May 2002 Issue:
In This Edition:
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Officers/Directors Elected |
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Coming Events |
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Checklists Arrive! |
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Spring Sightings |
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Big Day |
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Milkweed and Monarchs |
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Wildflower Sale |
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... and more |
NABA's MISSION STATEMENT: CHAPTER ELECTIONS HELD: The entire Board of Directors was re-elected for another one year term at the annual meeting which took place at Tom Krauska's house on April 7 (see list at end of newsletter). Thanks to everybody for their willingness to continue serving. Special thanks to Tom and Gerry Krauska for hosting the meeting, presenting the program and treating us all to all that wonderful food! *********************************************************** COMING EVENTS: Saturday, May 4, 9:45 a.m., (RESCHEDULED FROM APRIL 27 RAIN OUT), Butterfly Walk, Busch Conservation Area in St. Charles County. Directions: Take Hwy. 40 west across the Missouri River bridge into St. Charles County; exit at Hwy. 94. Turn left (south) on Hwy. 94 and go 1.1 miles to County Hwy. D. At Hwy. D (stop light), turn right (west). Entrance to Busch is about 2 miles down the road, on your right. We will meet at the Butterfly Garden near the headquarters building. Sunday, May 19, 1:00 p.m., Butterfly Walk at Tyson Research Center, co-sponsored by Friends of Tyson. Meet for lunch at noon at the gatehouse. Directions: From the junction of I-44 and I-270, go west on I-44 about 7 miles to the AntireRoad/Beaumont exit. The entrance gate is at the end of the exit ramp (stop sign) and on your right. Sunday, May 26, 8:00 a.m., Gardening Experience and Memorial Day NABA Count (see article below) at Jim Ziebol Butterfly Garden, Busch Conservation Area (helping hands needed). Questions? Please call Dennis Bozzay. The Count will start at 10:00 A.M. after the gardening is done. Saturday, June 1, Butterfly Walk at Mark Peters' prairie, 10:00 a.m. Directions: e-mail Yvonne Homeyer (homeyer@earthlink.net). Saturday, June 29, Springfield, Ill. 4th of July Count. For more information, contact Susan Dees at (217) 529-1826. Monday, July 1, Shawnee National Forest 4th of July Count, near Harrisburg, Illinois. Sunday, July 7, 9:45 a.m., 4th of July Butterfly Count, Busch Conservation Area. A Gardening Experience (helping hands needed) will be held at 8:00 a.m. at the Jim Ziebol Butterfly Garden before the count starting at 9:45 a.m. Sunday, July 14, 4th of July Count near Alma, Illinois, sponsored by Richard & Susan Day. This Count is brand new. Sunday, Aug. 18, 8:00 a.m., Gardening Experience at Jim Ziebol Butterfly Garden, Busch Conservation Area (helping hands needed). Questions? Please call Dennis Bozzay. Saturday, Aug. 24 - 4th of July Butterfly Count, Horseshoe Lake State Park, Illinois. *********************************************************** BUTTERFLY CHECKLIST ARRIVES! The new St. Louis Area Checklist has arrived!! Compiled for our chapter by Jeannie and Jim Moe and Jim Ziebol, the checklist is arranged in taxonomic order and comes in two formats, both of which are easy to use in the field. The short format lists all the butterfly species on one side of the page, with a key for frequency (common, uncommon, rare and casual). There is a box in front of each species for recording the number of individuals seen on your field trip and room at the top for recording the date and location of your field trip. The longer format takes up both sides of the page and has the added feature of an abundance chart. The shaded months show when each species is flying, so you can tell at a glance which part of the year that butterfly can be seen. Both formats are available for download from the chapter web site (http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/listcheck.htm). Snail-mail copies will probably (but not certainly) accompany this newsletter for our members who do not have e-mail. Many thanks to Jeannie and Jim M. and Jim Z. for this wonderful effort! *********************************************************** SPRING 2002 BUTTERFLY SIGHTINGS Starting with this issue, a Butterfly Report will be included in each newsletter. To report your sightings, call Jim Ziebol or email Yvonne Homeyer at homeyer@earthlink.net. We also would like to hear from our members who live farther away than the immediate St. Louis metropolitan area. And don't forget that you can enter your sightings into the NABA database "Butterflies I've Seen" at