From: Martin Bialecki, 31 March 2007:
Yeah, I hesitated twice before sending that.
That spot is a hot one literally. It would be interesting to measure
degree days right there compared to surroundings.
[Note from OAP: I have a HOBO and that might be a place to use it next
spring. Keep me in mind Martin!]
From: Roger Kuhlman, 31 March 2007:
Duskywing in March would be incredible. I would have never expected
to see one; too bad you could not get documentation for the butterfly. The only
other butterfly besides Cabbage White I could see emerging from the pupal stage
in March is Spring Azure. I was out a bit Friday afternoon around the Botanical
Gardens looking for an Azure but I could not find one. Martin, I half thought
you would see one on Friday.
From: Martin Bialecki, 30 March 2007:
This morning I saw what I'm 90% certain was a duskywing in an area I often see
them -- a south facing ridgetop in oak leaf litter near a small meadow off
Noggles Rd. It was flying very low when I almost hit it with the truck (I
was driving out on a lane with a load of firewood). I saw it for only
two seconds. I jumped out of the truck to look around but could not
relocate it.
From: Eugene Karolinsky. 30 March 2007:
I am glad to see Lepalert in action again.
Here in Notre Dame (St. Joseph Co, NW Indiana) the spring is already in its full
glory. Five butterfly species observed so far: *Polygonia comma* (first on
3/22), *Polygonia interrogationis* (first and only on 3/25), *Nymphalis antiopa*
(first on 3/25), *Pieris rapae* (first on 3/26), *Celastrina ladon* (first on
3/27 - now dozens). I am attaching a few photographs.
Nympahlis antiopa, 25 March 2007 Polygonia comma.
22 March 2007
photo by Eugene Karolinsky
photo by Eugene Karolinsky
Copyright © Eugene Karolinsky 2007
Copyright © Eugene Karolinsky 2007
Celastrina ladon, male, 27 March
2007 Celastrina
ladon, female, 27 March 2007
photo by Eugene Karolinsky
photo by Eugene Karolinsky
Copyright © Eugene Karolinsky 2007
Copyright © Eugene Karolinsky 2007
Celastrina ladon, aberrant, 27
March 2007
photo by Eugene Karolinsky
Copyright © Eugene Karolinsky 2007
From: John Peacock, 30 March 2007:
I hope this finds you back to 100% after your incident at "Breaking
Diapause"! You had us all very concerned!
I haven't had a chance to look at "Lepalert"
yet, but I will soon.
Hoping all is well with you,
Go to this site to keep aware of the progress of the
Monarch Butterflies as they migrate north. PLEASE let me know
immediately when you photograph and/or voucher a specimen. Also let me
know when you see the first milkweed germinate.
I will NOT be showing this site in the future, but wanted to apprise you
of its existence so you can follow the migration.
Click on: Journey
North.
Then click on MAPS, then on Monarch First
Adults Seen for the most recent
sighting, etc.
The next report from Journey North will be Friday,
April 06, 2007. |
|
From: Harry Pavulaan, 30 March 2007:
Thanks for the update. On your 'Listed Species' page, you might wish to
update the Celastrina listing somewhat. It is currently listed on the
page as:
It should be noted that the species listed as Celastrina
ladon (Cramer, 1780) in the Check List of the Lepidoptera of America
North of Mexico edited by RONALD W. HODGES and others, 1983 as #4363 may be
as many as 4 separate species: Nielsen in his book lists them as three:
Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon)
Summer
Azure (Celastrina neglecta)
Northern Spring Azure (Celastrina
lucia)
And MLS members (especially “Ted” Herig) are
researching what Dr. David M. Wright is
investigating as another species of this complex:
Spring Azure, Wild Cherry Gall Feeder (Celastrina
ladon “violacea” I [race] [now named:
Celastrina serotina.]
The complex is now represented in Michigan indeed as four species. The
'Cherry Gall Azure' (Celastrina serotina) was recently confirmed in Michigan.
See: http://tils-ttr.org/ttr/ttr-6-6.pdf
You can delete reference to "violacea" I [race] (actually, I think
we called it the "violacea II" host race).
Best,
Harry Pavulaan
[The Listed Species page has been updated as of March 30, 2007, and
includes Harry's suggestions!}
[See: http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/image/25444795
for excellent photos by Tom Murray of this complex.]
From: Martin Bialecki, 30 March 2007:
This morning I saw what I'm 90%
certain was a duskywing in an area I often see them -- a south facing ridgetop
in oak leaf litter near a small meadow off Noggles Rd. It was flying
very low when I almost hit it with the truck (I was driving out on a lane with
a load of firewood). I saw it for only two seconds. I jumped out
of the truck to look around but could not relocate it.
From: Stephen Ross, 30 March 2007:
Saw my first Mecosta Co butterfly yesterday.
