NABA's MISSION STATEMENT:
To promote nonconsumptive, recreational butterflying and to increase
the public's enjoyment, knowledge and conservation of butterflies.

Fri. Sept. 10 at 3:00 p.m. thru Sat. Sept. 11 at 3:00 p.m. St. Louis BioBlitz, Forest Park in St. Louis.

The first-ever St. Louis BioBlitz is being held to share information on biodiversity with the public and to create an inventory of all plant and animal species in Forest Park. Activities include a "24-hour blitz" data collection and processing period, and activities for the public, including vendors, refreshments and information displays on Saturday from 9:00 until 3:00 near the newly-renovated Visitor Center. There is no charge for participation. This event is being co-facilitated by Gateway Wildlands and The Explorers Club of St. Louis. Further details are available at: www.STLBioBlitz.com.

Tues. Sept. 14, 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. Class "Local Butterflies: Habits and Habitats" at St. Louis Community College, Meramec campus. Emphasis will be on identification of local butterflies seen in the fall, including Monarchs migrating to Mexico, and a discussion of host plants and habitats. The class field trip will take place on Saturday, September 18, starting at 10:00 a.m.; location TBA on the night of the class.

Sat. Sept. 18. Field trip connected with the Local Butterflies class offered on 9/14 at Meramec Community College. Starts at 10:00 a.m. Location TBA. All NABA members are welcome. Call (314) 984-7777 to register for the class (see above) and call Yvonne at (314) 963-7750 for location.

Sun. Sept. 19. Last of the Dept. of Conservation butterfly counts at Busch Wildlife. Meet at 10:00 a.m. at the Butterfly Garden (bottom of parking lot at Visitors’ Center). Leader: Jim Ziebol. Beginners are welcome. Water, hat, and sunscreen are recommended. Tick prevention methods include wearing long pants and using insect repellant. DIRECTIONS: 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.

Sat. Sept. 25 and Sun. Sept. 26. Butterfly House Fall Festival, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, Butterfly House, Faust Park, Chesterfield. This fourth annual event promotes appreciation of arthropods, gardening and the environment by providing an educational and entertaining festival with hands-on opportunities, demonstrations, crafts and food. As in past years, St. Louis NABA will have a display table at this event on both days. Come out and enjoy the fun!

Wed. Sept. 29, 7:00 p.m. Nature Video at City Library. A nature video presentation by Jim Ziebol will take place at the Machacek Library, 6424 Scanlan in the southwest part of the city of St. Louis. The video, created by Jim, will feature birds, butterflies, dragonflies and other wildlife in the St. Louis area. Jim will also have an art exhibit on display. This event, sponsored by Machacek Library, is free and open to the public. All NABA members are welcome. To get there, take I-44 east to the Jamieson exit, where there is a stop light. Go straight through the intersection (crossing Jamieson) which puts you on Bradley. Follow Bradley to Ivanhoe and turn left on Ivanhoe, then turn right on Scanlan. The phone number for the library is (314) 781-2948.

Wed. Oct. 27, 6:00-9:30 p.m. Conservation Forum 2004, at The Living World, St. Louis Zoo.
The forum this year will focus on conservation in Missouri. The keynote speaker will be John D. Hoskins, Director of the Missouri Department of Conservation. Talks will also be given by Doug Ladd, Director of Conservation Science for The Nature Conservancy, and Robert Marquis, Professor of Biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. As in years past, St. Louis NABA will have a display table at this event. Watch for further details about this event in the October newsletter.

2. JULY 2004 BUTTERFLY REPORT by Yvonne Homeyer

On 7/1, Torrey Berger counted 12 Pecks, 5 Sachem, 1 Crossline, 2 Little Glassywing, 1 Monarch, and 2 Tigers in his west county garden, and on the same day Jeannie Moe observed Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Little Yellow, Pearl Crescent, Viceroy, Buckeye, Little Wood Satyr and Least Skipper at Klondike County Park. Torrey found Common Checkered-Skipper, Orange Sulphur, Cabbage White and Eastern Tailed-Blue at Riverlands on 7/6. That same day at Busch, Jim Ziebol reported 4 Black Swallowtails, 4 Tiger Swallowtails, 1 Painted Lady and 20 Snouts.

