1) Calendar of Chapter Events
2) Other Events of Interest
3) April Butterfly Report
4) NABA-St. Louis on the Air – KEZK Interview
5) Swamp Metalmark Survey Enters its Third Year
6) Chapter Activities & Member News
7) Bait Stations at Big Oak Tree State Park
8) Newsletter Editor Needed
9) Officers & Directors
10) Membership Application

1. CALENDAR OF CHAPTER EVENTS (Directions at end of Calendar)

May 18 (Friday): Dinner at 7:00 p.m. at Sweet Tomatoes on Watson Road in Crestwood. We’ll meet at 7:00 to avoid the early evening crowd.

May 26 (Saturday): Butterfly Walk at Tyson Research Center; meet at the Gatehouse at 10:00 a.m.

May 27 (Sunday): Seasonal Butterfly Count at Busch C.A.; meet at the Butterfly Garden at 10:00 a.m.

June 22 (Friday): Garden Party at the home of Sue Gustafson and David Rabenau, 429 Belleview in Webster Groves, 6:00-9:00 p.m. Enjoy a relaxing evening of fun and friendship! Sue and David will take you on a tour of their garden, which includes a pond and many native plants. Dave Berry will be on hand to make his famous Reuben sandwiches, and NABA will provide salads, snacks, desserts, and beverages. If it rains, we will hold the party inside.

June 24 (Sunday): Seasonal Butterfly Count at Busch C.A.; meet at the Butterfly Garden, 10:00 a.m.

July 1 (Sunday): Fourth of July Count at Busch C. A.; meet at the Butterfly Garden 10:00 a.m.

Aug. 26 (Sunday): Fourth of July Count at Horseshoe Lake; meet at 10:00 a.m. at the Burger King on Illinois Hwy. 203 across from Gateway International Racetrack.

Sue Gustafson’s House: Please contact Yvonne (314.963.7750; swampmetalmarkATsbcglobal.net) for details.

Busch Wildlife Conservation Area: From St. Louis County, take I-64 (Hwy 40) across the Missouri River bridge and exit at Hwy. 94. Go left (south) on Hwy 94 approximately 1 mile to Hwy D. Turn right onto Hwy D and go about 1.5 miles to the entrance on your right. Turn right and at the T intersection, turn right again and proceed to the parking lot at the Visitor's Center. Meet at the Jim Ziebol Butterfly Garden at the bottom of the parking lot.

Tyson Research Center: From the junction of I-44 and I-270, go west on I-44 about 7 miles to the Antire Road/Beaumont exit (#269). Proceed on the exit ramp through the stop sign. The entrance (Gatehouse) to Tyson is about 100 feet past the stop sign.

Field Trips: Beginners and children accompanied by adults are welcome on every butterfly walk and count. Water, hat, sunscreen, and insect repellant are recommended.

2. OTHER EVENTS OF INTEREST

June 30 (Saturday): Butterfly Gardening Program by Tom “Terrific” Krauska, Powder Valley Nature Center, 10:00 a.m. Sign up at (314)301-1500.

3. APRIL BUTTERFLY REPORT (Yvonne Homeyer)

March Sightings (Addendum): Dennis Bozzay found a Northern Cloudywing at Young Conservation Area on 3/27, along with Henry’s Elfins, 30 Spring Azures, and 30 Falcate Orangetips. A Little Yellow was seen in Forest Park on 3/29 by Sherry McCowan. Overcast skies on 3/31 did not completely shut down butterfly activity, and Jim Ziebol found a Spicebush Swallowtail at Busch, along with Henry’s Elfin, Falcate Orangetips, a Goatweed, Spring Azures, and Juvenal’s Duskywings.

Kent Fothergill, who lives in Sikeston, sent this report for March: “March started slow. On 8 March, an Eastern Comma at General Watkins CA started the flight season for me in the MO bootheel. By the 22 nd, Cabbage Whites were flying. . . Morris State Park had 10 species flying on March 24 th, including Zebra, Pipevine and Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, and Southern Dogface.” (Ed. Note: As of 3/24 in St. Louis, no one had reported Pipevine Swallowtail or Southern Dogface, but see below for a Pipevine sighting on 4/1).

