Recent sightings

  • Date Clear

  • Location Clear

  • Other Clear

Maria Loukeris

My Glenwood yard
Sussex County, NJ

Viceroy was perfect!

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Cabbage White 2
  • Viceroy 1
  • Peck's Skipper 2

Joe Burgiel & Marge Barrett

High Point State Park
Sussex County, NJ

Afternoon walk, sunny, high 70s.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 2
  • Cabbage White 1
  • Pearl Crescent 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 5
  • Zabulon Skipper 1
  • Hobomok Skipper 3
  • Pepper and Salt Skipper 7

Tom Halliwell

Powerline intersecting Roxbury Greenway S of Succasunna.
Morris County, NJ

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

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 2
  • Dusted Skipper 3

Ken Witkowski

Wallkill River NWR (Dagmar Dale Trail)
Sussex County, NJ

Sunny and breezy

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 3
  • Clouded Sulphur 2
  • Juniper Hairstreak 1
  • Pearl Crescent 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 12
  • Common Ringlet 1
  • Zabulon Skipper 3

C Wyluda

Home, Hopewell Twp.
Mercer County, NJ

Drive-by butterfly.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1

Mary Jo Sichak

Home Garden in Wanaque
Passaic County, NJ

  • Zabulon Skipper 1

Grant Price

Holland Mountain (restricted access)
Sussex County, NJ

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.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 2
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 2
  • Cabbage White 4
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 3
  • Spring Azure 2
  • American Lady 2
  • Red-spotted Admiral 3
  • Common Ringlet 2
  • Monarch 1
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 7
  • Hobomok Skipper 2

Sharon & Wade Wander

Utility line easement off of Camp Mohican Road, Blairstown Twp.
Warren County, NJ

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.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 2
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 1
  • Cabbage White 1
  • Clouded Sulphur 1
  • Orange Sulphur 1
  • American Copper 2
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 5
  • Pearl Crescent 3
  • Little Wood-Satyr 98
  • Silver-spotted Skipper 1
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 4
  • Wild Indigo Duskywing 1
  • Indian Skipper 1
  • Peck's Skipper 2

American Copper

Delta-spotted Spiketail

Indian Skipper

Stephen Buckingham

High Point State Park
Sussex County, NJ

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.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Falcate Orangetip 2
  • Pearl Crescent 4
  • Little Wood-Satyr 2
  • Common Ringlet 4
  • Zabulon Skipper 1
  • Hobomok Skipper 3
  • Pepper and Salt Skipper 1

Pepper and Salt Skipper

Falcate Orangetip M

John J. Collins

Ken Lockwood Gorge WMA
Hunterdon County, NJ

Sunny with temperatures in low 80's

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Harvester 4
  • Red Admiral 1

Garry Annibal

Tourne, River Access
Morris County, NJ

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

  • Red Admiral 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 11
  • Zabulon Skipper 1

Tom Halliwell

Schooley's Mountain County Park
Morris County, NJ

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

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 1
  • Clouded Sulphur 1
  • Pearl Crescent 4
  • Little Wood-Satyr 120
  • Zabulon Skipper 1
  • Peck's Skipper 5
  • Long Dash 1
  • Hobomok Skipper 4

Jonathan Klizas

Willowwood Arboretum
Morris County, NJ

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

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 4
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 2
  • Cabbage White 2
  • Pearl Crescent 3
  • Red-spotted Purple 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 23
  • Monarch 1
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 1
  • Zabulon Skipper 1

John J. Collins

High Point State Park, Kuser Natural Area
Sussex County, NJ

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

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 2
  • Cabbage White 1
  • Mourning Cloak 1

Sharon & Wade Wander

Home garden and pollinator meadow, Fredon Twp.
Sussex County, NJ

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

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 2
  • Cabbage White 1
  • Question Mark 1
  • Red Admiral 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 6

Sharon & Wade Wander

Kittatinny Valley SP
Sussex County, NJ

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!]

  • Giant Swallowtail 1
  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 2
  • Red-spotted Purple 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 4
  • Silver-spotted Skipper 1
  • Zabulon Skipper 1
  • Hobomok Skipper 2

Maria Loukeris

Roy Rd., Wantage Twp.
Sussex County, NJ

Roy Rd. is an eBird hotspot.

