August 2023 Sightings

4:10-5:05. 80s and sunny. Also one anglewing that flew past and perched too far to ID. [Moderators: Very nice count of Am. Coppers; the only other North Jersey location to produce double figures this year has been Flatbrookville, and most reports have been of singletons. Agapostemon bees are ID’d to genus by combination of metallic green head and thorax with banded abdomen.]

Upper 60s to around 80 and mostly sunny. Wood-Nymph was the 44th species seen on our property this year.

While walking across our breezeway I caught the tail end of the wasp-spider encounter as the victorious wasp was dragging the unfortunate wolf spider back to its lair. The wasp will then lay just one egg on or in the carcass of the paralyzed spider and the wasp larva will then feed on the still living spider until it emerges as an adult.

The male Zabulon (there may have been 2) was the first of the second and final brood and right on schedule. Duskywings were in constant motion and hard to follow, let alone count. What remains to be solved is the perplexing puzzle of the paucity of Peck's. Nary a pack or a peck of Peck's to be perceived. Too much?

10 AM-12:45PM. Sun and breeze, 75-80 F. NY Ironweed blooming, Grass-leafed Goldenrod in good shape but just starting to bloom. Butterflies unexpectedly sparse.

12:00-3:00. Sunny, temps in 70s. Mostly on Limecrest Road side of park.

4:45 - 5:45. Sunny, mid 70s. Along the dirt road from Walpack Cemetery towards Buttermilk Falls. Monarda in full bloom. The very tattered butterfly pictured never showed its underwings, but I believe it's a Northern Pearly-eye.

Obs. incl. one dark swallowtail, most likely Spicebush.

1:30-2:30 PM. About 80 F. Most activity on the abundant Purple Loosestrife. The Sulphur looked rather yellow on the underside but in flight was orange above, with narrow unspotted black borders. Both Sachems worn and faded. One dark Swallowtail sp., one Duskywing sp.

3-4PM. Sunny, 78 degrees, breezy. The Elizabeth Bayshore is the mitigation property east of the Jersey Gardens shopping mall. Primarily a birding location for a very few intrepid birders, the vegetation is mostly mugwort, phragmites, etc., with few nectar sources.

Late morning, sunny. Hairstreak ID was based on the blue spot projecting inward, white on both sides of cell spots (which I know can sometimes be found on Banded), more brownish than grayish even in this worn state. Pipevine was female. A few skippers sp. too.

Obs. incl. a sphinx moth (species ID help appreciated) [Moderators: The moth appears to be a Hermit Sphinx Moth the cats. of which feed on the leaves of various mints.]

In the late afternoon on the way to High Point, we made a brief stop on Sawmill Road by the power line. At High Point we looked around the monument and then walked the edges of the parking area.

9:20 AM - 1:30 PM. Sun, later a few clouds, 68-76 F. Pleasant Plains Rd. (where they were mowing roadside), Long Hill Rd., WOC, White Bridge Rd. 1 Duskywng sp., 1 Grass-skipper sp..

9:20-10:45. Very few butterflies. Birds quiet. There were dragonflies, but not in typical abundance or diversity. I think these were commas, they went by fast, and were all worn. [Moderators: Based on the photo submitted, one Comma was changed to Question Mark.]

Sunny and warm 75 degrees. Observations from Owens Station Crossing to the Liberty Loop Trail.
Buttonbush and Wild Bergamot were the nectar plants today.

Short stop on the way home. All action on Purple Loosestrife. 1 DW sp., likely Horace's.

Beautiful sunny morning, comfortable temperature.

No Monarchs using the milkweed, just this skipper.

noon to 1:15 pm. lows 70s, sunny and a slight breeze. Basically perfect weather. Lots of Wild Bergamot. Not too many butterflies.

1:40 to 3:20 pm. mid-70s and sunny.

Seen while watching a conspiracy of CORA's sparring with a wake of TUVU's over some morsel hidden in the grass in a nearby field.

Area along Assunpink Creek south of Broad St. Lots of flowers and native plantings along the creek - Queen Anne's Lace, Wild Bergamot, and Partridge Pea blooming, but no butterflies. Swallowtail was a flyover.

1:10 PM for ~60 minutes. 79 F degrees, cloudy, diffused light. Three of us visited the Marl Works after the leaderless White Lake portion of the day was finished. The highlight was three Harvesters in the parking area. The totals from this list are additions to the previous White Lake list. Note: the Marl Works structure is now fenced in.[Moderators: This is the first-ever report of Harvester from White Lake.

10:15-11:00, 71-74 degrees, mostly sunny
Worked the two fields that flank the entrance road off of Goodale Road. Four of the 76 tigers were dark. Monarda at its peak but ZuZu was not and wanted to head back to the car before getting to the office.

Mild, 75 degrees, part sun, breezy. Butterfly's wings worn, but flew well.

9:15-12:30, Partly cloudy with smoky overcast to mostly cloudy, breezy and mid 70's. Respectable amount of nectar - mostly mountain mint, bergamot and loosestrife but other than Swallowtails, no one nectaring.

1:30-2:30 PM. Cloudy but bright, breezy, 78 F. Different Broad-wing from yesterday. [Moderators: Looks like the new brood of Red-banded Hairstreaks is out as represented by this super fresh individual. Terrific photo, Mike.]

Leaderless Walks - 13 participants. Partly cloudy in the 70's.

Covered Old Mine Rd. in Montague & part of Sandyston Twps. Obs. included 5 Hummingbird Clearwing Moths, 2 dark swallowtails, and 4 sulphurs. Very little remaining wild growth in fields; everything's getting "farmed". Unknown why this is considered "best" management; diversity of plants & wildlife has plummeted.

We walked the road around noon for a little better than an hour until the mosquitoes drove us away. Conditions were very dry, mostly sunny, temperature mid 70's.

3-4PM. Mostly cloudy, 79°. One of the Commas was being eaten by a Black-shouldered Spinyleg.