April Sightings: On a trip to Valley View Glade on 4/1, Jim Ziebol, Mary-Eileen Rufkahr and Yvonne Homeyer found 14 Juniper Hairstreaks, 2 Pearl Crescents, and 1 Wild Indigo Duskywing. At Victoria Glade, they observed a very cooperative Henry’s Elfin basking on a rock. Ron Goetz reported 11 species at Greensfelder on 4/1, including Pipevine Swallowtail and a Monarch. From Sikeston, Kent Fothergill reported the following butterflies on 4/1 at Big Oak Tree State Park in southeast Missouri that have not yet been seen in St. Louis: Orange Sulphur, Cloudless Sulphur, Gray Hairstreak, Snout, Horace’s Duskywing, Zabulon Skipper, and Silver-spotted Skipper; Kent also observed many Monarchs there. Finally, on 4/1 in Crawford County, IL, Susan Dees observed her first Falcate Orangetip.

Mary Eileen Rufkahr spotted 2 Cabbage Whites and a Tiger Swallowtail in Florissant on 4/2. A Silver-spotted Skipper was seen by Linda Virga in her Affton garden on 4/3 (before the rain). After a week-long cold snap with temperatures that dipped into the 30s, Jim Ziebol found 3 Pearl Crescents at Horseshoe Lake and 2 Cabbage Whites in south St. Louis on 4/10. More cold weather kept butterfly activity down until Sunday, 4/15, when temperatures broke into the high 50s. The freezing temperatures and rain after the trees and plants had started to bloom have undoubtedly had some negative impact, but it is too early to determine the full extent of any damage.

On 4/15, during the first seasonal butterfly count at Busch Conservation Area, only 3 species were seen: 1 Tiger Swallowtail, 2 Red Admirals, and 3 Eastern Tailed-Blues (JZ, JM, YH). This is an abnormally low number of species for mid-April, undoubtedly due to the prolonged cold spell. On 4/19, Ron Goetz found 14 species flying at Shaw Nature Reserve, but just one or two individuals of most species. Highlights included Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, Gray Comma, Horace’s Duskywing, and Common Sootywing. Ron reports that 4/19 is his earliest date for seeing Red-banded Hairstreak and Common Sootywing.

Mary Eileen Rufkahr and Yvonne Homeyer saw 11 species at Valley View Glades on 4/21. Of note were 8 Juniper Hairstreaks, 2 Cobweb Skippers, and 2 Common Roadside Skippers. On 4/22, at Lost Valley Trail, Yvonne saw 11 species, including Zebra, Tiger, and Spicebush Swallowtails, and 1 American Lady. Jim Ziebol found a Sleepy Duskywing and 2 Questions Marks at Busch on 4/22. And at Missouri Botanical Garden, Ron Goetz saw Orange Sulphur, Black Swallowtail, and Monarch on 4/22. In all, 19 species of butterflies were reported for the weekend.

At Tower Grove Park on 4/23, 4 Monarchs were seen (Sherry McCowan, Jim Ziebol). Ron checked out Valley View Glade on 4/24, before the storm rolled in, and reported 15 species, including three that were not seen there on 4/21: 2 Dusted Skippers, 1 Sleepy Duskywing, and 12 Gorgone Checkerspots. Ron also saw 6 Cobweb Skippers, 4 Common Roadside Skippers, 3 Juniper Hairstreaks, American Lady, Question Mark, 2 Red-banded Hairstreaks (always a good find), and Goatweed. On 4/25, Dave Berry visited Busch Conservation Area and observed 1 Pipevine Swallowtail, 1 Tiger Swallowtail, 1 Spicebush Swallowtail, 1 Henry’s Elfin, 1 Eastern Tailed-Blue, 2 Question Marks, 2 Eastern Commas, and 5 Red Admirals. Dave saw 22 species at Busch on 4/27: 1 Pipevine, 2 Zebra, 3 Black, 5 Tiger, 8 Spicebush Swallowtails, 1 Falcate Orangetip, 1 Clouded Sulphur, 1 Orange Sulphur, 1 Gray Hairstreak, 9 Eastern Tailed-Blues, 2 Snouts, 17 Pearl Crescents, 12 Question Marks, 1 Eastern Comma, 1 Gray Comma, 1 Painted lady, 9 Red Admirals, 1 Monarch, 1 Silver-spotted Skipper, 5 Juvenal’s Duskywings, 4 Zabulon Skippers, and 1 Pepper & Salt Skipper.

