did have a Buckeye which is
surprisingly wind spread and common in the UP in mid to late summer at
least over the last couple of seasons. I would be interested if the Fiery
Skippers are being seen in the rest of Michigan and if there have been UP
reports since your book was published in 99. Thanks. From: Kyle E. Johnson, 25 August 2007, From: Kyle E. Johnson, 21 August 2007,
Zeroing
in on the host plants of Erebia
discoidalis... For the past
couple years I’ve strongly suspected that the main host plant of Erebia discoidalis would be some sort of sedge, and likely Carex
at that, but as to which species I was clueless.
So many species and most are very similar in appearance.
In late July of this year botanist/ecologist Scott Zager helped me
figure out a few species in this tough group of plants, and now I believe
I’m hot on the trail of a VERY LIKELY host plant, Carex
chordorrhiza (Creeping Sedge). Habitat-wise Carex
chordorrhiza fits the ticket for Erebia
discoidalis (except in uplands); it is found in a wide array of
peatland habitats from very acid nearly bog poor fens to the much more
mineral rich ribbed fens. It is absent from “true-true” acid bogs, but a dear trail
or other disturbance through such habitat could create a “very near bog
poor fen” microhabitat where Carex
chordorrhiza could grow. The
sedge is most common in the bog-like poor fens, and that’s where Erebia
discoidalis is most common. In the past
couple weeks I’ve reinvestigated a number of places with “suspiciously
high” numbers of Erebia
discoidalis. In the Red
Lake Peatland back in May I found Erebia
discoidalis very common on the poor fen “Sphagnum lawn” of a
particular raised bog in the complex, but found them very scarce on a
nearby bog to the north. It turns out that Carex
chordorrhiza is very sparse on the northern bog, but is THICK on the
southern bog, right where most of the E.
discoidalis were flying. At
the Deer River Line Bog (Koochiching County) back in May I found very high
densities of Erebia discoidalis in
a fairly small area of poor fen habitat along a powerline cut, but they
pretty much dropped out once you hit the true acid bog cutover (which was
dominated by cottongrass, Eriophorum
vaginatum = spissum). Turns out that Carex
chordorrhiza seems to be lacking from the true acid bog cutover, but
it is THICK in the poor fen cutover, right where the E. discoidalis were flying!
Carex
chordorrhiza Ehrhart ex Linnaeus http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242357115 http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CACH5 http://wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/detail.asp?SpCode=CARCHO http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/graminoid/carcho/all.html ] From: Tom Bentley, 22 August 2007, From: Bob Kriegel, 21 August 2007, So, do you want to see some southern migrants too?
From: Kyle E. Johnson, 20 August 2007,
Here
are a few photos from the visit.
BE ON THE LOOKOUT! Ascalapha odorata Hi Owen: Last night I got a call from a friend telling me that
he had a large ordinary brown moth on the brick wall next to his porch
light. Well, Owen, it's August and there have been a few
hurricanes blowing around...I'll give you the whole story in a day or two
as I'm swamped with work right now, but long story short: I dropped what I
was doing, jumped in my truck and drove over. He lives right on the edge
of the classic Kent County Powesheik / C.mutica site, made famous by
McAlpine, Lamberton Lake, Kent County. It was sitting right in the most impossible spot
where the top of the brick wall meets the ceiling and right on the corner.
A net was out of the question. My only hope was to get a ladder, climb up
there and see if I could work a large Tupperware piece over him and work
him down the wall to where I could negotiate getting the lid on. With heart pounding (remember my miss at the farm
with this moth two years ago?) I managed to get him. A male, slightly scalped and with tattered wing
edges. Tip to tip this specimen is 7 inches across. I have him spread and compared him with others I have
taken in Central America. This one is larger and quite a bit lighter. I'll send you a shot for you site later this week.
Talk to you later. Martin Andree [Note from OAP: Ascalapha
odorata is the BLACK WITCH MOTH ! http://www.texasento.net/witchusmap.htm http://www.dallasbutterflies.com/Moths/html/ascalaphaodorata.html http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=4820 http://www.texasento.net/witch_north.htm Now I suggest the rest of you keep a lookout using the URL above!
BECAUSE, see what the prediction for August 19 was as shown below: From: Tom Bentley, 16 August 2007,
From: John C. Farmer, 15 August 2007,
Speaking of Hillsdale County, last
week I saw four Variegated Fritillaries and one American Snout there.
