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Butterflies of Mills Reservation, Cedar Grove, Essex County, New Jersey

DIRECTIONS: Mills Reservation is located in Cedar Grove next to Mountainside Park in Upper Montclair. Take the Garden State Parkway north to Exit 151. Turn left onto Watchung Avenue and take it about 2.2 miles to its end at Upper Mountain Avenue. Turn right and drive about 0.5 miles and turn left onto Bradford Avenue. Then take the second right on Bradford Avenue to Edgecliff Road. Mills Reservation is less than half a mile away on the right side. At the entrance, there is a small parking area.

HABITAT: Mills Reservation is a 157-acre secondary woodland with dirt trails.

BUTTERFLY LIST:

Abbreviations are:
A, abundant, likely to see more than 20 individuals per visit to the right spot at the right time
C, common, likely to see 4-20 individuals per visit to the right spot at the right time
U, uncommon, likely to see 0-3 individuals per visit to the right spot at the right time
R, rare, unlikely to see any individuals even at the right spots at the right time
S, stray, vagrant, not seen most years

E, early in month
M, middle of month
L, late in month

Numbers refer to months. For example, the second species, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, is uncommon to common from middle of April through September.
Swallowtails Family Papilionidae
Frequency
Season
__Black Swallowtail
U
5-9
__Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
U-C
M4-9
__Spicebush Swallowtail
U-C
5-9

Whites and Sulphurs Family Pieridae
Frequency
Season
__Cabbage White
C-A
4-10
__Clouded Sulphur
U
4-10
__Orange Sulphur
C
4-10
__Cloudless Sulphur
S
M8-9

Gossamer Wings Family Lycaenidae
Frequency
Season
__Coral Hairstreak
R
M6-7
__Banded Hairstreak
C-U
M6-7
__Hickory Hairstreak
R
M6-7
__Striped Hairstreak
R-U
M6-7
__Southern Hairstreak
R
M6-7
__White M Hairstreak
R
M6-7
__Gray Hairstreak
U
5-9
__Red-banded Hairstreak
U-R
5-9
__Eastern Tailed-Blue
C
5-9
__Spring Azure
U-C
4-M5
__Summer Azure
U-C
M6-9

Brush-footed Butterflies Family Nymphalidae
Frequency
Season
__Variegated Fritillary
S
7-9
__Great Spangled Fritillary
U-C
M6-M9
__Pearl Crescent
R-U
5-9
__Question Mark
U
5-10
__Eastern Comma
U
M4-E10
__Compton's Tortoiseshell
R
M4-10
__Mourning Cloak
U-C
M4-10
__American Lady
U-C
L4-E10
__Painted Lady
R
5-E10
__Red Admiral
U
L4-E10
__Common Buckeye
R-S
7-10
__Red-spotted Purple
U-R
6-9
__Hackberry Emperor
U
L6-E9
__Little Wood-Satyr
C-A
L5-7
__Common Wood-Nymph
U-C
L6-9

Milkweed Butterflies Family Danaidae
Frequency
Season
__Monarch
U-C
6-10

Skippers Family Hesperiidae
Frequency
Season
__Silver-spotted Skipper
U-C
5-9
__Hoary Edge
U
E6-M7
__Northern Cloudywing
U-C
L6-7
__Dreamy Duskywing
U
M5-6
__Juvenal's Duskywing
C
5-E6
__Wild Indigo Duskywing
C
M5-9
__Least Skipper
U-R
6-E9
__European Skipper
C-A
6-E7
__Fiery Skipper
S
8-9
__Peck's Skipper
C-A
L5-9
__Crossline Skipper
R
L6-7
__Northern Broken Dash
U-C
L6-7, (U-R M8-E9)
__Little Glassywing
C
L6-7
__Sachem
S
8-10
__Hobomok Skipper
C
L5-E7
__Zabulon Skipper
C
L5-M9
__Dun Skipper
U-C
L6-8

BEST TIME AND SPOTS TO VISIT: In terms of the largest variety of species, the best time to visit is from late June to mid-July. Best area for butterflies at Mills is the trail that follows the eastern edge of the reservation, beginning right behind the Montclair spring hawk lookout area (there are two trails that begin here towards north: take the one on the right). Mills can be good for anglewings early in the spring; even Compton Tortoiseshell has been recorded in late March a few times.

SPECIALTIES: Hoary Edge, Banded Hairstreak and Hackberry Emperor are regulars at Mills Reservation and at times Mourning Cloak is very common.

NOTES: The Upper Montclair swimming pool is open from late June through the Labor Day weekend and has restrooms. You can have a picnic at Mills Reservation (with a New York City view) or at the Mountainside Park. If you prefer, Upper Montclair offers large number of restaurants, diners and coffee shops, particularly along Valley Road.

7 Sep 2003 / Main New Jersey Page