The field trip on 4/28 to Fults Hill Prairie along the Mississippi River in Monroe County, IL was a great success. Fourteen species were seen, and there was a lot of butterfly activity: 60+ Spicebush Swallowtails, 3 Pipevine Swallowtails, 30+ Zebra Swallowtails, 15 Tiger Swallowtails, 5 Spring Azures, 1 Falcate Orangetip, several anglewings, 3 Red Admirals, 10 Goatweeds, 3 Snouts, 6 Monarchs, 20+ Silver-spotted Skippers, 7 Juvenal’s Duskywings, and 12 Dusted Skippers. (Sherry McCowan, Yvonne Homeyer). Also on 4/28, Jim Ziebol visited Young Conservation Area and reported 1 Orange Sulphur, 1 Falcate Orangetip, 1 Red-banded Hairstreak, and 2 American Ladies. On that same date in Tower Grove Park, 7 species were reported: 1 Tiger Swallowtail, 1 Cloudless Sulphur 1 Gray Hairstreak, 1 American Lady, 2 Question Marks, 1 Red Admiral, and 1 Monarch (Sherry McCowan). And Mary Eileen Rufkahr spotted a Hackberry Emperor at the Kirkwood Farmer’s Market while picking up an order of native plants for her garden! On 4/29, Evelyn Luecke saw 12 Spicebush Swallowtails, 4 Zebra Swallowtails, and 8 Pearl Crescents at Cuivre River S.P.

Garden & Other Reports: Linda Virga saw a Black Swallowtail in her Affton garden on the 1 st of April. Cabbage Whites were visiting golden ragwort in Bob & Claudia Noe’s garden in Chesterfield on 4/2. The Noes were also waiting for the emergence of Black Swallowtail adults which were still in the chrysalis stage. On 4/16, when temperatures reached into the 70s, Mary Eileen Rufkahr saw Cabbage Whites and Juvenal’s Duskywings in her yard, and Dave Berry saw 2 Orange Sulphurs in his garden. By mid-April, about half of Dave Berry’s Black Swallowtails had emerged. A Red Admiral, Spring Azure, and 2 Pearl Crescents fluttered through Mary Eileen Rufkahr’s garden on 4/22, and on 4/24, she saw 1 Cabbage White, 3 Spring Azures, and one Eastern Tailed-Blue. At the end of April, the Purple Milkweed in Dennis Bozzay’s garden was loaded with Monarch eggs. Belle Warden has seen Cabbage White, Spring Azure, and Eastern Commas in her garden.

Contributors: Dave Berry, Ron Goetz, Yvonne Homeyer, Dave Larson, Evelyn Luecke, Sherry McCowan, Jeannie Moe, Bob & Claudia Noe, Mary-Eileen Rufkahr, Linda Virga, Belle Warden, Jim Ziebol.

4. NABA-ST. LOUIS ON THE AIR – KEZK INTERVIEW (Mary Eileen Rufkahr)

On Monday, April 9, 2007, NABA/St. Louis President Jim Ziebol, Vice President Yvonne Homeyer and Education Chairperson Mary Eileen Rufkahr attended a taping at radio station KEZK (102.5 FM, and simulcast on the internet at KEZK.com). (KEZK is the number one rated FM station in the St. Louis metropolitan area.) The three were guests for an upcoming edition of Up Close with Jim Cox. Each week, Mr. Cox interviews area newsmakers about events, happenings and organzations within the St. Louis community.

Jim, Yvonne and Mary Eileen appeared on the program to promote the St. Louis chapter of NABA. During the interview, several pertinent topics were touched upon, such as recognizing the beauty of native plants, in addition to their importance to butterfly populations; stressing that people observe butterflies through binoculars, rather than capturing them; and highlighting the diverse activities our chapter sponsors on a monthly basis.

The program aired on Sunday morning, April 22, 2007.

5. SWAMP METALMARK SURVEY ENTERS ITS THIRD YEAR (Yvonne Homeyer)

At the request of Jeff Glassberg, NABA’s president and founder, our chapter has been monitoring Swamp Metalmarks in the St. Louis area since 2005. The purpose of the survey is to determine the status of known colonies, with a view toward conservation efforts. The Swamp Metalmark has a small range and its population has been declining. We are lucky to have this beautiful butterfly in our area! Dave Berry, Dennis Bozzay, Ron Goetz, Scott & Annie Marshall, Mary Eileen Rufkahr, Linda Virga, Jim Ziebol and Yvonne Homeyer have been checking Victoria Glade, Cuivre River State Park, St. Francois State Park, and private property in Franklin County. New participants are welcome. The surveys take place in June (1 st brood) and August (2 nd brood). If you would like to participate, please contact Jim Ziebol at 314.781.7372 or Yvonne (314.963.7750; swampmetalmarkATsbcglobal.net). Our chapter’s survey will be highlighted in an article in an upcoming issue of American Butterflies, the quarterly magazine that is sent to all NABA members.