Unfortunately, I had no net with me at those times, so no vouchers
resulted, although I did get pics of one of the Frits.
[Note from OAP: The Snout Butterfly (Libytheana carinenta bachmani) is a sight record for Hillsdale County.]
From: Todd Smith, 15 August 2007,
Well, here is a brief report from last weekend (Saturday, August 12) at Morenci, along with some pictures
I first stopped at the Fay Hwy RR grade to have a look around, walked as
far as Silver Creek, but did not cross, the water was high from the
rains there last week. I did find some vines along the RR grade, but not
sure what they are, see the attached two pictures.
 Railroad grade east of Fay Highway, Lenawee Co., 12 August 2007. photograph by Todd Smith copyright © 2007  EXHIBIT 1 - Vines along the RR grade, WHAT ARE THEY? photograph by Todd Smith copyright © 2007  EXHIBIT 1 - Vines along the RR grade, WHAT ARE THEY? photograph by Todd Smith copyright © 2007
I did not see Pipevine Swallowtails along this grade. I did see Giant
Swallowtails (the most common that day), Tiger Swallowtails, and
Spicebush Swallowtails. Also some Red Spotted Purples.
Also along the RR grade I saw a few Hackberry butterflies, one was
sipping dew from the grass.
 Hackberry Butterfly (Asterocampa celtis), dorsal view, RR grade east of Fay Highway, Lenawee Co, 12 August 2007. photograph by Todd Smith copyright © 2007  Hackberry Butterfly (Asterocampa celtis), ventral view, RR grade east of Fay Highway, Lenawee Co, 12 August 2007. photograph by Todd Smith copyright © 2007 Also observed several Eastern Tailed Blues.  Eastern-tailed Blue (Everes comyntas), RR grade east of Fay Highway, Lenawee Co, 12 August 2007. photograph by Todd Smith copyright © 2007
At the road I found a pair of mated Buckeye butterflies, a nice find.
 Buckeye (Junonia coenia), mated pair, Fay Highway, Lenawee Co., 12 August 2007. photograph by Todd Smith copyright © 2007
Then I headed over to the old quarry pit on Mulberry rd near Hwy 156.
Hackberry butterflies were numerous, one even landed on my truck
mirror.
 Hackberry Butterfly (Asterocampa celtis), ventral view, West Mulberry Road, Lenawee Co, 12 August 2007. photograph by Todd Smith copyright © 2007 Several cicada killer wasps were flying around also. Saw a few Giant and Tiger Swallowtails flying around the quarry but no Zebra Swallowtails.  Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes), West Mulberry Road, Lenawee Co, 12 August 2007. photograph by Todd Smith copyright © 2007  Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes), West Mulberry Road, Lenawee Co, 12 August 2007. photograph by Todd Smith copyright © 2007 In a driveway just west of the quarry, I found lots of paw-paw
growing.
I took a picture of a cicada killer wasp burrow on the driveway, a
female just deposited a cicada there, but I scared her off.
 Cicada Killer Wasp (Sphecius speciosus) burrow, West Mulberry Road, Lenawee Co, 12 August 2007. photograph by Todd Smith copyright © 2007 Also saw a Painted Lady in the driveway, first sighting for me this year.  Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui), West Mulberry Road, Lenawee Co, 12 August 2007. photograph by Todd Smith copyright © 2007
I drove around the roads where Bean Creek and Lime Creek crossed, but
did not observe any Zebra Swallowtails. Hackberry butterflies were
present at many of the creek-road crossings. Also along the roads I
saw several (about 6) Black Swallowtails, 1 female, the rest males.
Well, I'll try again next year.
From: OAP, 15 August 2007,
From: OAP, 15 August 2007,
Cricket Forge 218 Hunt Street Durham, NC
27701
New Toll Free 877-378-9227
Phone 919-680-3513 New Toll Free Fax 866-885-5048
© Cricket Forge 1999-2006
From: Tom Bentley, 14 August 2007, [Note from OAP: I checked out Tom's re-launched website. It is well
designed, organized, and unique. From: Tom Bentley, 13 August 2007,
From: OAP, 12 August 2007,
From: Mark Churchill, 11 August 2007,
I really enjoy your website. It reminds me that much of the fun of collecting lies in the sharing of the adventures we have, not to mention the friendships! I hope everyone is doing well.
