June 2003 Issue:
In This Edition:
In this edition: 1) Coming Events NABA's MISSION STATEMENT: To promote nonconsumptive, recreational butterflying and to increase the public's enjoyment, knowledge and conservation of butterflies. 1. COMING EVENTS: Directions to each location are found at the end of the Calendar. Dress defensively for ticks and chiggers. Bring water and sunscreen. Since we usually finish after 12 noon, lunch is always optional. Most of our walks and counts last about 2 ½ hours. If a longer time is required, it will be noted. Sunday, June 1. Garden Tour and Butterfly Walk at the Green Center in University City. Meet at 11:00 a.m. Leaders: Jane Schaefer and Yvonne Homeyer. Jane will show us flower and herb gardens, a prairie and a wetland. Learn how you can reproduce some of these habitats in your yard. Restrooms available in the house. Picnic tables available for lunch afterwards. Saturday, June 7. Butterfly Walk at Mark Peters’ Prairie. Meet at 10:00 a.m. Leader: Mark Peters. Mark has restored a 6-acre prairie on his home in Jefferson County. If you haven’t yet visited his prairie, you shouldn’t miss this opportunity! Native prairie plants and grasses abound. Many butterfly species can also be seen, which vary depending on the time of year. Skippers are usually plentiful and close-up, for easy study. Saturday, June 14. Butterfly Walk at Shaw Nature Reserve. Meet at 9:30 a.m. at the Visitor's Center. (NOTE TIME CHANGE FROM ORIGINAL SCHEDULE). Leader: Ron Goetz. Lots of walking, will last longer than other walks. Shaw has a variety of habitats so many butterfly species could be seen. Bring lunch - we will eat at the Trail House. Saturday, June 21. Butterfly Walk at The Watershed in Edwardsville. Meet at 9:30 a.m. Leader: Jeannie Moe. The Watershed is 60 acres and there are no roads into it. We will park and walk everywhere. Saturday, June 28. State Count #3 at Busch Wildlife. Meet at 10:00 a.m. Leader: Jim Ziebol. Indoor restrooms in Visitor’s Center; rustic toilets throughout the site; beverage vending machines. Limited walking - we will drive from place to place. Sunday, June 29. Shawnee Hills 4th of July Count in Harrisburg, IL. Call Kathy Phelps for more information. (618) 252-7311. There is a $3 fee per participant. DIRECTIONS: Busch Wildlife: 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. Mark Peters’ Prairie: Please contact Yvonne Homeyer (homeyer@earthlink.net) for directions to Mark Peters' Prairie. The Watershed in Edwardsville: Take 270 into Illinois. Get off at the 157 exit for Edwardsville. Go left (North) follow 157 to St. Louis Ave. Go left onto St. Louis Ave (there is a light at this intersection and 157 heads off to the right). One Block down St. Louis Ave go right onto Union. A block or two down Union go left onto Grand. Go right onto Terry Ave. The Watershed is at the bottom of the hill on Terry. There is a large gravel parking lot on the left. There is a port-a- potty at the parking lot. There is also a visitor's center, with restrooms, which should be open. The Watershed is 60 acres and there are no roads into it. So you park and walk everywhere. Driving time from St. Charles is 40 minutes. From the 270 bridge at the Illinois State Line it is about 20 minutes. The Green Center in University City: From I-170 (Innerbelt), exit at Delmar Boulevard and travel east 3 stoplights to North & South Road. Turn left and go north on North & South for about 3 blocks. At the first stoplight (cemetery on right), turn left onto Blackberry Ave. Travel west about 3 blocks. On the right side of Blackberry, you will see the Kaufman Park tennis courts. Go past the tennis courts until you see the driveway leading to the Green Center house, also on the right side of Blackberry Ave. You can park in the driveway or on the street. If you are on Hwy. 40, you can exit at Hanley Road and go north. Go through the intersection at Delmar. In about 3 or 4 blocks, you will see a sign for Blackberry Ave. (no light). Turn left and proceed west. You will come to North & South Road. Go through that intersection and keep going west on Blackberry Ave. until you see the Kaufman Park tennis courts, then follow directions above. Shaw Nature Reserve: Starting at the junction of I-270 and I-44, travel west on I-44 for approximately 23 miles to Hwy. 100/Gray Summit Exit (Exit #253). Upon exiting, turn left (cross over I-44) on Hwy. 100. Turn right (west) immediately after crossing I-44 and travel 0.1 mile and turn left into the Shaw Nature Reserve entrance. The Visitors’ Center is just inside the gate. Note: there is a modest entrance fee for no-Missouri Botanical Garden members. 