The 4^th of July Count at Busch Wildlife, which actually took place on July 4, drew a large number of participants, including several visitors who read about the Count in the Suburban Journals: Jim Ziebol, count coordinator, Dennis Bozzay, Tom O’Gorman, Mary Eileen Rufkahr, Ann Earley, Bob Siemer, Kraig Paradise, Scott Marshall, Dave Berry, Jeannie Moe, Linda Virga, Vickie & Simon Pursifull, Carol Sumpter, Ginny Kreitler, Carol and Larry Downey, Andy Stoll (a student) and his mother Nancy Stoll, and Yvonne Homeyer. Highlights included Juniper Hairstreaks, Tawny Emperor, and Bronze Copper. However, only 32 species were found and 3 of those 32 species (Eastern Tailed-Blue, Pearl Crescent and Little Wood Satyr) accounted for more than half the total individuals counted. In addition, skippers fared poorly, with just two skipper species seen - Silver-spotted and Least - and no grass skippers at all. However, Dave Berry reported several species of skippers visiting his St. Peters garden in early July, including Little Glassywing, Dun, Fiery, Sachem, and Peck’s, and on 7/8, Torrey Berger discovered a "hot spot" for skippers at Drace Park in Town & Country, where he observed Peck’s, Sachem, and Fiery, along with a Juniper Hairstreak; all were nectaring on Daisies. On 7/8 at Babler S.P., Jeannie found Red-spotted Purple and Question Mark and on 7/10, she and Kraig Paradise counted 25 Cloudless Sulphurs and 5 Clouded Sulphuts at Riverlands.

A trip to Horseshoe Lake on 7/11 produced 24 species, but again, no grass skippers were found. Highlights of the hot, humid day included Dainty Sulphur, Bronze Copper, Snout, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Southern Cloudywing, Common Checkered-Skipper and Common Sootywing. Although 5 species of sulphurs were observed (Orange, S. Dogface, Cloudless, Sleepy Orange and Dainty), there were just a handful of Orange Sulphurs, formerly an abundant species in apparent decline throughout the St. Louis area. Overall, the butterflies were few and far between. (JZ, YH). On that same day (7/11), Torrey Berger visited Riverlands and found 4 sulphur species - Cloudless, Clouded, Orange, and Little Yellow - plus Bronze Copper, Red Admiral, Red-spotted Purple, Snout, Painted Lady, Tawny Emperor, Monarch and Viceroy. The following day, 7/12, Torrey counted 12 Hayhurst’s Scallopwings at Confluence S.P and on 7/14, he reported the following species at Horseshoe Lake: 1 Black Sw., 1 Spicebush Sw., 2 Tiger Sw., 3 Dogface, 25 Clouded Sulphurs, 25+ Cabbage Whites, 3 Red Admirals, 25+ Eastern Tailed-Blues, 25+ Pearl Crescents, 10 Buckeyes, 1 E. Comma, 2 Painted Ladies, 1 Summer Azure, 8 Hackberries, 2 Tawny Emperors, 1 S. Cloudywing, 6 Common Checkered-Skippers, 10 Little Glassywings, and 25+ Least Skippers.

Hackberry was #50 for Ron Goetz’s yard list, seen on 7/12. At Rock Hollow County Park, Jeannie Moe reported Spicebush and Tiger Swallowtails, Cloudless Sulphur, Great Spangled Fritillary, Red-spotted Purple, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Pearl Crescent and Hackberry on 7/15. Mottled Duskywing was observed by Ron Goetz nectaring on New Jersey Tea in Montgomery County on 7/17. On 7/18, Jim and Yvonne found a Clouded Skipper (video) and a fresh Bell’s Roadside Skipper at Bootleg C.A. in Washington County. During a visit to Lincoln and Pike Counties on 7/18, Torrey Berger observed Orange, Dainty and Cloudless Sulphurs, Little Yellow, Bronze Copper, Monarch, Buckeye, Red Admiral, Common Checkered-Skipper and Common Sootywing at Clarence Cannon NWR; Bronze Copper, Monarch and Viceroy at Prairie Slough; and Orange Sulphur, Cloudless Sulphur, Variegated Fritillary, and Little Glassywing at B.K. Leach C.A.