I have made several overnight "light" cruises where I check
the MV lights on the sides of buildings. My normal route is from Grand
Rapids (where I live) to Cadillac, then on to Kalkaska, Grayling and
Gaylord where I usually end my cruise and head home because the sun is
coming up. Highlights so far this year are a number of male pini taken
about the end of July (the season seems advanced this year) but no
females. The pupa from the pini I reared last year mostly died - why I
don't know. The many imperialis and regalis pupa I reared eclosed just
fine. However I did get 3 or 4 males and 3 females that came out fine.
They are different from the wild caught pini I have taken in that the
forwings are very heavily spotted in black. Dwayne Badgero reared a
bilateral gynadomorph pini from the ova I sent him last year!
This June I also caught a very nice male luscitiosa from the Kalkaska
area and one female luscitiosa from Cadillac. I got a good number of ova
from her and am currently rearing about forty larvae. The larvae started
hatching after only 7 days and at about 5 weeks some are beginning to
pupate. I normally rear each larvae in their own individual container
using leaves that are rinsed in tap water. I seem to have great luck
with this method as any larvae that get ill are fairly isolated from the
others. The containers I use are the disposable GFS containers used for
soups at Chinese take out places. Depending on the size it costs only a
few dollars for 25 (again depending on size) plus a few more $$ for 50
lids that fit any of the 3 sizes. They can be washed out and reused
for 4 or 5 years and recycled when they get too beat up. I hang the
sprigs off the bottom of the container by clamping the lid over it. The
leaves are slow to dry out also. I reared about 100 anguli fera
successfully (from I trip I made to SC) and other sensitive species like
cecropia using this method.
I also got a number of hyloeus and canadensis. On 8/10 - 8/11 I
went on a catocala light cruise. I saw ~400-500 cerogama (!) but not
many other species. The other ones I did see/collect were 1 briseis,
1 coelebs, ~12 antinympha, 2 grynea, ~24 concombens, ~6 ultronia, and ~6
cerogama f. rupetii. No saturnids and only 3 sphingids (white lined)! I
did not see any unijuga much less a coveted semirelicta! The coelebs was
a first for me but I would like to collect a small series of them as
well as a series of semirelicta which I have not caught yet (I may have
one badly damaged specimen).
About the most fun I've had this year (painting trees, no traps yet) at
a reminant stand of secondary growth forest only about 1/2 mile rom my
home. Dwayne talked me into trying some baiting last year and I must say
he is correct to say it is a blast! I first painted a few trees there
July 7 and they were out strong, mostly the smaller species that day but
unijuga and ilia were common. Among the species I caught were 5 or 6 of
the small hawthorn feeding species (mostly immaculate), a good series of
scale perfect ultronia, and 2 pristing innubens f. scintillans. Since
7/7 a number of new species have been appearing of course.
I also made a pilgrimage to SE Arizona to do some light sheeting.
Highlights were a small series of Rothschildia cincta, a whole lot of
osolari, splendens, and typhon, some scarce jewel beetles, and lots of
other stuff. The butterfly collecting was apalling. I took a few walks
down sycamore canyon and saw only 5 or 6 butterflies! In past years I've
been there, a walk down that canyon I 'd see hundreds of butterflies.
Even Garden Canyon was sparce but not as much as Sycamore Canyon. I did
a decent amount of baiting but didn't get one catocala! However the
ultimate zales came to the bait in decent numbers. Ever try to slip a
jar over a black witch?! On the way to AZ I stopped in Nebraska to do a
little collecting with my cousin Mike and his son Thomas. Regal
fritillaries were scarce this year (while I was there) but we did catch
one immaculate female and a nice male. Caught some really neat catocala
on the edge of the praries along patches of woodland. Also caught a
small series of bronze coppers which I've had little luck with
historically. A one night and one day stop in Colorado was
disappointing. The season was very dry and advanced. The alpine habitat
collecting was ok though I'd missed most of the arctics I was looking
for. I did catch one well worn female polyxenes which is the only alpine
habitat arctic from CO I'd never caught. Not much else butterfly - wise
except one very nice Polygonia oreas.
Hopefully I can get up and see some of you at Mo's Hut the weekend of
the 18th and 19th. Happy collecting!