  • Common Ringlet 1

Maria Loukeris

High Point SP (Sawmill Rd.)
Sussex County, NJ

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

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 3
  • Falcate Orangetip 1
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 1
  • Zabulon Skipper 1
  • Hobomok Skipper 1
  • Pepper and Salt Skipper 1

Nerses Kazanjian

Tatum Park, Middletown
Monmouth County, NJ

  • Harvester 12
  • Silver-spotted Skipper 3

Stephen Buckingham

Mountainside Park, Pequannock
Morris County, NJ

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.

  • Spicebush Swallowtail 2
  • Cabbage White 2
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 7
  • Pearl Crescent 1
  • American Lady 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 24
  • Silver-spotted Skipper 3
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 2
  • Zabulon Skipper 7
  • Sachem 1
  • Hobomok Skipper 8
  • Dusted Skipper 7

Hobomok Skipper

Zabulon Skipper

Sachem

Silver-spotted Skipper

Dusted Skipper

Joyce Cloughly

Monmouth Battlefield State Park
Monmouth County, NJ

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.

  • Red-spotted Purple 1

Sharon & Wade Wander

High Point State Park
Sussex County, NJ

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.

  • Black Swallowtail 1
  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Cabbage White 1
  • Falcate Orangetip 1
  • Pearl Crescent 3
  • Common Ringlet 8
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 9
  • Wild Indigo Duskywing 1
  • Hobomok Skipper 11
  • Pepper and Salt Skipper 3

One-flowered Cancerroot

Pepper and Salt Skipper

Pepper and Salt Skipper

Sharon & Wade Wander

Frelinghuysen Forest Preserve
Warren County, NJ

10:20-11:10, sunny, 65-64º.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 3
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 1
  • American Copper 1
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 270
  • Peck's Skipper 1
  • Hobomok Skipper 3

Joe Burgiel & Marge Barrett

Hillside Park, Andover Twp.
Sussex County, NJ

Late afternoon walk. Temperature around 70.

  • Cabbage White 3
  • Little Wood-Satyr 5
  • Zabulon Skipper 1
  • Peck's Skipper 1
  • Hobomok Skipper 2

Michael Newlon

Passaic River Park (River Rd, Chatham Twp.)
Morris County, NJ

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

  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 1

Jim Springer, Chris & Paula Williams, Fred Pfeifer, Tom Bailey

Worthington SF
Warren County, NJ

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.]

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 14
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 9
  • Brown Elfin 2
  • Mourning Cloak 5
  • Red Admiral 5
  • Red-spotted Purple 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 3
  • Northern Cloudywing 3
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 13
  • Horace's Duskywing 1
  • Indian Skipper 3
  • Hobomok Skipper 9
  • Pepper and Salt Skipper 2
  • Common Roadside-Skipper 2

Pepper and Salt Skipper

Pepper and Salt Skipper

Common Roadside-Skipper

Indian Skipper

Grant Price

Home
Somerset County, NJ

  • Red-spotted Purple 1

Sharon & Wade Wander

White Lake, Hardwick Twp.
Warren County, NJ

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.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Clouded Sulphur 1
  • Pearl Crescent 3
  • Little Wood-Satyr 25
  • Peck's Skipper 5
  • Tawny-edged Skipper 2

Peck's Skipper

Joe Burgiel & Marge Barrett

Frelinghuysen Forest Preserve
Warren County, NJ

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.

  • Little Wood-Satyr 173
  • Hobomok Skipper 1

John J. Collins

Raritan Greenway, Raritan Borough
Somerset County, NJ

Sunny in the low 70's

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 3
  • Cabbage White 1
  • Red Admiral 2
  • Zabulon Skipper 1

Henry Kindervatter

Horseshoe Bend Park
Hunterdon County, NJ

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.]

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 1
  • Cabbage White 2
  • Red-banded Hairstreak 1
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 1
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 1
  • Zabulon Skipper 1

Joe Burgiel & Marge Barrett

High Point State Park
Sussex County, NJ

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.]