Jim Ziebol visited Hilda Young C.A. on 7/21 and found Red-banded Hairstreak, 20 Little Wood Satyrs, 1 Wild Indigo Duskywing, and 4 Zabulon Skippers. On 7/22, Gray Hairstreak, Common Sootywing, Least Skipper, Silver-spotted Skipper and Common Checkered-Skipper were seen at Horseshoe Lake (TB).

Richard & Susan Day sponsored a 4^th of July Count on their property near Salem, IL on 7/24. Bob & Claudia Noe, Torrey & Lee Berger, Mary-Eileen Rufkahr, Jim Ziebol, Yvonne Homeyer and Judith Joy participated. A few days earlier, leaders of the Illinois Natural History Survey project surveyed their property and found 40 species. The overcast skies on 7/24 kept the species and individual totals down. Highlights of the two days included Pipevine (including caterpillars), Spicebush, Giant, Black and Tiger Swallowtails, Cloudless Sulphur, Bronze Copper, Snout, Silvery Checkerspot, American Lady, Painted Lady, Monarch, and 11 species of skippers. The Days’ property includes award-quality flower gardens, a magnificent wetlands (in a reclaimed soybean field), a restored prairie, and woods. If you haven’t yet visited their place, put this count on your calendar for next year!

Urban butterflies seen at the restored prairie in Forest Park on 7/22 included Spicebush and Tiger (black form) Swallowtails, Cloudless Sulphur, Sleepy Orange, Cabbage White, and Silver-spotted Skipper (J. Moe). Three Spicebush, 1 Black, and 4 Tiger Swallowtails, Cabbage White, Clouded, Orange and Dainty Sulphur, Little Yellow, E. Tailed-Blue, Silvery Checkerspot, Pearl Crescent, 1 Painted Lady, 3 Viceroys and 4 Monarchs were reported at Columbia Bottoms on 7/26 (TB).

An Ozark Swallowtail was seen by Jim Ziebol at Hilda Young C.A. on 7/26, along with a Giant Swallowtail, 20 Silvery Checkerspots, 3 Swarthy Skippers and 1 Bell’s Roadside Skipper. Two days later on 7/28, Yvonne visited Hilda Young C.A. and even thought it was a sunny day, butterflies were slow; in an hour Yvonne saw just 1 Pipevine, 1 Spicebush, 1 Cabbage White, 1 Little Yellow, 1 Hackberry, 5 Little Wood Satyrs, 1 Silvery Checkerspot, 12 Eastern Tailed-Blues, 4 Least, 2 Silver-spotted, 4 Zabulon and 2 Swarthy Skippers; no Orange Sulphurs were seen at all. Yvonne returned to Hilda Young C.A. on 7/31 and again did not see a single Orange Sulphur or any other sulphur.

On 7/28, while hiking at Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Simon Pursifull counted 19 Tigers, 6 Black, 6 Pipevine and 2 Great Spangled Fritillaries. On 7/29, Jeannie visited Riverlands and saw Pearl Crescent, Sleepy Orange, Cloudless Sulphur, Eastern Tailed-Blue, and Hackberry.

By mid-July, Dave Berry had 3 species of caterpillars in his garden: Black Swallowtail on carrots, Monarchs on milkweed, and Cloudless Sulphur on Wild Senna. Dave also noticed an increase in Tiger and Spicebush Swallowtails. The Noes saw Giant and Tiger Swallowtails, Great Spangled Fritillaries and 2 Monarchs at their Chesterfield garden, plus several Spicebush caterpillars and one Pipevine caterpillar. Tiger Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur, Cloudless Sulphur and Eastern Tailed-Blue visited Jeannie Moe’s garden.

