Recent sightings

Viceroy was perfect!

Afternoon walk, sunny, high 70s.

12:30 to 1:30. Sunny, 70s. A quick, successful look for Dusted Skipper.

Sunny and breezy

Drive-by butterfly.

About two hours mid morning and a return mid-afternoon. On return, only recorded new species. There were at least 50 Duskywings; the few we were able to positively ID were all Juvenal’s. .Everything moving fast and very little perching - photos only of duskywing and tailed-blue.

2:30-4:00, low 80's and full sun

Slim pickings other than Little Wood Satyr ,which appears to be having another banner year. Indian Skipper has become increasingly scarce and appears to be largely restricted to a few of the higher elevations of Sussex, Warren, and Morris counties.

1:50 pm to 3 pm, high 70s and sunny. Spent time in and around the gas line ROW on Sawmill Road looking for Pepper and Salt. Only saw one in about an hour of looking. Saw one male and one female Orangetip.

Sunny with temperatures in low 80's

10:00 - 10:30 AM. Sunny, 73 deg. F. Fields degraded and overgrown with mugwort. Few nectar sources

11:45- 3:00. Sunny, temps in 70s. Other than Little Wood-Satyrs, few butterflies evident.

9:15-11:15, sunny, 66-73 F degs.

Sunny in the 70's. Saw a duskywing too but it was most uncooperative.

Nice sunny, warm day. QM was a beautiful fresh summer form.

9:30-12:00, sunny, 60s to low 70s. Noted during Native Plant Society walk. [Moderators: First Giant Swallowtail reported this year - we were getting worried!]

Roy Rd. is an eBird hotspot.

Drove about 2.5 miles coming in from Deckertown Rd. (I hope I identified Duskywing correctly)

3:25 to 5:45 pm; sunny with temp in the low 70s. Still a decent number of Dusted skippers around. At the end of my walk I got excited when I thought I found a Cobweb skipper, but on close inspection it was a female Sachem. Also found a fresh intact five-foot long black racer shedded skin, and about 20 yards away saw a racer of that size that could have been the shedder.

3:15-4:45. Sunny, upper 70s. Perfect weather conditions but only two butterflies seen after one and a half hours. The other was a dark swallowtail flyby. Lots of White Clover in bloom but no takers.

2:00-4:30, sunny, low 70s. Also saw one white-form sulphur.
Pepper and Salt Skippers very fresh - probably still emerging. To find them, it's best to walk Sawmill Road between the gas line and the bridge to the north, carefully checking the Wild Geraniums. One-flowered Cancerroot, which we have seen only three times, is parasitic on herbaceous plants, particularly goldenrods.

10:20-11:10, sunny, 65-64º.

Late afternoon walk. Temperature around 70.

9:15 AM - 12:15 PM. Too cool for much activity. Kicked the ETB up from the vegetation.

From the parking lot off Int. 80, took the Pahaquarry Trail to the Mt. Tammany fire road (trail) and then walked it northeastward. Sunny & cool. Beautiful day. Cumulative list. [Moderators: This is the first club record of Pepper and Salt Skipper for Warren County.]

Quick morning walk with ZuZu—10:15-11-15

56-57, mostly sunny and breezy

All of the grass skippers were nectaring at Dandelions growing in the mowed paths.

Not the first time for an extraordinary number of Little Wood-Satyrs here. Indeed, this number was exceeded twice last year, once at about 180 and once, at what is probably a record held by the Wanders, over 200.

Sunny in the low 70's

I spent time from 2:30 pm to 3:45 pm at Horseshoe Bend Park, but was somewhat disappointed by the lack of nectar sources and hence, the lack of butterflies. The weather was pleasant at about 80 degrees with sun and little wind, but the main source of nectar was wild blackberry bushes, with very few takers. A duskywing that was the most bedraggled, beat-up butterfly I have ever seen is listed as Juvenal's. [Moderators: A total of 8 butterflies in more than 1 hour of searching at a site known to support lots of butterflies is sadly representative of reports this year. Henry's observation of the few sources of nectar available at this time of year being little visited by butterflies is one that we have commented on before. Blackberries and dewberries, which are natives in good bloom now, do not attract nearly as many butterflies (and other insects) as they used to. The reason for this that comes most readily to mind is a dearth of butterflies and insects in general. We have noted what little action there is is on Dandelion, Cypress and Leafy spurges, Dame's Rocket, and White and Red clovers—all non-native species. It will be interesting to see what milkweed flowers attract in June and July.]