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Cabbage White 1
  • Pepper and Salt Skipper 1

Sharon & Wade Wander

Home garden and pollinator meadow, Fredon Twp.
Sussex County, NJ

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.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 1
  • Falcate Orangetip 1
  • Pearl Crescent 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 1

Jane Hurwitz

Home Garden
Somerset County, NJ

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

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Cabbage White 1
  • American Lady 1
  • Red Admiral 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 1
  • Silver-spotted Skipper 1
  • Hobomok Skipper 2

Mourning Cloak caterpillars

Tom Halliwell

Kittatinny Valley SP
Sussex County, NJ

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

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 6
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 1
  • Cabbage White 1
  • Clouded Sulphur 3
  • Red-banded Hairstreak 1
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 3
  • Pearl Crescent 9
  • Red Admiral 2
  • Red-spotted Purple 1
  • Viceroy 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 90
  • Monarch 2
  • Silver-spotted Skipper 2
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 3
  • Wild Indigo Duskywing 1
  • Zabulon Skipper 1
  • Hobomok Skipper 3

Grant Price

Mercer Meadows (Pole Farm District)
Mercer County, NJ

  • Zabulon Skipper 1

Zabulon Skipper

Joe Burgiel & Marge Barrett

Kittatinny Valley State Park
Sussex County, NJ

A brief late afternoon visit.

  • Cabbage White 1
  • Pearl Crescent 5
  • Red Admiral 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 10

Michael Newlon

Great Swamp NWR (Pleasant Plains Rd.)
Morris County, NJ

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

  • Mourning Cloak 1

Joe Burgiel & Marge Barrett

White Lake
Warren County, NJ

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

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 3
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 1
  • Cabbage White 2
  • Pearl Crescent 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 45

John J. Collins

Fiddler's Creek/Hollystone Preserve
Mercer County, NJ

Sunny. Temps in the 70's

  • Spring Azure 2
  • American Lady 1

John J. Collins

Bull's Island State Park
Hunterdon County, NJ

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.]

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 11
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 1
  • Red Admiral 4
  • Zabulon Skipper 1

Sharon & Wade Wander

Yards Creek Generating Station, Blairstown Twp.
Warren County, NJ

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.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 7
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 2
  • Cabbage White 5
  • American Copper 2
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 9
  • Pearl Crescent 11
  • Mourning Cloak 4
  • American Lady 1
  • Red Admiral 1
  • Red-spotted Purple 2
  • Little Wood-Satyr 44
  • Monarch 1
  • Silver-spotted Skipper 2
  • Northern Cloudywing 1
  • Dreamy Duskywing 4
  • Sleepy Duskywing 1
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 19
  • Wild Indigo Duskywing 4
  • Hobomok Skipper 3
  • Dun Skipper 1
  • Common Roadside-Skipper 1

Dreamy Duskywing

Nest of Prairie Warbler (?) in sapling Am. Beech

Black Rat Snake

Stream Cruiser

Buck moth caterpillars on Scrub Oak

White-spotted Sable Moth

Northern Cloudywing

Grant Price

Negri-Nepote
Somerset County, NJ

  • Cabbage White 3
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 1
  • Pearl Crescent 5

Pearl Crescent

Joyce Cloughly

Thompson Park
Middlesex County, NJ

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.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Silver-spotted Skipper 2
  • Zabulon Skipper 7
  • Hobomok Skipper 1

Silver-spotted Skipper

Joyce Cloughly

Thompson Park Conservation Area, Monroe Twp.
Middlesex County, NJ

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.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Harvester 1
  • Red-banded Hairstreak 2
  • Red-spotted Purple 1
  • Zabulon Skipper 5

Tuliptree Beauty moth

Gravel Hill Trail

Cinnamon Ferns with Netted Chain Ferns at base

Zabulon Skipper F

Jack Miller

Voorhees SP
Hunterdon County, NJ

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?]

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 2
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 2
  • Cabbage White 1
  • Orange Sulphur 1
  • Red-banded Hairstreak 3
  • Appalachian Azure 1
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 5
  • Pearl Crescent 4
  • American Lady 3
  • Red Admiral 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 6
  • Silver-spotted Skipper 2
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 1
  • Zabulon Skipper 3
  • Peck's Skipper 1
  • Sachem 1
  • Hobomok Skipper 2

Zabulon Skipper F?

Peck's Skipper M

Hobomok Skipper

Jack Miller

Sourland Mountain Preserve
Somerset County, NJ

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?

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 2
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 3
  • Red-banded Hairstreak 6
  • Appalachian Azure 2
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 4
  • Pearl Crescent 4
  • American Lady 2
  • Red Admiral 2
  • Red-spotted Purple 3
  • Little Wood-Satyr 2
  • Silver-spotted Skipper 2
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 2
  • Zabulon Skipper 2

Red-spotted Purple

Appalachian Azure

Dave DeSarno

Swimming River Natural Area
Monmouth County, NJ

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!

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Cabbage White 1

Dave DeSarno

Shark River Inlet
Monmouth County, NJ

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.

