April 2004 Issue:
In This Edition:
| 1) Coming Events for April and May 2) Butterfly Classes 3) 2004 Calendar of Events 4) Days Draw Capacity Crowd 5) And more NABA's MISSION STATEMENT: 1. COMING EVENTS FOR APRIL AND MAY: Beginners are welcome on every butterfly walk and count. Directions to each location are found at the end of the Coming Events Calendar (below). Water, hat, and sunscreen are recommended for every outing. Tick prevention methods include wearing long pants and using insect repellent. Sun. April 11. 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Butterfly Count at Busch Wildlife in St. Charles County. Easy walking. Meet at 10:00 at the Butterfly Garden (bottom of parking lot at Visitor’s Center). We have a chance of seeing Falcate Orangetip, Henry’s Elfin, Tiger and Zebra Swallowtails, Mourning Cloak, Red Admiral, Spring Azure, E. Comma, Goatweed, Sulphurs, Duskywings and more. We should be finished by 12:30. Leader: Jim Ziebol. Friday, April 16, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Our NABA chapter will have a display table at the St. Charles County "Earth Day Extravaganza." This event is for both county employees and the general public and will be held in front of the county courthouse on North Second Street in St. Charles. St. Charles County will provide free native trees and other give-aways to attendees. Jeannie and Jim Moe will be staffing our display table and will look forward to seeing you there! Sun. April 18. 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Butterfly Walk at Hilda Young Conservation Area in Jefferson County near Eureka. Meet at 10:00 at the parking lot. We will be walking for several hours and there are no public facilities. Same expected species as for Busch, plus we will be looking for Pine Elfin. The group will return to the parking lot around 2:30, but people can leave earlier if they wish. Bring lunch and water. Leader: Dennis Bozzay. Sat. April 24. 10:00 a.m. Butterfly Walk connected with NABA class offered through Florissant Valley Community College. NABA members are welcome. The walk will start at 10:00, location TBA, somewhere in North County. Call Yvonne Homeyer (314 963 7750) for location. Leaders: Yvonne Homeyer and Jim Ziebol. Sun. May 2. Noon. Butterfly Walk connected with NABA class offered through Meramec Community College. NABA members are welcome. The walk will start at Noon, location TBA. Call Yvonne Homeyer (314 963 7750) for location. Leaders: Yvonne Homeyer and Jim Ziebol. Sun. May 16. 10:00 a.m. Butterfly Count at Busch Wildlife in St. Charles County. Easy walking. Meet at 10:00 at the Butterfly Garden (bottom of parking lot at Visitor’s Center). More species will be flying by mid-May, including Pipevine, Spicebush and Black Swallowtails, American Lady, Silvery Checkerspot, Viceroy, Pearl Crescent and skippers. Leader: Jim Ziebol. Sat. May 22. 10:15 a.m. Ozark Butterfly Walk on Dave Berry’s property (NEW). On this field trip in Dent County, we might see the stunning Baltimore Checkerspot, an Ozark specialty that is rarely seen in the St. Louis area. Bring lunch and water. The terrain is hilly and somewhat rough in places, but we will walk at a slow pace. Driving time from I-270 and I-44 is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes. Directions can be found at the end of the Calendar. We plan to meet at the entrance gate to Dave’s property around 10:15 a.m. For those who want to carpool or caravan, call Yvonne. On the way home, there will be an optional stop for a late lunch or early dinner at The Feed Lot in Cuba. For those of us who would like to spend part of the day trout fishing, or have a friend who would come along just for the fishing, there is a public trout fishing area 1 mile from Dave’s property. Fishing license needed – Dave can provide more details. Leader: Dave Berry. Sunday May 23, 12:00 noon. Butterfly Walk at Tyson Research Center. Meet at the Tyson Gatehouse, located at I-44 and Antire Rd. This is a joint NABA/FOT (Friends of Tyson) outing, and FOT will provide drinks and snacks. Restrooms are available at the Gatehouse. Lunch & snacks at 12:00 noon, walk will start between 12:30 and 12:45 p.m. Tyson walks at this time of May in the past have yielded all 5 species of Swallowtails, Great Spangled Fritillary, Bell’s Roadside Skipper, and many more species. Leaders: Dave Larson and Jim Ziebol. Mon. May 31 (Memorial Day). Butterfly Walk at Hilda Young C.A. in Jefferson County near Eureka. Meet at 10:00 at the parking lot. We will be walking for several hours and there are no public facilities. The group will return to the parking lot around 2:30, but people can leave earlier if they wish. Bring lunch and water. On last year’s Memorial Day walk, we