www.naba.org. The first butterfly of the year was a Mourning Cloak reported by Tom Krauska on 1/27. Jane Walker saw a Clouded Sulphur in early March at Tyson Research Center. Tom Krauska had a Cabbage White in his back yard on 3/31. On 4/6, Scott Marshall observed a Juvenal's Duskywing and several Mourning Cloaks at Tyson. On 4/9, Ron Goetz found 12 species at Fults Hill Prairie in Illinois, including Zebra, Black and Tiger Swallowtails and Gray Hairstreak. Tom Krauska's trip to Hilda Young Conservation Area on 4/10 yielded a Tiger Swallowtail, Spring Azure, Sulphurs, and the first Question Mark of the year, plus a larva on Fragrant Sumac. Ron was also the first (and possibly the only!) person to observe Henry's Elfins, which he found on 4/11 at Emmenegger Nature Park. That same day, Yvonne Homeyer and Jim Ziebol saw Wild Indigo, Sleepy and Juvenal's Duskywings at Emmenegger but did not have Ron's luck with the Henry's Elfins. Jeannie Moe saw many Falcate Orangetips and Goatweeds at Shaw Nature Reserve in early April. Yvonne & Jim saw the first Orange Sulphur at Castlewood State Park on 4/13. At Valley View Glade on 4/14, Ron Goetz found the first Juniper Hairstreak, the first Eastern Tailed Blue, 22 Spring Azures, and 28 Juvenal's Duskywings. That same day at Busch Wildlife, there were 20 Falcate Orangetips and a Question Mark (Kraig Paradise, Dave Berry, Dennis Bozzay). Mark Peters observed the first Spicebush Swallowtails on 4/13-14 at his prairie in Jefferson County. Dennis Bozzay observed a female Monarch laying eggs on a tiny shoot of Milkweed in his yard on 4/15. On a trip to the Mark Twain National Forest in Madison County on 4/17-18, Jack Harris observed Tiger & Zebra Swallowtail, Goatweed, Spring Azure and a very early Dainty Sulphur, which apparently over wintered. (The Dainty Sulphur is a migrant from the south and is generally not seen until much later.) On 4/18 at Shaw Nature Reserve, Betty Walters observed the first American Painted Lady, a Monarch, and a Horace's Duskywing, along with Black, Tiger and Zebra Swallowtails, Falcate Orangetip and Goatweed. On 4/19, Dianne Benjamin and Yvonne saw many Tiger Swallowtails (including the black form) flying around their host plant, the Tulip Tree, in Tower Grove Park. Two Red Admirals were seen in Tom Krauska's yard on 4/19. On 4/21, Castlewood State Park yielded a very fresh Zebra Swallowtail, 3 Spicebush Swallowtails, and a very fresh Pearl Crescent (JZ, D Bz, YH). (As with many multi-brooded butterfly species, the spring Spicebush Swallowtails are smaller than the later broods.) Bob & Claudia Noe saw a Cloudless Sulphur at their Chesterfield home on 4/22. Also on 4/22, Betty Walters found the first Red-banded Hairstreak and Juvenal's, Horace's and Sleepy Duskywing at Shaw Nature Reserve. The month ended on a high note. On 4/28, at two different locations in Jefferson County, Ron Goetz and Mark Peters each found several really hard to find species. At Valley View Glade, Ron located Gorgone Checkerspot, Mottled Duskywing and Cobweb, Dusted and Common Roadside Skipper, while Mark reported 4 Cobweb, 1 Dusted, and 1 Common Roadside Skipper at the glade across from Victoria Glade. Congratulations, Ron and Mark! Contributors: Dianne Benjamin, Dave Berry, Dennis Bozzay, Ron Goetz, Jack Harris, Yvonne Homeyer, Tom Krauska, Scott Marshall, Jeannie Moe, Bob & Claudia Noe, Kraig Paradise, Betty Walters, Jim Ziebol. *********************************************************** BUTTERFLY "BIG DAY" How many butterflies can you see over the Memorial Day Weekend? NABA is kicking off its first annual Memorial Day Weekend Butterfly Count under more relaxed rules than those used for the formal 4th of July Count. Actually, there aren't any rules! To participate, all you need to do is count butterflies at some point during the weekend and record your data (species and number of individuals seen at a single location) - a perfect opportunity to use our new chapter Checklist. If you wish, you can also enter your data into the NABA database, "Butterflies I've Seen" (www.naba.org). You can do this Count by yourself or with friends, at one location or several. The Memorial Day Count is like a "Big Day" for butterflies. ("Big Day" is a Saturday in May when birders compete in teams to find the most bird species in a 24 hour period.) Our chapter will have an organized Memorial Day Count on Sunday, May 26, at 9:45 a.m. at the Butterfly Garden in Busch. We hope to see lots of you there! *********************************************************** PLANT MILKWEED, HELP MONARCHS After this winter's disastrous toll on the Monarch population (250 million dead), we can help Monarchs by planting their host plant, Milkweed, in our yards. Several species are available from nurseries and