From: John C. Farmer, 09 August 2007,
By the way, yesterday's total was even slightly larger than Tuesday's -- 53 total, of which 5 had died in the net during the day. It now appears that my earlier attention to sex of the insects was poor. As near as I could determine, yesterday's breakdown was 40 males and 13 females, still quite heavily weighted toward males. From: Roger Kuhlman, 08 August 2007,
From: Brad Slaughter, Associate Ecologist, Michigan Natural Features
Inventory, 08 August 2007,
Email address: Bradford Slaughter I've been a casual visitor to the Lep Alert site for some time now and noted with interest the recent reports about several large peatlands in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Ecology and Botany staff with Michigan Natural Features Inventory (including myself) have comprehensively surveyed all (or nearly all) of Michigan's patterned fens over the past two years, including the two largest occurrences in and near the Seney NWR (Creighton Marsh and Marsh Creek/Seney Strangmoor). If anybody is interested in surveying for lepidopteran "gems" in either of these peatlands, I may be interested in joining, and can provide access information and/or details about plant community composition and structure within these peatlands at the very least. My impression after surveying Creighton Marsh and Seney Strangmoor is that there is much work to do across the spectrum of zoology and botany.
In terms of acidic peatlands, MNFI has not systematically surveyed for
occurrences of bog, muskeg, and poor conifer swamp in Michigan, and
several of the sites mentioned on this site are not currently tracked in
our database of high quality natural communities. I noted with interest
the report on Caffey Corner bog- is this the extensive peatland east of
Caffey Corner along the railroad, south of Trout Lake Road?
[Note from OAP: Yes!] This site jumped out at me while looking at aerial photos of communities we are resurveying for the State of Michigan, and I visited twice this summer and collected data to enter the site into our database. I believe there are close to 4,000 acres of muskeg and poor conifer swamp in this complex, and we have reports of moose in the area. Any information on additional large acidic (or non-acidic, for that matter) peatlands would be immensely useful for any future efforts at MNFI to systematically survey for and document high quality occurrences of these community types. Feel free to contact me at slaughterb@michigan.gov or marltrotter@yahoo.com.
Keep up the good work!
From: OAP, 08 August 2007, X T47N R9W Section
20 is the Murphy Creek bog, S side M123, Tahquamenon River State Forest,
is where I have vouchered Boloria frigga saga, Boloria eunomia dawsoni,
Boloria selene atrocostalis, & Oeneis jutta ascerta. This
excellent bog site is just south of the "contained fire edge"
along M123. Response from: Kyle E. Johnson, 08
August 2007, From: John C. Farmer, 08 August 2007,
Yesterday, August 7, brought a record high
count of Hackberry Butterflies caught in the trap in my yard (Milan)-- a
total of 45 quite fresh specimens, all released as I counted them.
The previous two day's counts were 12
(Monday) and 10 (Sunday).
Also had a fresh Red Admiral in the trap
yesterday, the first of the species I've caught or seen in several days.
[Note from OAP: A query in response to this email brought the following interesting fact from John: "The early brood II hackberries have been almost exclusively male, by my cursory checks. Did have one obvious female yesterday, but didn't save it."] From: OAP, 07 August 2007, From: OAP, 06 August 2007, SUGARING
FOR MOTHS Along the fringe of woodland which skirts the back pastures is a path which we long have known. Here stand long ranks of ancient beeches; sugar maples, which in fall are glorious in robes of yellow and scarlet; ash trees, the tall gray trunks of which carry skyward huge masses of light pinnated foliage; walnuts and butternuts, oaks, and tulip-poplars. On either side of the path in luxuriant profusion are saplings, sprung from the monarchs of the forest, young elm trees planted by the woods, broad-leaved papaws, round-topped hawthorns, viburnums, spreading dogwoods, and here and there in moist places clumps of willows. Where the path runs down by the creek, sycamores spread their gaunt white branches toward the sky, and drink moisture from the shallow reaches of the stream, in which duck-weed, arrow-weed, and sweet pond-lilies bloom. The woodland is the haunt of many a joyous thing, which frequents the glades and hovers over the flowers. To-night the lightning in the air, the suggestion of a coming storm which lurks in the atmosphere, will send a thrill through all the swarms, which have been hidden through the day on moss-grown trunks, or among the leaves, and they will rise, as the dusk gathers, in. troops about the pathway. It is just the night upon which to take a collecting trip, resorting to the well-known method of "sugaring." Here we have a bucket and