Mid-afternoon, Sunny, Temperature low 70s [Moderators: First Pepper and Salt Skipper report this year and from the largest and most consistent colony known to us although numbers have declined significantly over the past few years.]

Nice, sunny day that reached 80 before clouds and a shower in late afternoon. It was gratifying to see the orangetip, an uncommon visitor here (this one a F checking out Tower Mustard), but overall the lack of butterflies, bumblebees, and other insects is hard to fathom and truly alarming.

American Lady ovipositing on Helichrysum in addition to pussytoes and Pearly Everlasting. Many Mourning Cloak caterpillars on Common Hackberry.

11:30 to 3:00. Mostly sunny, temps in 70s.

A brief late afternoon visit.

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM. Bit breezy for butterfly activity.

Short Walk, late afternoon, mostly cloudy. Little Wood-Satyrs may be starting one of their "explosion years".

Sunny. Temps in the 70's

Sunny, temps in the 70's [Moderators: Good to see at least one species at a site reported in double figures. The first brood of Tiger Swallowtails is finally picking up. Also, nice to get a report from Hunterdon County other than from Horseshoe Bend Preserve.]

10:00-2:45, sun through high smoke haze, 62-75º. First monitoring visit of 2023 to this secure facility (entrance to the general public allowed only to the Kaiser Trailhead). Only one Roadside-Skipper, and a very brief look at that. Along with some other goodies we found a bird nest that we suspect may be Prairie Warbler about 2 feet off the ground in a small Beech sapling . The exterior was entirely coated with cattail fluff.

4:45-5:30. Mostly sunny, light breeze. In the 70s. All the butterfly action was around the spring, and all nectaring was on Rubus sp. and Multiflora Rose.

2:00-4:30. Mostly sunny, light breeze. In the 70s. A new area I just "discovered" today down Davison Road in back of the Monroe Twp. Middle School. Parked at the Gravel Hill Trail parking lot, walked further down the road, and turned left into the well-marked and well-maintained trail. Very few invasive plants in a rich woodland with several nice stands of Netted Chain Fern. The Tuliptree Beauty moth plastered itself against a Beech tree. A Harvester was dancing around it, apparently trying to get it to move, but the moth stayed put. Zabulons nectaring on Rubus sp.

11:00- 12:30. A singing veery was a highlight here to help make up for my 0 for 2 on the day on my pepper and salt skipper search. The "f. zab" is not what I think of as typically marked. [Moderators: As Jack suggests, this individual lacks the sharp white edge to the HW that is typical of F Zabulon. Another possibility is 'Pocahontas' Hobomok F, but this individual lacks the "ghost" of the normal yellow patch that can usually be seen on 'Pocahontas'. Anyone else care to comment?]

9:00- 10:20. As a southern migrant myself, I was happy to be with some birds of a different feather today like Pileated, Raven, and Warbling Vireo. Plenty of bfly activity made strolling the powerline pleasant. Has Pepper and Salt Skipper been seen here since the construction was completed?

4:30-5:00. I've seen many Tiger Swallowtails exploring the canopy but never seen them use Black Locust flowers for nectar - really cool. Also saw a Blue Jay consistently try to catch the Cabbage White!

3:45-4:00 - short walk around the beach. Breezy and warm. Mainly beach/swamp roses in bloom but some knapweed along the sidewalk. First Black Swallowtail of the year for me - a beautiful male.

1:30-3:00.

2:30pm-4:00pm, mostly sunny, 72°.

Was forecast to be sunny and warm but what 14 members and one guest got was overcast and cool. Nonetheless, we managed 13 species of butterflies plus 2 small Hognose Snakes, 1 large Black Rat Snake, a large Snapping Turtle laying eggs, and a Box Turtle. Thanks to Fred Pfeifer for photos of the snakes and the elfin. Two members stopped at the nearby Flatbrook-Roy WMA in Sandyston Twp. on their way home and found 5 Harvesters and one of the somnolent (probably Dreamy) duskywings. All-in-all a very good day. [Moderators' note: originally called the pictured duskywing a Juvenal's, but the large size of the glassy FW spots and the bold patterning of the FW have made us reconsider.]

