Past Issue October 2006
In This Edition:
NABA's MISSION STATEMENT: 1) Upcoming Walks and Events 1. UPCOMING NABA WALKS AND RELATED EVENTS – October 2006: Beginners and children accompanied by adults are welcome on every butterfly walk and count. Directions are found below, at the end of the Calendar. Water, hat, and sunscreen are recommended for every outing. Tick prevention methods include wearing long pants and using insect repellent. Feel free to invite a friend, or even better, several friends! Wed. Oct. 11. Torrey Berger will give a program about his trip to Brazil, 7:00 p.m., Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center. DIRECTIONS: From the intersection of Interstates 44 & 270, take Watson Road to Geyer Road. Turn north on Geyer for 200 yards to Cragwold Road. Go west on Cragwold for one mile to the nature center entrance on the right, and follow the drive to the parking lot. Enter the building through the left entrance. Sun. Oct. 15. Butterfly Walk at Hilda Young Conservation Area near Eureka. Meet at 10:00 at the parking lot. There are no facilities. This will be our last outing of the season! Bring lunch. DIRECTIONS: Take I-44 west to Hwy 109 exit. Turn left onto Hwy 109 (formerly called Hwy “W”). Go south on 109 for 2 miles. At the T intersection, turn right onto Hwy FF and go for 2.7 miles to a well-marked parking lot on the left. There is a Mo. Dept. of Conservation sign at the parking lot. There are gasoline stations on Hwy 109 to stop for restrooms; these are the last public facilities. Tues. Oct. 24. St. Louis Zoo’s 2006 Conservation Forum. Our chapter will have a display table at the Zoo's Living World on Tues., October 24, 5:30-9 p.m. (SEE STORY BELOW). 2. SEPTEMBER BUTTERFLY SIGHTINGS by Yvonne Homeyer On Sat. 9/2, Mary Eileen Rufkahr and Yvonne Homeyer visited St. Stanislaus Conservation Area in Hazelwood, near the Mississippi River. Although the WGNSS Botany Group sometimes has field trips there, St. Stanislaus is not a frequently checked location, although it is very easy to find and the walking is easy. They saw a total of 24 species and over 600 individuals in 2 hours. Cloudless Sulphurs were everywhere (200+), with Little Yellows not far behind (100+). Viceroys (50+) were much more numerous than Monarchs (about a dozen). A Dukes’s Skipper, always a nice find, landed on Mary Eileen’s binoculars. Other butterflies of note: 5 Dainty Sulphurs, 5 Gray Hairstreaks, 20 Silver-spotted Skippers, 1 worn Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, 12 Wild Indigo Duskywings, 50+ Common Checkered-Skippers, and 1 Common Sootywing. No Painted Ladies were found, and grass skippers were notable for their absence. All in all, it was a fairly successful day and a nice way to start the Labor Day Weekend. The same day, Jim Ziebol checked out Busch Wildlife and came up with 4 additional species: Giant Swallowtail (1), Buckeye (20), Tawny Emperor (2), and Goatweed (1). Jim also observed a Katydid eating a Monarch caterpillar. David Becher, who was leading a bird walk for WGNSS at B.K. Leach, reported several Snouts. Torrey Berger visited B.K. Leach Conservation Area in Lincoln County on 9/3, over Labor Day weekend. He observed Black and Tiger Swallowtail, Checkered White, Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, Little Yellow, Cloudless Sulphur, Bronze Copper, Gray Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Variegated Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, E. Comma, Red Admiral, Snout, Buckeye, Red-spotted Purple, Viceroy, Hackberry, Monarch, Silver-spotted Skipper, Common Checkered-Skipper, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Least Skipper, Little Glassywing, Dun, and Duke’s Skipper. At his home, Torrey had Peck’s Skipper. Yvonne Homeyer and Jim Ziebol visited Columbia Bottom, Dresser Island, and the St. Charles Municipal Airport on Sun. 9/3. They added 11 species not seen on 9/2: Checkered White (6 at CB), Least Skipper (1 at DI, 1 at airport), Tawny Emperor (1 at DI), Fiery Skipper (1 at DI), Question Mark (1 at DI), Southern Cloudywing (1 at CB), Great Spangled Fritillary (1 at DI), Variegated Fritillary (1 at airport), Dun Skipper (1 at DI), Peck’s Skipper (1 at airport), and amazingly, a Painted Lady (at CB). In addition, 14 Dukes’s Skippers were found at Dresser Island. Cloudless Sulphurs and Little Yellows were abundant at CB and DI. On Labor Day, Mon. 9/3, Jim found 5 