a clean whitewash brush. We have put into the bucket four pounds of cheap sugar. Now we will pour in a bottle of stale beer and a little rum. We have stirred the mixture well. ln our pockets are our cyanide jars. Here are the dark lanterns. Before the darkness falls, while yet there is light enough to see our way along the path, we will pass from tree to tree and apply the brush charged with the sweet semi-intoxicating mixture to the trunks of the trees. The task is accomplished! Forty trees and ten stumps have been baptized with sugar-sweetened beer. Let us wash our sticky fingers in the brook and dry them with our handkerchiefs. Let us sit down on the grass beneath this tree and puff a good Havana. It is growing darker. The bats are circling overhead. A screech-owl is uttering a plaintive lament, perhaps mourning the absence of the moon, which to-night will not appear. The frogs are croaking in the pond. The fireflies soar upward and flash in sparkling multitudes where the grass grows rank near the water. Now let us light our lamps and put a drop or two of chloroform into our cyanide jars, just enough to slightly dampen the paper which holds the lumps of cyanide in place. We will retrace our steps along the path and visit each moistened spot upon the tree-trunks. Here is the last tree which we sugared. There in the light of the lantern we see the shining drops of our mixture clinging to the mosses and slowly trickling downward toward the ground. Turn the light of the lantern full upon the spot, advancing cautiously, so as not to break the dry twigs under foot or rustle the leaves. Ha! Thus far nothing but the black ants which tenant the hollows of the gnarled old tree appear to have recognized the offering which we have made. But they are regaling themselves in swarms about the spot. Look at them! Scores of them, hundreds of them are congregating about the place, and seem to be drinking with as much enjoyment as a company of Germans on a picnic in the wilds of Hoboken. Let us stealthily approach the next tree. It is a beech. What is there? Oho! My beauty! Just above the moistened patch upon the bark is a great Catocala. The gray upper wings are spread, revealing the lower wings gloriously banded with black and crimson. In the yellow light of the lantern the wings appear even more brilliant than they do in sunlight. How the eyes glow like spots of tire! The moth is wary. He has just alighted; he has not yet drunk deep. Move cautiously! Keep the light of the lantern steadily upon him. Uncover your poisoning jar. Approach. Hold the jar just a little under the moth, for he will drop downward on the first rush to get away. Clap the jar over him! There! you have done it! You have him securely. He flutters for a moment, but the chloroform acts quickly and the flutterings cease. Put that jar into one pocket and take out another. Now let us go to the next tree. It is an old walnut. The trunk is rough, seamed, and full of knotted excrescences. See what a company has gathered! There are a dozen moths, large and small, busily at work tippling. Begin with those which are nearest to the ground. When I was young my grandfather taught me that in shooting wild turkeys resting in a tree, it is always best to shoot the lowest fowl first, and then the next. If you shoot the gobbler which perches highest, as he comes tumbling down through the flock, he will startle them all, and they will fly away together; but if you take those which are roosting well down among the branches, those above will simply raise their heads and stare about for a moment to find out the source of their peril, and you can bag three or four before the rest make up their minds to fly. I follow the same plan with my moths, unless, perchance, the topmost moth is some unusual rarity, worth all that suck the sweets below him. Bravo! You have learned the lesson well. You succeeded admirably in bottling those Taraches which were sucking the moisture at the lower edge of the sweetened patch. There above them is a fine specimen of Strenoloma lunilinea. Aha! You have him. Now take that Catocala. It is amasía, a charming little species. Above him is a specimen of cara, one of the largest and most superb of the genus. Well done! You have him, too. Now wait a moment! Have your captives ceased their struggles in your jar? Yes; they seem to be thoroughly stunned. Transfer them to the other jar for the cyanide to do its work. Look at your lantern. Is the wick trimmed? Come on then. Let us go to the next tree. This is an ash. The most spot shows faintly upon the silvery-gray bark of the tree. Look sharply! Here below are a few Geometers daintily sipping the sweets. There is a little Eustixis pupula, with its silvery—white wings dotted with points of black. There is a specimen of Harrisimemna, the one with the coppery-brown spots on the fore wings. A good catch! Stop! Hold still Ha! I thought he would alight. That is Catocala coccinata—a fine moth—not overly common, and the specimen is