Mourning cloak (big surprise there). Each year I will find my first one in the
woods near my house within about the same 150 feet of trail. This may be late
as I was gone during the first "heat wave".
I was in Venezuela March 18-28 and did some lep
and ode watching along with the birds. Saw only two Morphos, but there were a
lot of Caligos about.
From: Tom Bentley, 30 March, 2007:
Great news! I am so excited it is back. Hope everything is going
great!!! Have a great spring!
From: John Swales, 27 Mar 2007:
Martin left me a phone message inquiring about
these. With Roger W still apparently away, not everything is clear, but I am
suggesting:
Satuday June 30--SW Washtenaw
Monday July 2--Chelsea
Wednesday July 4--Ann Arbor (RK, are thinking of
compiling this one?)
In addition, NABA now accepts 'seasonal counts' as
long as there are expectations that they will run for a number of years.
We could think of one in Spring, and one in fall
(Petersburg SGA and environs)?
Comments and suggestions of course very
welcome.
From: Kyle Evan Johnson, 27 Mar 2007:
Here's a quick update of my recent two outings; perhaps you'll find something of
interest. Definitely a heat wave going on here in WI...season is well
ahead of normal. It won't take much more nice weather to have early
peatland species like Macaria truncataria flying in far southern WI/MI!!!
Perhaps they'll be out by early April in the "far south"...but weather
dictates, I suppose!
3/24/07: Night collecting at the Gardner Swamp in Door Co, WI
Herps: Spring Peeper (P. crucifer) 5+ calling, Chorus Frog (P. triseriata) 2+
calling
Leps: nothing at UV, but plenty at bait; these include Eupsilia morrisoni, E.
vinulenta, E. tristigmata, E. devia, Lithophane grotei?, Lithophane hemina?,
Xylena curvimacula, and several Acleris spp.
3/26/07: Day & night collecting at Navarino SWA in Shawano Co, WI
High was nearly 80F!!! It wasn't that long ago that I was wearing snow
pants. The big target of the day was the diurnal spring geo Archiearis
infans. I searched all morning but no luck; some great birch stands here.
Later in the day I was out in a nice bog there (Acleris oxycoccana flying
everywhere) and a geo reminiscent of Ematurga amitaria flew by...but it seemed
way too early for that! Upon capture I realized it was A. infans...flying
through a bog at 2:50pm, temp near 80F and sunny! A second flew by moments
later. I also observed a third at 4:09pm (near a birch stand I searched in
the morning) flying high and erratically.
Nighttime temps were beautiful...65 to start, and dropped to 55 by
10:30pm...that would be a nice daytime HIGH for this time of year! The
heat made the moths awfully wary at bait. All moths still in the freezer,
so many UFO's and questionable ID's remain.
Herps: Spring Peeper (P. crucifer) 50+ calling, Wood Frog (R. sylvatica) 75+
calling, Common Garter Snake (T. sirtalis) 3
Leps (day): Nymphalis antiopa (27 observed!), N. vaualbum, Polygonia comma,
Acleris oxycoccana, Archiearis infans, Semioscopis inornata?
Leps (night): Agonopterix spp., Semioscopis spp., Acleris spp., Pseudexentera
spp., Plutella xylostella, Phigalea titea, P. strigataria, Eupsilia morrisoni,
E. vinulenta, E. tristigmata, Lithophane innominata?, L. fagina??, Xylena
curvimacula, Pyreferra hesperidago, Psaphida rolandi, Orthosia spp., &
various UFO's
From: Kyle Evan Johnson, 27 Mar 2007:
Hi Owen,
Hope you are doing well; I haven't heard anything from you for a while.
Hopefully you'll be able to get out in the field soon...beautiful weather these
past few days. Yes, the degree days for MI are well ahead of normal!!!
Whenever you are ready to update Lepalert I have plenty of things to post...it's
been a busy season since January 1!
From: Roger Kuhlman, 26 Mar 2007:
Sunday March 25 was a pretty decent day for both birds and butterflies. In
the morning while it was cloudy and sometimes rainy I birded several locations
in central and northwestern Washtenaw County. At Four Mile Lake I found a Barred
Owl in one of the wooded sections. Near Green Lake and M-52 I saw a Pileated
Woodpecker in a grove of Black Locust trees.
In the afternoon as the sun came out I found several Eastern Commas (Polygonia
comma) and Mourning Cloaks (Nyphalis antiopa) close to the Discovery Center
(used to be the Geology Center). It was pretty amazing tracking the flight of
one of the Mourning Cloaks as it vigourously swept through and around the
White Pines. You would think that an over-wintering adult butterfly like this
one emerging from winter diapause would not have the energy it displayed.