saw Pine Elfin, Harvester, and Pepper & Salt Skipper - 24 species in all. Leader: Dennis Bozzay. DIRECTIONS TO ABOVE EVENTS: 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. St. Charles County Event: From I-70, exit north on to 5th St. At Jefferson St., turn right. Go straight (two blocks) to North Second St., turn left. The historic courthouse and the administration building are on the left side of the street. Hilda Young Conservation Area: Take I-44 west to Hwy 109 & W exit. Turn left onto W. Go south on Hwy W 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 Mo. Dept. of Conservation sign at the parking lot. There are gasoline stations on Hwy W to stop for restrooms; these are the last public facilities. Dave Berry’s Property: Please Email Yvonne Homeyer for directions: homeyerATearthlink.net Tyson Research Center: From the junction of I-44 and I-270, go west on I-44 about 7 miles to the Antire Rd/Beaumont exit (exit #269). The entrance gate to Tyson is about 100 ft. past the exit ramp stop sign on the right. Meet at the Gatehouse which is just inside the entry gate. 2. SPRING 2004 BUTTERFLY CLASSES: Florissant Valley College: "Spring Butterflies" taught by NABA-St. Louis members Meramec College: "Local Butterflies: Habits & Habitats" taught by NABA-St. Louis members Missouri Botanical Garden: "The Terrific Butterfly Garden" taught by Tom "Terrific" Krauska Shaw Nature Reserve: "The Terrific Butterfly Garden" taught by Tom "Terrific" Krauska Tesson Ferry Library: "Butterfly Gardening" taught by Tom "Terrific" Krauska 3. 2004 CALENDAR OF EVENTS: By the time you read this, you have surely seen your first butterflies of the season! Mourning Cloak, Question Mark and Eastern Comma overwintered as adults and will start flying on sunny March days if the temperature gets warm enough. April brings us single-brooded spring butterflies such as Falcate Orangetip and Henry's Elfin, which fly briefly and then won't be seen again until the following spring. Swallowtails, Sulphurs, Pearl Crescents, Spring Azures, Eastern Tailed-Blues, Duskywings, Red Admirals and many more species will also begin to appear. Soon butterfly season will be in full swing! Included with this newsletter is a calendar of ALL of our 2004 outings. This 2004 Calendar is also available as a one-page text file at: www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/2004naba.txt These field trips, led by experienced NABA members, will take you to a variety of habitats throughout the spring and summer. Beginners are most definitely welcome on every walk and count, and the leader will do his or her best to answer questions and make sure everyone sees as many butterflies as possible. We have added several new locations – Dave Berry’s property in the Ozarks, Gail Cross’s property in Franklin County, 2 Rivers National Wildlife Refuge in Calhoun County – and we will return to Busch, Tyson, Hilda Young, Horseshoe Lake, Shaw Nature Reserve, Mark Peters’ prairie, the Day’s property, and The Green Center. A few more might be added later in the summer. Starting in this issue, each newsletter will provide a detailed description and directions of each field trip in the Calendar or "Upcoming Events" section. So save these dates and join us on as many of our outings as possible! Over 100 species of butterflies can be seen in the St. Louis area during the year. NABA-ST. LOUIS WALKS AND COUNTS 2004: Sun. 4/11 Busch C.A., State Count #1 (10:00) JZ, YH NOTE: Check current newsletter or web site (www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/stlouis.htm) to confirm outing and for travel directions. LEADERS: Dave Berry, Dennis Bozzay, Gail Cross, Richard & Susan Day, Ron Goetz, Yvonne Homeyer, Dave Larson, Scott Marshall, Jeannie Moe, Mark Peters, Jane Schaeffer, Betty Walters, Jim Ziebol. 4. DAYS DRAW CAPACITY CROWD AT MARCH PROGRAM It was standing-room only on March 10 at Powder Valley Nature Center as a program jointly sponsored by St. Louis NABA and the Missouri Native Plant Society featured backyard habitat specialists and NABA members Richard and Susan Day. Over seventy people attended their presentation on landscaping and gardening to attract birds and butterflies. The slides they showed and information they presented were excellent and were greatly enjoyed by program attendees. Thank you, Susan and Richard, for sharing your knowledge and beautiful photography with us, and for your support of NABA! 5. AND MORE... NEW MEMBERS: NEWSLETTER ARTICLES WELCOME: YOUR OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS: If you have questions or suggestions, e-mail Ann Earley (aee623ATprodigy.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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