Dave Berry reports that so far this year, he has counted 79 Tiger Swallowtails in his yard in St. Peters, which is a pretty high number. Of the 79, 14 were Dark Form Females and 65 were Males. HE HAS NOT SEEN ONE REGULAR YELLOW FORM FEMALE! Is anyone else seeing the yellow form females?

CONTRIBUTORS: Torrey Berger, Dave Berry, Dennis Bozzay, Richard & Susan Day, Ann Earley, Ron Goetz, Yvonne Homeyer, Tom "Terrific" Krauska, Dave Larson, Scott & Annie Marshall, Anne McCormack, Jeannie Moe, Bob & Claudia Noe, Tom O’Gorman, Kraig Paradise, Mark Peters, Simon and Vickie Pursifull, Mary Eileen Rufkahr, Bob Siemer, Linda Virga, Belle Warden, Jim Ziebol.

Send your 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.

On Tuesday, September 14, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m., Jim Ziebol and Yvonne Homeyer will present a one-session class entitled "Local Butterflies: Habits and Habitats" at St. Louis Community College, Meramec campus. Emphasis will be on identification of local butterflies seen in the fall, including Monarchs migrating to Mexico, and a discussion of host plants and habitats. The field trip will take place on Saturday, September 18, starting at 10:00 a.m.; location TBA on the night of the class. All NABA members are welcome to come on the field trip. Call (314) 984-7777 to register for the class – the fee is $15.00 - and call Yvonne at (314) 963-7750 after 9/14 for the location of the field trip. (Note: if you received the Meramec Continuing Education booklet for Fall 2004, the field trip date is incorrect. Correct date is 9/18).

The new wooden bench and arbor that has been constructed at the Jim Ziebol Butterfly Garden at Busch Conservation Area was made possible by a donation of $300.00 from NABA-St. Louis member Dolores Kaufman. The bench and its construction was described in last month's newsletter, but the funding that made this all possible was not mentioned in the article. (Please forgive the oversight!)

Thank you Dolores, for your very generous and thoughtful donation to our NABA-St. Louis chapter.

Dolores writes: "… Congratulations to all who built it - at one time I would have been with them swinging a hammer, but the imprint of 74 years and a bout with cancer now limits many of my activities! So I substitute donations when I can…"

A color photo (by NABA-St. Louis Public Relations Chairperson, Kate Boden) of the new bench/arbor appears below:

Bug Day was held on Sat. August 7 at Babler State Park west of St. Louis, and NABA St. Louis had a display table at this family-oriented educational event. Kathleen O'Keefe staffed our NABA table and talked with the adults and children in attendance about NABA and butterflies. Many thanks to the staff at Babler for inviting our chapter to participate in this event, and to Kathleen for representing our NABA chapter!

NEW MEMBERS:
Our newest NABA-St. Louis member is Elli Schaefer. Welcome to our Chapter, Elli, and we hope to see you at the next Butterfly Walk or event.

NEWSLETTER ARTICLES WELCOME:
Please send articles, stories, photos, or suggestions for this "Flutterby News" newsletter to: Dave Larson.

YOUR CURRENT OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS:
President Ann Earley
Vice President Torrey Berger
Secretary Kathleen O'Keefe
Treasurer Dave Berry
Butterfly Gardening Dennis Bozzay
Conservation Yvonne Homeyer
Education Margaret Gilleo
Membership Scott Marshall
Newsletter Dave Larson
Public Relations Kate Boden
Walks & Counts Jim Ziebol
Web Master Dave Larson
View photo of board members

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:
(or view online membership application form)

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 ____________________________________________
Address ____________________________________________
City ___________________ State _______ Zip__________
Phone (....) _____________ E-mail ___________________

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.