2. APRIL 2003 BUTTERFLY REPORT: On 4/1, Ron Goetz found the first Henry’s Elfins at Emmenegger Park and Jim Ziebol found the first Cabbage White at Horseshoe Lake. On 4/2, Jim Ziebol spotted a Red Admiral at Tower Grove Park, and a Clouded Sulphur and E. Comma at Emmenegger. Ron Goetz had a remarkably good day on 4/2, with 14 species seen. Highlights at Greensfelder included Zebra, Black and Tiger Swallowtails, Falcate Orangetip, Gray Hairstreak, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Sleepy and Juvenal’s Duskywings, Henry’s Elfin and Gray Comma. On 4/3, Bob Siemer saw a Falcate Orangetip at Babler and E.Comma, Mourning Cloak, Spring Azure and Clouded Sulphur at Pacific Palisades, while Jim Ziebol found the following at Tyson: 1 Henry’s Elfin, 10 Falcate Orangetips, 1 Goatweed, 1 Eastern Tailed-Blue, 1 Red Admiral, 1 Mourning Cloak, several Spring Azures, and 3 Juvenal’s Duskywings. Dianne Benjamin found 2 Spring Azures at Litzinger Rd. Ecology Center on 4/4. Also on 4/4, at Greensfelder, Ron Goetz counted 2 male Sleepy Duskywings, 12 Falcate Orangetips, a Gray Comma, 2 Zebra and 2 Tiger Swallowtails. A Red Admiral and 1 Cabbage White were observed at Castlewood on 4/5, a sunny but chilly day (YH). By the weekend of 4/11 - 4/13, the weather had turned warm and sunny again. On 4/11, Wild Indigo Duskywings were found at Emmenegger (RG). On 4/12 a Pipevine Swallowtail was seen (SM), along with1 Pearl Crescent (YH), at Lost Valley Trail, and a Horace’s Duskywing was observed at Valley View Glade (YH). The Count at Busch Wildlife (part of the Mo. Dept. of Conservation state counts) on 4/13 produced three very interesting butterflies: a Sleepy Duskywing, which is a record for Busch, a Henry’s Elfin, and a Juniper Hairstreak, which Yvonne found after the group had disbanded. The whole group got great looks at the very fresh Henry’s Elfin, thanks to some earlier scouting by Dennis Bozzay and the alert eyes of Dave Berry. Participating in the Count were Jim Ziebol (leader), Yvonne Homeyer, Dennis Bozzay, Dave Berry, Jeannie Moe, Scott Marshall, Kraig Paradise, Bob & Claudia Noe, Scott Goldman and his mother. Belle Warden observed a Red Admiral nectaring on Paw Paw blossoms on 4/13 in her Madison, IL garden. On 4/14, Dave Berry saw a worn female Monarch in his yard. This butterfly left the US last fall and beat the odds to survive long enough to make it this far on the journey north. Most of the Monarchs overwintering in Mexico breed and die on the return trip in northern Mexico or southern US, but rarely live long enough to reach the Midwest. Dave Berry and Belle Warden both had Black Swallowtails hatch out of chrysalises from the previous fall. Painted Lady was a good find on Torrey Berger’s walk at Lost Valley Trail on 4/15. On 4/17, during a trip to Shaw Nature Reserve, Ron Goetz found 17 species, including Spicebush Swallowtail and Variegated Fritillary; the Variegated Fritillary was a month earlier than Ron’s previous early date of May 21. Also seen that day were 2 Juniper Hairstreaks, one Henry’s Elfin, and 30 Pearl Crescents. The following day, on 4/18 at Greensfelder, Ron saw 2 female Monarchs at Greensfelder "hunting for and finding emerging milkweeds", 8 Pipevines, 3 Horace’s, 3 Sleepy and over 20 Juvenals’ Duskywings, including females of all three duskywings. Torrey Berger found the first Harvester of the year, on 4/22 at Lost Valley Trail, along with Zebra, Pipevine, Tiger Swallowtails, Falcate Orangetip, and Red Admiral. Also on 4/22, Jim Ziebol found 2 Pepper-and-Salt Skippers and 2 American Ladies at Tyson. On 4/23, Ron Goetz scouted Valley View Glade in anticipation of the chapter walk on 4/27. He found Cobweb, Common Roadside and Zabulon Skippers, Red-banded Hairstreak and Gorgone Checkerspot, plus larvae of Baltimore Checkerspot. On the 4/27 walk, led by Ron, the group saw both Cobweb and Common Roadside Skippers, Silver-spotted Skipper, Sleepy & Juvenal’s Duskywings, Falcate Orangetip, Gorgone Checkerspot, many Pearl Crescents, Juniper Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Goatweed, American Lady, several species of Swallowtails, and more. The sunny day could not have been more ideal, with temperatures in high 60s perfect for hiking. Scott & Annie Marshall visited Shaw Nature Reserve on 4/27 and observed Juniper Hairstreak, 2 Monarchs, Goatweed and more. On 4/29, an American Lady was seen in Belle Warden’s yard. Please submit sightings by the last day of the month to Yvonne Homeyer (homeyer@earthlink.net). An asterisk (*) denotes video or photo of unusual or hard-to-find species. Bold means first report of the season. CONTRIBUTORS: Dianne Benjamin, Torrey Berger, Dave Berry, Dennis Bozzay, Ron Goetz, Yvonne Homeyer, Scott Marshall, Belle Warden, Jim Ziebol. 3. NABA EDUCATION PROGRAMS: Dianne Benjamin, former Vice-President of NABA St. Louis, presented a butterflies and gardening program to a senior citizens’ group in Chesterfield and had over 40 participants. Dianne used one of Jim Ziebol’s butterfly videos and her audience was very enthusiastic and eager to learn. She received an honorarium check from the Chesterfield Parks Dept. for $25.00, which has been generously donated to NABA St. Louis. Thanks Dianne! Betty Manlin has been involved with education outreach for NABA, with the St. Louis City Schools and other school districts in the St. Louis area. Approximately once a week, Betty has been teaching butterfly biology to elementary-age students, primarily Kindergarten and First grade, in the classroom. Class size is usually 25 to 30 children, and her programs include photos and charts to demonstrate butterfly metamorphosis, for example. Betty also volunteers at the Butterfly House in Chesterfield. Thanks Betty! 