Sleepy Oranges, 100 Southern Dogfaces and 1 Dukes’s Skipper at Horseshoe Lake. Torrey Berger found 5 species on 9/3 (see above) that Yvonne and Jim did not see on their field trips over Labor Day weekend: Bronze Copper, Red-spotted Purple, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Peck’s Skipper and Little Glassywing. That brought the total species reported on Labor Day weekend to 47. However, many species found were in single or low digits. There were few swallowtails and few skippers. Of the skippers, only Silver-spotted occurred in good numbers. Twenty-four species were seen on 9/10 in St. Charles County, all of which were typical for this time of year (YH, JZ). Cloudless Sulphurs, Little Yellows, Eastern Tailed-Blues, Pearl Crescents, Hackberries, Buckeyes, Sachems and Silver-spotted Skippers were reliable at all locations visited - Lost Valley Trail, Weldon Spring Access/Katy Trail, and Busch Conservation Area. The Butterfly Garden had many plants in bloom, including Butterfly Milkweed, Ironweed, Rose Verbena, White Crownbeard, Mistflower (ageratum), and asters. A Monarch, 3 Monarch caterpillars on Common Milkweed, Buckeye, Cloudless Sulphur, Viceroy, Silver-spotted Skipper, and Sachem were seen in the Butterfly Garden. Butterfly highlights of the day included Tiger Swallowtail (1 at BCA), Black Swallowtail (1 at KT), Spicebush Swallowtail (1 at LVT and 1 at BCA), Summer Azures (2 at LVT, 8 at BCA), Dainty Sulphur (1 at KT), Gray Comma (1 at BCA), Red-spotted Purple (1 at LVT), Least Skippers (5 at LVT, 12 at BCA), Great Spangled Fritillary (2 at BCA), Zabulon Skipper (1 at BCA), and Common Sootywing (2 at BCA). A Common Wood-Nymph and a Northern Pearly-eye were found at Busch on 9/13 (JZ). At Horseshoe Lake, Jim Ziebol counted about 150 Southern Dogface on 9/14 and Yvonne found one Dukes’s Skipper on Eupatorium on 9/16. Mary Peters counted 10 species of skipper at his prairie on 9/17: Silver-spotted, Zabulon, Least, Sachem, Fiery, Dun, Crossline, Northern Broken-Dash, Swarthy, and Common Checkered-Skipper. Unfortunately, Mark did not find any Leonard’s Skippers at his prairie this year. Torrey Berger visited High Lonesome Prairie in Benton County on 9/14. Highlights included REGAL FRITILLARY, Common Wood-Nymph, Little Wood Satyr, and Tawny-edged Skipper. [Regal Fritillary is a prairie species that has disappeared from all but a few prairie remnants in Missouri.] On another visit to Horseshoe Lake on 9/21, Sherry McCowan and Jim Ziebol reported 4 Sleepy Oranges, 2 Dainty Sulphurs, 50+ Buckeyes, and 25+ Common Checkered-Skippers. On 9/26, Jim found a Gray Comma at Horseshoe Lake – a species rarely found at this location. Highlights from a visit to Horseshoe Lake on the same day by Torrey Berger included Checkered White, Sleepy Orange,100+ Eastern Tailed-Blues, and 15+ Common Checkered-Skippers. In late September, Dave Larson noticed both Monarchs and Broad-winged Hawks migrating. GARDEN REPORTS: On 9/2, a Praying Mantis was dining on a Silver-spotted Skipper in Yvonne’s garden. At her school in Florissant on 9/6, Mary Eileen Rufkahr observed 12 Cabbage Whites, 1 Monarch, 1 Pearl Crescent, 3 Cloudless Sulphurs, and several Sachems in the children’s wildflower garden. One Monarch caterpillar was seen in Yvonne’s garden in late September munching on Swamp Milkweed. Jim Ziebol saw a Gray Hairstreak and a Pearl Crescent in his garden on 9/20, and on 9/21, there were 3 Sachems and 1 Fiery Skipper. The best news of the month came from Jack Harris. He photographed a Variegated Fritillary caterpillar on its host plant, Passionflower, which was given to him by Jeannie Moe. Passionflower is hard to find in the wild, making it difficult for Variegated Fritillaries to continue breeding here. In fact, very few have been reported in the last several years. Although you may think you don’t have Variegated Fritillaries in your garden, because you’ve never seen one, they could be passing through without your knowing it. So in addition to Milkweeds, plant Passionflower! CONTRIBUTORS: David Becher, Torrey Berger, Dave Berry, Dennis Bozzay, Ann Earley, Ron Goetz, Jack Harris,Yvonne Homeyer, Tom “Terrific” Krauska, Dave Larson, Scott Marshall, Sherry McCowan, Jeannie Moe, Kraig Paradise, Mary Eileen Rufkahr, Alana Studebaker, Linda Virga, Belle Warden, Jim Ziebol. Bold indicates the first reported sighting of the year. 3. NABA-ST. LOUIS TO BE AT CONSERVATION FORUM