Later in the afternoon I found a single Gray Comma (Polygonia progne) on a trail
off of Embury Road. Since Gray Commas and Eastern Commas are very similiar on
the upperside, I had to net the butterfly to comfirm its identity by viewing the
underside wings. Here the very dark ground color with gray striated pattern was
visible. Also the tapered ends to comma mark (Eastern Comma has knobby ends) was
clear. What I noticed about this butterfly was that it was a weak flier and not
as active as the Eastern Commas I had previously seen. After catching the
butterfly and releasing it, instead of darting away quickly it floated calmly
off and then landed a few feet away from me by the trail. It also seemed a
little smaller than the Eastern Commas I had seen earlier. When found all these
features of a free-roaming Comma (Polygonia sp;ecies) are suggestive that a Gray
Comma is being seen but identification can only be clinched conclusively by
seeing the underside pattern of the wings.
ps. I heard and saw my first singing Chipping Sparrows of the year in my
neighborhood today. It is the earliest I have ever had returning migrant
Chippies here.
From: Roger Kuhlman, 26 Mar 2007:
Good find Martin. You never know about what
kind of year Milbert's Tortoise shell will have in our area. It has been kind of
scarce the last few years so let's hope we will have a resurgence of this
beautiful butterfly.
From: John Swales, 25 Mar 2007:
This sunday afternoon 1 E. Comma and 1 Mourning
Cloak in Eberwhite Woods on the AA West Side. Each in the usual location in
early spring.
From: Barb Barton, 25 Mar 2007
In Lansing, one Mourning Cloak today!
From: John Farmer, 24 Mar 2007:
Martin is up on me by 1 1/2 butterflies. I
had an unidentified anglewing breeze past me during my walk down Day
Road, Milan, on Wednesday, Mar 21, 07. (Un-ID'ed = 1/2 butterfly in my
accounting!) Quite sure it was a Comma, but its fast passage precluded
spotting definitive markings.
Needless to say, Roger K. has begun a most likely
insurmountable lead over me for 2007 in both species and individuals.
Glad to know that the season is upon us.
From: Martin Bialecki, 24 Mar 2007:
At 3:00 the sun just started to break out and the
mercury was still in the low sixties when a Milbert's came through the yard
here. My second butterfly of 07!
Martin Bialecki
The Noggles Rd bridge over Iron Creek
Manchester
From: Eugene Karolinsky, 23 Mar 2007:
I am glad to hear good news from you!
Here at Notre Dame (St. Joseph Co, IN) we already have first butterflies of this
season: a few *P. comma* seen yesterday (March 22).
Good butterflying,
Polygonia comma, 22 March 2007
Photo by Eugene Karolinsky
Copyright © Eugene Karolinsky 2007
From: Roger Kuhlman, 22 Mar 2007:
I found my first butterflies of the year, four Eastern Commas (Polygonia comma),
at Tuebingen Woods in Ann Arbor Thursday afternoon March 22. While these were
not the first butterflies reported in southeast Michigan this year, that
distinction goes to Martin Bialecki who saw an Eastern Comma on March 13 in
southwest Washtenaw County, they were certainly beautiful little gems. With
temperatures rising to the upper 50's and lower 60's during the next few days it
should be possible on sunny days to find more Eastern Commas and other
over-wintering adult butterlies such Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa),
Milbert's Tortoise Shell (Nymphalis milberti), Gray Comma (Polygonia progne),
Compton's Tortoise Shell (Nymphalis vau-album), and possibly Question Mark (Polygonia
interrogationis) in suitable forested habitats.
If anyone should happen to find a Question Mark they should try to get a photo
of it since it would be a very rare find in March in southeast Michigan. There
is no doubt that Question Marks succeed in over-wintering not too far south
of Michigan but in Michigan there is no convincing evidence, of which I am
aware, for successful local over-wintering. With continued global warming that
probably will change in the near future.
From: Kyle Evan Johnson, 21 Mar 2007:
Hi all,
This past Sunday I went to Allegan State Game Area (Allegan Co, MI). I
began by searching a nice peatland George Balogh had pointed out. The temp
was around 40F, sunny, with a cool breeze. As I stopped to take a picture
of the peatland, I noticed what I thought was a common garter snake take off
through the brush! I managed to catch the beast...turned out to be a
northern ribbon snake (Thamnophis sauritus). It may be more common in MI,
but in WI it's listed as endangered. While photographing/releasing the
snake, I found two others!
While out in the peatland (nice poor/intermediate fen w/ bog rosemary &
dense cranberry, among others) I saw a total of 4 (2 vouchered) Acleris
oxycoccana (Tortricidae)! They would fly for a few seconds, then drop back
into the vegetation. Certainly cold hardy...I had my winter jacket on!