A late afternoon stop, again with only a couple of brief periods of sun. High 60's. Most of the Wood-Satyrs were nectaring on the Cypress Spurge.

Obs. made from 2:15 to 3:30, Cloudy low 60's. A 10 min. period of sun brought out my only butterfly here.

With temps rising I decided to check the fields here. Unfortunately, total cloud cover ruled my time here. Obs. made from 12:40 to 2. Low 60's. Abundant Cypress Spurge in bloom.

A little sun brought temps above 60 and this enabled a few butterflies to take flight.

With temperature only in the mid 50's this morning it was mostly birding but did find a couple of fresh male Spicebush Swallowtails & an Eastern Tiger. These were upstaged by a Bobcat walking the road, my 3rd here in the last 7 years. Was only able to get a few out the side window shots before a car coming south scared it into the woods.

Incidental sightings while birding with my children, 3-4:30 pm. Very low numbers of Sachem have been around in May-June during the past several years–otherwise only present in late summer and fall. [Moderators: Good to get reports from Essex County which is little visited by butterfliers and especially nice to get reports from the Baytas family.]

A brief late afternoon walk, mostly cloudy in the high 60's. [Moderators: This former kids camp is owned and managed by Frelinghuysen Township. The north section of the preserve (139 Lincoln-Laurel Road, Newton) is best for butterflies as it has open fields with Little Bluestem Grass. More than 55 species of butterflies have been seen here since 2014 including American Copper, White M Hairstreak, Pine Elfin, Juniper Hairstreak, Meadow Fritillary, Northern Pearly-eye, and many species of grass skippers. No bathrooms but picnic tables on the deck of the building. Open dawn-to-dusk 7 days a week. Easy walking along roads and maintained trails.]

Leaderless walks - 5 participants. Partly cloudy, temps in the 60's.[Moderators: Hyper Humus is a section of the Paulins Kill WMA and is a popular destination among birders. The Nature Conservancy and other organizations are restoring the flow of the river and the natural floodplain habitats that were very much altered when the area was mined for peat.]

Mid-afternoon stroll through the meadows and woods.
Low 60s, sunny, and breezy.

The extremely fresh Black Swallowtail was ovipositing on the alien (and very aggressive and hard to eradicate) Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa). Be sure to cover bare skin when attempting to remove this plant as the sap can cause nasty, and potentially scarring, burns.

One of the Juniper Hairstreaks was worn and faded whereas the other appeared quite fresh. Surprisingly, no E. Tailed-Blues, Silver-spotted Skippers, or Cabbage Whites.

Also saw a Bog Deltote moth, which inhabits wetlands.

I had some time to go on a butterfly walk in the afternoon, so decided to check out Plainsboro Preserve, as I had not been there in some time. My expectations were low, as it was barely 68 degrees and though sunny, quite windy as well. I was very pleasantly surprised by the diversity in a place that is not specifically set up for attracting butterflies. One of the biggest surprises was finding 16 very fresh Red-banded Hairstreaks, but the highlight of the day was capturing a pair of Snowberry Clearwing Moths mating. While following one of the moths to get some photos, it suddenly dropped out of the air so quickly that I thought it was had been captured by a robber fly. Upon a closer examination, it turned out to have been suddenly finding a mate. At first the pair was stacked one on top of the other, but slowly moved into a more usual end-to-end position. [Moderators: A fine list from an infrequently visited location. This twp. owned and managed property supports a large population of Baptisia tinctoria and as such might be a good candidate site for introducing Frosted Elfins and re-establishing a population in north Jersey.]

Some sun but 20-30+mph gusts on the ridge. Fred found the hairstreak on a blade of grass!!!

9 AM - 2 PM. Sunny, max 79F. One RSP appeared to be pursuing a blue car. And one fly-by Sulphur sp. Except for a few dandelions, did not observe any nectar sources.