by Ann Earley NABA-St. Louis will again participate in the St. Louis Zoo’s 2006 Conservation Forum. Our chapter will have a display table at the Saint Louis Zoo's Living World on Tuesday, October 24, 5:30-9 p.m. The evening will include exhibit viewing, presentations and a panel discussion. The theme of this year's forum is "Biofuels and Ecological Sustainability in the 21st Century: Is Going Yellow, Green?" This event is co-sponsored by the International Center for Tropical Ecology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Saint Louis Zoo, Missouri Botanical Garden, The Nature Conservancy-Missouri Chapter and the Missouri Department of Conservation. Participants will be able to purchase a box dinner by advance reservation. For additional information or to register by the October 17 deadline, please contact Dr. Patrick Osborne at (314) 516-5219, or fax (314) 516-6233, or e-mail osbornepl@umsl.edu. 4. MONARCH BUTTERFLY PROGRAM REPORT by Mary-Eileen Rufkahr An enthusiastic group was in attendance for NABA/St. Louis' first in a series of indoor programs. Held at Powder Valley on September 13th, speakers Tom and Gloria Bratkowski gave an in-depth presentation on the Monarch butterfly. Gloria spoke of their involvement at Ames School in north city, developing and maintaining a butterfly garden with the help of the students and teachers. Gloria displayed some of the materials she uses when making school presentations including posters, plant samples and small "incubators" for the developing butterflies. Later, Tom presented a slide show of their 2004 trip to the Monarch wintering grounds in Mexico. Those in the audience were very interested in not only the slides of the butterflies, but those of the homes and towns surrounding the area. Tom's commentary throughout the slide show added a great deal of background information. Afterwards, the Bratkowskis' took questions and comments from the audience, as well as hosting a display table with many visuals relating to the Monarch butterfly. Next month's program will be on Wed. Oct. 11th when Torrey Berger presents an evening on Brazil, based on his recent travels there. 5. PRESIDENT’S REPORT by Jim Ziebol As the butterfly season draws to a close, the Monarchs are once again winging their way to Mexico as they have done for thousands of years. We can watch them fluttering on the winds as they travel incredible distances for such a small and vulnerable creature. Tom and Gloria Bratkowski shared slides, stories and insights with us at our September program of their 2004 adventure to the Monarch overwintering grounds. The Monarch’s Mexican habitat is under threat from logging, resulting in fewer acres of the special oyamel fir trees that the Monarchs roost in to survive the chilly winter days and nights. Our butterfly season was mixed. Overall, I would say that it was one of the slower years for butterflies in St. Louis. While some butterflies were seen in good numbers, particularly toward the end of the summer, like Southern Dogface at Horseshoe Lake, two species, American Lady and Painted Lady, were not seen this year , with the exception of one or two single sightings. American Lady is a resident and its host plant, Thistle, is common, so it is worrisome that we did not see this lovely butterfly. Painted Lady is a migrant and its absence was noted by many on NABA’s listserve, NABA-Chat. So St. Louis was not the only location they failed to visit. Clouded Sulphur, another formerly common species, is harder and harder to find. Its host plants include White Clover, which is disappearing. Formerly abundant along roadsides and in open fields, White Clover is actually becoming scarce. And along with it, the Clouded Sulphur. Leonard’s Skipper is a prairie species that is rare in St. Louis due to a lack of host plants (prairie grasses), but it has been seen in previous years on Mark Peters’ prairie. Mark did not find any this year so we can only hope that they are still present and that he simply missed them. A species new to our area, Broad-winged Skipper, was discovered at Horseshoe Lake in June. Its host plant, Common Reed, is thriving at Horseshoe Lake and Broad-winged Skipper is expanding its territory (a trend noted in other areas besides the Horseshoe Lake area), so this species should be able to maintain its presence at Horseshoe Lake, barring some unforeseen disaster to its habitat. Thanks to Dennis