perfect. Well, let us try another tree. Here they are holding a general assembly. Look! I See them fairly swarming about the spot. A dozen have found good places; two or three are fluttering about trying to alight. The ants have found the place as well as the moths. They are squabbling with each other. The moths do not like the ants. I do not blame them. I would not care to sit down at a banquet and have ants crawling all over the repast. There is a specimen of Catocala relicta, the hind wings white, banded with black. How beautiful simple colors are when set in sharp contrast and arranged in graceful lines! There is a specimen of Catocala neogama, which was originally described by Abbot from Georgia. It is not uncommon. There is a good Mamestra, and there Pvrophila pyramidoides. The latter is a common species; we shall find scores of them before we get through. Do not bother with those specimens of Agrotís Ypsilon; there are choicer things to be had. It is a waste of time to take them to-night. Let them drink themselves drunk, when the flying squirrels will come and catch them. Do you see that flying squirrel there peeping around the trunk of the tree? Flying squirrels eat insects. I have seen them do it at night, and they have robbed me of many a fine specimen. Off now to the next tree! And so we go from tree to tree. The lightning in the west grows more vivid. Hark! I hear the thunder. It is half-past nine. The storm will be here by ten. The leaves are beginning to rustle in the tree-tops. The first pulse of the tornado is beginning to be felt. Now the wind is rising. Boom! Boom! The storm is drawing nearer. We are on our second round and are coming up the path near the pasture-gate. Our collecting jars are full. We hay. taken more than a hundred specimens representing thirty species. Not a bad night’s work. Hurry up! Here are the draw-bars. Are you through? Put out the light in your lantern. Come quickly after me. I know the path. Here is the back garden gate. It is beginning to rain. We shall have to run if we wish to avoid a wetting. Ah! here are the steps of the veranda. Come up! My! what a flash
and a crash that was! Look back and see how the big trees are bowing their
heads as the wind reaches them, and the lightning silhouettes them against
the gray veil of the ram. We may be glad we are out of the storm, with a
good roof overhead. To-morrow morning the sun will rise bright and clear,
and we shall have work enough to fill all the morning hours in setting the
captures we have made. Good-night! From: OAP, 06 August 2007, From: SEMBA Newsletter & Brenda Dziedizic, 06 August 2007:
Aug 11 - field trip to Brenda Dziedzic's
house to see her butterfly garden and rearing of butterflies.
Come any time between 1-3pm. 1263 Springer St., Westland, MI 48186.
Aug 15 - meeting at Nankin Mills
"Getting Kids Involved"
From: OAP, 06 August 2007,
Then on to Oscoda County on Valley Road where the West Branch of Big Creek
intersects with the road and where Paul and I had surveyed several years
ago and had found dorcas. The Black-eyed Susan were present in a
relatively small quantity. No gorgone. No dorcas. Then to the historic site in Oscoda County near Luzerne where gorgone was collected 2 June 1984 by Dr. George W. Rawson, determined by C. F. Dos Passos. This was the last time to my knowledge that this species was documented in Michigan. No gorgone. Only a few patches of Black-eyed Susan in the area. We stopped at Mo's hut in Otsego County to place one of my fermenting
fruit bait traps north of the hut, and two of my traps in Section 17, on a
two-track 0.5 miles east of the hut and south of Otsego County F38. Then on the Cheboygan County to Wollangur Road in Section 31, 1.3 miles east of I-75 at Exit 326. As it was getting dusk, we head for St. Ignace where I had
previously reserved a room at the Tradewinds Motel. Dwayne placed three traps along Greene Road and I placed one.
The Fritillaries were flying along the roadside especially where the
Black-eyed Susan were plentiful and they were abundantly plentiful
especially where the road curves north and an opening on the north side
had not only the Black-eyed Susan, but Spotted Knapweed, and Milkweed. It
was a Fritillary "goldmine!"
At the St. Ignace Bog NO dorcas were found, nor any Shrubby Cinquefoil
(Potentilla fruticosa). On the way we encountered Black-eyed Susan on the Hiawatha Trail Road north from US-2. It was a wise decision. It is a long arduous trek to the place where Shrubby Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) is visible along the RV and Snowmobile trail and beside the Canadian National Railroad grade (formerly the Soo Line). At least it was for me (OAP) at my age. It was even a more strenuous trek back to the car which we had parked on Mackinac County Road H40. It was well worth the effort. Together we were able to secure sufficient live specimens for the University of Maine project and vouchers to document our efforts.
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