  • Black Swallowtail 1

Nerses Kazanjian

Tatum Park, Middletown
Monmouth County, NJ

  • Harvester 9

Fred Pfeifer

DWGNRA (Crater Lake Road - aka Skyline Drive)
Sussex County, NJ

1:30-3:00.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 4
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 1
  • Pearl Crescent 6
  • Mourning Cloak 1
  • Red Admiral 1
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 1

Mourning Cloak

Red Admiral

Jonathan Klizas, Keith RIchmond &Jim Springer

White Lake
Warren County, NJ

2:30pm-4:00pm, mostly sunny, 72°.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 2
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 1
  • Cabbage White 1
  • Clouded Sulphur 8
  • Juniper Hairstreak 2
  • Pearl Crescent 3
  • Red Admiral 2
  • Little Wood-Satyr 42
  • Monarch 1
  • Zabulon Skipper 3
  • Peck's Skipper 1

Juniper Hairstreak

NJ Butterfly Club Field Trip

DWGNRA (Flatbrookville, Walpack Twp.)
Sussex County, NJ

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.]

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 2
  • Cabbage White 1
  • American Copper 14
  • Eastern Pine Elfin 2
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 49
  • American Lady 2
  • Red Admiral 3
  • Little Wood-Satyr 39
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 15
  • Horace's Duskywing 1
  • Zabulon Skipper 1
  • Hobomok Skipper 1
  • Dusted Skipper 1

Eastern Pine Elfin

Black Rat Snake

Eastern Tailed-Blues mating

Dusted Skipper M

Hognose Snake

Horace's Duskywing F

David L. Amadio

White Lake Natural Resource Area, Hardwick Twp.
Warren County, NJ

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.

  • Clouded Sulphur 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 9
  • Zabulon Skipper 1

David L. Amadio

DWGNRA (Blue Mountain Lake)
Sussex County, NJ

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

  • Spicebush Swallowtail 1

David L. Amadio

DWGNRA (Flatbrookville)
Sussex County, NJ

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.

  • American Copper 1
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 4
  • Little Wood-Satyr 2
  • Southern Cloudywing 1

David L. Amadio

DWGNRA (Old Mine Rd. from Poxono boat ramp to Millbrook)
Warren County, NJ

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

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 5
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 2
  • Zabulon Skipper 1

David L. Amadio

Worthington S.F.
Warren County, NJ

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.

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 2

Bobcat

Ahmet Baytas

A. Bonsal Wildlife Refuge, Montclair
Essex County, NJ

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.]

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Red-banded Hairstreak 1
  • Red Admiral 2
  • Zabulon Skipper 1
  • Sachem 1

Joe Burgiel & Marge Barrett

Frelinghuysen Forest Preserve, Frelinghuysen Twp.
Warren County, NJ

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.]

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 2
  • American Copper 4
  • Pearl Crescent 1
  • Little Wood-Satyr 8
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 1

John J. Collins

Hyper Humus
Sussex County, NJ

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.]

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 3
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 3
  • Cabbage White 1
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue 1
  • Pearl Crescent 3

Sharon & Wade Wander

White Lake, Hardwick Twp.
Warren County, NJ

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.

  • Black Swallowtail 1
  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 2
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 2
  • Clouded Sulphur 5
  • Red-banded Hairstreak 2
  • Juniper Hairstreak 2
  • Pearl Crescent 9
  • Little Wood-Satyr 18
  • Zabulon Skipper 2
  • Peck's Skipper 2

Henry Kindervatter

Plainsboro Preserve, Plainsboro Twp.
Middlesex County, NJ

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.]

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 4
  • Spicebush Swallowtail 1
  • Cabbage White 2
  • Red-banded Hairstreak 16
  • Pearl Crescent 3
  • Red-spotted Purple 1
  • Silver-spotted Skipper 2
  • Juvenal's Duskywing 1
  • Zabulon Skipper 12
  • Hobomok Skipper 1

Hobomok Skipper

Zabulon Skipper

Snowberry Clearwing Moth

Snowberry Clearwing Moth

Red-banded Hairstreak

Red-banded Hairstreak

Snowberry Clearwing Moth

Mike Lee & Fred Pfeifer

Garrett Mountain Reservation (Park), Woodland Park
Passaic County, NJ

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

  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
  • Red-banded Hairstreak 1

Red-banded Hairstreak

Michael Newlon

Great Swamp NWR, Pleasant Plains Rd
Morris County, NJ

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.

  • Cabbage White 3
  • Red-spotted Purple 2