Bozzay, Jeannie Moe, Linda Virga, Bob Noe, Kathy Thiele, and other dedicated volunteers, our Butterfly Garden at Busch Conservation Area was full of blossoms and butterflies. Each year, we add new plants, replace some that have died or been crowded out, and expand the perimeter. The paths are well-maintained and the overall appearance is fantastic! We also would like to thank John Vogel, the Dept. of Conservation manager of Busch Conservation Area, for his cooperation in supplying wood chips, mowing the prairie around our garden, and his continuing support for our garden. The Department of Conservation Outdoor Classroom instructors frequently use our garden for their classes. We rely on all of our members to keep us posted about what butterflies are being seen, where they are being seen, and how numerous they are. Yvonne compiles this information into her monthly Butterfly Report, which allows us to keep a historical record. Over time, these reports will reveal trends in population status, changes in habitat in and around St. Louis, and the appearance or disappearance of species from our area. Next year, we would like to hear from many more of you! It is obvious from your garden reports that many butterfly species are dependent on your gardening efforts. Not only do these natural-style gardens offer butterflies their host plants, but they sometimes contain “weedy” plants such as dandelion (a good nectar source), white clover (a host plant and nectar source), red clover (a nectar source), and grasses in general (host plants for skippers). Many homeowners continue to eradicate these “weeds” with herbicides in their quest for the perfect lawn (which to a butterfly is the equivalent of a biological desert). Each of us with a natural garden is providing a small slice of habitat to our local butterflies. Every milkweed you plant is a Monarch Waystation, so plant more! Our post-holiday party will be held again on a Sunday in January (date and location TBA). Kate Boden has offered to do another Power Point presentation of 2006 butterfly photos, so start looking through your pictures. Please join us on October 11 when Torrey Berger will entertain us with stories and slides from his recent trip to Brazil. The trip was organized by NABA members and professional tour leaders Dale and Nancy Delaney. Dennis Bozzay and Lee Berger were also part of the group. 6. NABA-ST. LOUIS IN SCIENCE NEWSLETTER by Mary-Eileen Rufkahr Our NABA-St. Louis Chapter and its website were recently featured in the Archdiocese Elementary Schools Science Newsletter. This newsletter goes out to every science teacher in the system, and gives our chapter some good and “free” publicity as educators visit our website. Sue Gieseke is the coordinator for science in the system and writes the newsletters; she is also the vice principal. Below is an excerpt from their science newsletter: “NORTH AMERICAN BUTTERFLY ASSOCIATION- Make sure and check out their Kids' Corner, which has recently been selected to be included on the Yahooligans site. Kids' Corner includes a butterfly bibliography, jokes, riddles, crossword puzzles, word searches and now Glib Kids, which is a way of creating very silly stories while building grammar skills! The "address" to visit is: http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/kids.htm for the Kid’s Corner. 7. NABA-ST. LOUIS MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION… YOUR OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS, AS OF APRIL 2006: (AT = @ in Email address)
NEWSLETTER ARTICLES WELCOME: If you have questions or suggestions, e-mail Ann Earley (aee623ATprodigy.net). MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION: If you would like to join NABA, please fill out this application. You will become a member of both NABA and the local St. Louis Chapter, if you live within the St. Louis metropolitan area or nearby Illinois area: Name ____________________________________________ Dues are $30 (regular) and $40 (family) per year. Please make check payable to NORTH AMERICAN BUTTERFLY ASSOCIATION. Please mail this form with your check to: Scott Marshall, Membership, 609 West Lockwood, St. Louis, MO 63119. |
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes
it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” - Maya Angelou -
Editor: Dave Larson, Email: larsrblATearthlink.net ("AT" = @)
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