all are used by Monarchs: Swamp Milkweed, Common Milkweed, and Butterfly Milkweed (orange flower). Dennis Bozzay had a female Monarch laying eggs on a sprout of Milkweed in his yard in April. The plant was just starting to emerge but it was exactly what she needed. If that Monarch hadn't found Dennis's yard, it could have been a long way to the next Milkweed plant. If your local nursery does not stock Milkweed, you can order from Missouri Wildflowers in Jefferson City, (573) 496-3492. They come to the Kirkwood Market every Friday and Saturday and will bring your order with them, or they will mail the plants. Also, don't forget the May 11 Native Plant Sale at the Shaw Nature Reserve , from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. *********************************************************** SPRING WILDFLOWER SALE Native plants will be offered at the Spring Wildflower Sale on Saturday, May 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Shaw Nature Reserve (formerly "The Arboretum") in Gray Summit, MO. Nurseries from Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas will offer hundreds of varieties of wildflowers, ferns, trees and shrubs to use in home landscaping and to attract birds, butterflies and other wildlife. Missouri native seed will be available, as well as plants of the prairie, wetland, woodland and savanna. Signs will direct visitors to a special entrance on the west boundary of the Nature Reserve (free admission). The Shaw Nature Reserve of the Missouri Botanical Garden is a 2,400-acre nature preserve located in Gray Summit, Mo. For more information about the Spring Wildflower Sale, call (636) 451-3512 (toll free from St. Louis). *********************************************************** AND MORE... BUTTERFLY GARDEN UPDATE As the Jim Z. Butterfly Garden at Busch Wildlife enters its third growing season, it has never looked better! Most of the plants have sprouted, some are already in bloom (Rose Verbena, Prairie Willow, Violets) and the beds and the paths are beautifully defined. A warm, sunny day greeted the gardeners on April 16, our second work day of the season. Rhonda Anderson of the Missouri Department of Conservation and two MDC volunteers, Gladys Kullman and Margaret Sutter-MacGregor, joined NABA members Dennis Bozzay (Butterfly Gardening Chairperson), Leslie Lihou, Terry Kelley, and Dave Berry. Terry and Dave have expanded the garden by digging a new bed in the back. Our garden now measures 40 x 60 feet! The paths are no longer muddy and the beds are richly fertilized thanks to Terry's numerous deliveries of wood chips and leaf mulch. The Department of Conservation has planted prairie grasses and plants in the field surrounding our garden, which will serve as the entrance to the prairie. Stop by and visit our garden this summer. Better yet, join us for our next work day on Sun. May 26 before our Butterfly Count (see Calendar)! BUTTERFLY CLASS WELL ATTENDED Our chapter's "Local Butterflies" class at Meramec Community College drew 15 enthusiastic participants this semester, including two NABA members, Terry Kelley and Dave Larson. Betty Walters taught the session on biology and natural history and Jim Ziebol and Yvonne Homeyer presented the second session on butterfly identification, including a video that Jim made. We owe this opportunity to another chapter member, Vicki Flier. Vicki, who serves as Education Chairperson of the St. Louis Audubon Society, started the Master Naturalist certificate program at Meramec. The Local Butterflies class will be offered again in the Fall. EARTH DAY DISPLAY DRAWS VISITORS Jim & Audrey Foley educated many visitors about butterflies and NABA at our chapter's display at the St. Charles County Earth Day Event in the St. Charles County Government Center on Friday, April 19. The Foleys staffed the NABA-St. Louis exhibit all day and handed out many of our chapter's brochures and other information to people who stopped by to talk. This was the first Earth Day that NABA-St. Louis participated in. Thank you, Jim & Audrey, for volunteering in this important outreach effort. VISIT OUR WEB SITE at www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/stlouis.htm. Dave Larson is our Webmaster. YOUR OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS: If you have questions or suggestions, e-mail Yvonne Homeyer NEWSLETTER ITEMS WANTED MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION If you or someone you know would like to become a member of the St. Louis Chapter of NABA, please fill out this application: Name _____________________________________________ *********************************************************** *********************************************************** |
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