See photo of Swamp Metalmark: photo

6. CHAPTER ACTIVITIES & MEMBER NEWS

The “Local Butterflies” class held at St. Louis Community College, Meramec campus, was a huge success. The class was completely filled, with 22 participants. NABA-St. Louis sponsors this class every spring and it is part of the Master Naturalist Certificate program offered by the Meramec campus. Jim Ziebol and Yvonne Homeyer taught the class, and Jim showed a video he made of St. Louis area butterflies. Many of the class participants will attend the field trip at Tyson on May 26.

Jim Ziebol’s presentation, “ Big Bend National Park”, on April 30, was well attended. Birds, butterflies, snakes and other wildlife were featured in a video made by Jim from a trip that he and Yvonne took to southwest Texas in May, 2006. The program was jointly sponsored by NABA and the Webster Groves Nature Study Society.

Mary Eileen Rufkahr will again serve as a regional compiler for NABA’s Fourth of July Counts. She receives raw data for 30 counts in the Midwest (including those of our own chapter) and enters that information into a database. NABA also publishes the count data in a book.

Yvonne Homeyer spoke to the Lewis & Clark Garden Club on April 24. This club meets at the Weldon Spring Interpretive Center, where the members help the staff maintain a native plant garden at the Visitor’s Center. Yvonne talked about butterfly gardening and invited the club to visit our chapter’s native plant garden at nearby Busch Conservation Area.

Yvonne was recently elected to the national Board of Directors of NABA for a three year term. Yvonne helped start the St. Louis Chapter, along with Jim Ziebol, in 2000. We now have one of the largest and most active chapters in NABA, thanks to all of you!

7. BAIT STATIONS AT BIG OAKTREESTATE PARK (Kent Fothergill, Sikeston )

Currently there are bait stations for butterflies at Big Oak Tree State Park near East Prairie, Mo. It is hoped that the stations will provide viewing opportunities for butterflies that don’t normally visit flowers. As of this writing (23-April-07) the stations have been up for less than one week and the results have been good as you can see from the pictures. It will be interesting to see what comes to the baits as the season progresses.

Doug, a park volunteer, made the bait stations from pieces of branches 2-3” in diameter and 18-24” long, with a groove cut lengthwise on the top to hold a liquid bait. The bait stations were then hung by 17 gauge fencing wire from branches such that they are 3-4’ off of the ground.

Many recipes exist for bait, and each batch is different. My recipe is smashed bad fruit (black bananas rock!), sugar, and beer combined in more or less equal amounts with a pinch of yeast. This mixture is allowed to ferment at ambient temperatures for a couple of days in a container twice the volume of the bait solution (it will expand). WARNING: it is actively producing carbon dioxide-- in a capped container it will explode!! The end result will be a pleasant, fruity smelling, brown goo (with chunks) that can be poured into the groove on the bait station. Amazingly, butterflies were on the bait stations within an hour of the first baiting. W.J. Holland in The Moth Book (1904) gives an evocative description of using baits for moths that may inspire you to try some bait at home. Good luck!

8. NEWSLETTER EDITOR NEEDED!

For the past several years, Dave Larson has been serving our chapter in two important ways: as Newsletter Editor and Web Master. Dave recently decided to turn over the newsletter duties to someone new, but he will remain in his position as Web Master and will continue to serve on the Board. Thanks, Dave, for producing such a fine newsletter! If you are interested in being the next Newsletter Editor (following prior editors Tom Krauska, Scott Marshall, and Dave Larson in that order!), please contact Yvonne Homeyer (314.963.7750; swampmetalmarkATsbcglobal.net).

9. OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

President Jim Ziebol (314)781-7372
Vice President Yvonne Homeyer swampmetalmarkATsbcglobal.net
Secretary Kathleen O'Keefe (314)495-7657
Treasurer Dave Berry currentriverATpeoplepc.com
Butterfly Gardening Dennis Bozzay dbozzayATsbcglobal.net
Conservation Ann Earley aee623ATprodigy.net
Education Mary-Eileen Rufkahr merufkahrATaol.com
Membership Scott Marshall scottmarshllATcs.com
Newsletter (Interim) Yvonne Homeyer see above
Public Relations Open
Walks & Counts Jim Ziebol (314)781-7372
Web Master Dave Larson larsrblATearthlink.net

NEWSLETTER ARTICLES WELCOME:

Please send articles, stories, photos, or suggestions for this "Flutterby News" newsletter to: Yvonne Homeyer, Interim Editor, 314.963.7750; swampmetalmarkATsbcglobal.net. Each Newsletter issue is also found online at: www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/newsltr.htm.

10. MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION:
(or view online membership application form)