Photo by Kyle Evan Johnson
Copyright © Kyle Evan Johnson 2007
From: Harry D. King, 13 Mar 2007 in Greensboro,
North Carolina:
Guys
On the other hand durning the last two weeks we have out::
Red Admiral
Cabbage White
Great Purple Hairstreak
Juvenal's Duskywing
Horace's Duskywing
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Falcate Orange Tip
Zebra Swallowtail
Buckeye
Checkered Skipper
Brown Elfin
Henny's Elfin
Holly Azure
Spring Azure
Orange Sulphur
Black Swallowtail
Question Mark
Morning Cloak
Cloudless Sulphur
Sleepy Orange
Pearl Cresent
American Snout
And its only March! What a difference from the Lansing, Michigan
Area where we moved from.
Most of these would still be a month away.
By the way today was 80 and sunny.
Here is an excellent site that a fellow NC provides:
http://rlephoto.com/pblog/index.php
Speyeria diana, photo by Harry D. King
Copyright © Harry D. King 2007
From: Martin Bialecki, 13 March 2007:
Today an E. Comma on the north side of Iron Creek
Mill Pond just after noon.
From: Kyle Evan Johnson, 13 Mar 2007:
Hi all,
Just a quick one here,
Last week I was feeding my ball python a mouse, and she missed and bit the
plastic palm tree...and started constricting it!!! She refused to let go
for at least a minute, until the plastic morsel was surely dead!
This is actually the second incident! Vegetarian snake?
Kyle 
Photo by Kyle Evan Johnson
Copyright © Kyle Evan Johnson 2007
From: Kyle Evan Johnson, 13 Mar 2007:
Hi all,
Here's a quick story of my trip to northern WI this past Friday...perhaps you'll
find it of interest!
I left Green Bay early Friday morning. By 8:00am I was near my
destination, a bog near Rhinelander in Oneida Co, WI. Thankfully the
forest road I drove in on was plowed...mostly anyway. With a mile left to
my final destination, the plowed section ended. Although I drive a
Saturn-SL with essentially no clearance, I though to myself "I can make
it!" Twenty seconds later I was stuck!
After an hour of shoveling and chopping divots into the ice for traction, I was
out. I then thought to myself "I think the worst part is over".
So I decided to drive onward...and 10 seconds later I was stuck again!!!
"Wow, am I stupid!" I thought. After another hour of shoveling,
I was finally out, and had the common sense to stay put and hike it in!
After that was a beautiful day snowshoeing through the vast bog and surrounding
uplands. Many of the usual winter friends were out and about; snow
scorpionflies (Boreus brumalis), wingless winter crane flies (Chionea sp.),
snowfleas, etc.
I then made it back to my car, loaded myself up with tent, sleeping bag, tarp,
and a few other things on top of my usual gear (I should have brought a sled!),
and hiked over a mile to get out in the bog...yes I was setting up camp on the
snow in the middle of a bog! I attached a picture...I still think it was a
bit too early for Boloria freija!!!
At sunset I began baiting in an open area along the forest road. As I was
finishing (temperature around freezing), I saw two small (wingspan less than
1") gray moths fly slowly over the snow...an animal I've never seen before!
"This is going to be a good night" I thought.
Just before I was about to check my baited trees, a truck came bumbling down the
snowy forest road...odd I thought. It was the Oneida Co. Sheriff following
up on a report of someone possibly living in a car in the woods, for they had
shoveled out a large area and had enough stuff in the car to survive for a while
(me if you haven't guessed).
I went to talk to the sheriff. All the bulges in my pockets were making
him very nervous. I spent the next couple minutes getting patted down for
weapons!!! "This will be great to put on the labels!!!" I
thought!
I returned to my baited trees, but the temperature had plummeted below 20F...I
had missed my window of opportunity!!!
A night sleeping out on the snow in the middle of a bog made for it, at least.
An experience I recommend to all...dress warm, though!
Photo by Kyle Evan Johnson
Copyright © Kyle Evan Johnson 2007
From: Kyle Evan Johnson, 06 Mar 2007:
Hi all,
Just a little heads up for Breaking Diapause (although I won't be be
"breaking diapause" so to speak, for I never entered it in the first
place!)
Depending on the weather/my class schedule, I will head to MI on late Thursday
or Friday night, and stay until Sunday or Monday night. Barring heavy
rains and gale force winds, I plan on doing a fair amount of collecting/herp
searching while I'm over. Even if it's very cold, looking under bark can
be very productive for hibernating species, especially Agonopterix (Oecophoridae),
and even some gracillariids! (oddly, I haven't found a single noctuid or
tortricid under bark despite two years of searching...perhaps they prefer leaf
litter?). At night, weather willing, I hope to bait for moths, and look
for some early season frogs.
Feel free to join me if you are so motivated!
p.s. on Sunday I found over 30 Agonopterix (4 species) and 5 gracillariids (one
species) under bark in extreme SW WI! And a blonde phase wooly bear was
out on some grass above the snow!
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