4. BUTTERFLY GARDEN PLANT LIST: The Jim Ziebol Butterfly Garden at Busch Conservation Area in St. Charles County contains 40 species of native plants, a good sampling of Missouri’s wildflowers that tolerate a lot of sun (our garden does not get any shade). Some of our plants are host plants for butterflies and some were chosen because butterflies like to nectar on their flowers. But all are wildflower species native to Missouri. No pesticides have ever been used in our garden and our plants nevertheless thrive, producing beautiful flowers for the butterflies and people to enjoy. Ground was broken in the spring of 2000, so our garden is entering is 4th growing season. Jack Harris planted the first plant, Verbesina virginica (White Crownbeard). Dennis Bozzay has prepared plant name markers to help us identify all the plants that you will see the next time you visit our Butterfly Garden: |
LIST OF PLANTS IN BUTTERFLY GARDEN:
Scientific name: Achillia millifolium |
Common Name: Yarrow |
5. UNIVERSITY CITY DEBATING WHETHER TO STOP PESTICIDE SPRAYING: Like most local governments in the St. Louis area, University City has had a policy of attempting to control mosquitoes by spraying pesticides from a truck. St. Louis County provides this service to any municipality requesting it and willing to pay for it. This year, the City Council is reviewing whether it should change its policy. The City Council of University City will hold a PUBLIC HEARING on June 2 at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 6801 Delmar. If you are interested in this issue, we urge you to do one or more of the following: - Attend the public hearing, even if you do not live in University City but especially if you do. · Only a small percentage of mosquitoes in the targeted area are killed by spraying. NABA-St. Louis will send a representative to the hearing to speak on behalf of our chapter. But we need lots of people there to show that this is a subject of great interest to many people, even those living outside University City. PLEASE COME TO LEND SUPPORT. It does not matter where you live. There will also be a preparation session for people who want to speak at the hearing so we can divide up topics and make sure that many different points are covered. Please call Yvonne Homeyer at (314) 963-7750 if you have any questions or if you plan to be at the hearing. THANK YOU! 6. NABA MEMBERS MEET WITH PUBLIC OFFICIALS ABOUT PESTICIDE SPRAYING: In May, NABA-St. Louis set up a meeting with the St. Louis County Health Department to discuss our concerns surrounding the spraying of pesticides by truck in order to control mosquito populations. Attending the meeting were Margaret Gilleo and Jim Ziebol for NABA-St. Louis, Yvonne Homeyer for NABA-St. Louis and Webster Groves Nature Study Society, and Jim Holsen for St. Louis Audubon Society. We are in the process of setting up a meeting with County Councilman Kurt Odenwald, who held a public hearing last October to gather information about pesticide spraying. St. Louis County Dept. of Health officials told us that while they are still spraying, there will be more controls on the spraying and more emphasis on Integrated Pest Management. We are still in the process of getting more information about the County’s program this year. So far there have not been any reported cases of West Nile Virus in 2003. University City will hold a public hearing on June 2nd on the issue of pesticide spraying. See related article in this newsletter. Please attend if you can! 7. NABA REPRESENTED AT MDC CONSERVATION FORUM: The St. Louis chapter of NABA was represented at the Conservation Forum held in St. Louis on March 31. The purpose of the forum, organized by the Missouri Department of Conservation, was to "strengthen the communication with conservation organizations, and involve them in the identification of conservation issues important in the St. Louis region." Similar events have been held in other areas of the state. There were 56 registrants for the St. Louis meeting, representing various environmental, conservation and recreational interests. Break-out discussion and exhibit rooms were available for the following topics: water quality, streams, and watersheds; public use management; resources; policy, planning, and protection; education and research; urban sprawl, greenspace, and development. Participants were asked to submit their top five conservation/environmental issues to increase awareness of the various groups' concerns; these issues were distributed to all attendees. Priorities submitted for NABA were: At the forum, we reiterated the importance of habitat preservation for butterflies. We appreciate the opportunity to participate in this event and increase awareness of NABA's environmental priorities. 8. AND MORE... NEWSLETTER ARTICLES WELCOME: YOUR OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS: President Ann Earley If you have questions or suggestions, e-mail Ann Earley (aee623@prodigy.net). Our webpage is: www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/stlouis.htm 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. |
Editor: Dave Larson
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