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

1. UPCOMING EVENTS FOR LATE SEPTEMBER and OCTOBER 2004:

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.
See article below.

Our chapter will have a display table at the 2004 Conservation Forum to be held at the Saint Louis Zoo's Living World on Wednesday, October 27. Registration begins at 6 p.m., followed by presentations, exhibit viewing, and optional workshops.

The theme of this year's forum is "Conversations on Conservation in Missouri: Issues and Challenges." At 6:30, John D. Hoskins, Director of the Missouri Department of Conservation, will speak on the topic "Missourians - Leading the Nation in Conservation." At 8 p.m., Robert Marquis, Professor of Biology at UM-St. Louis, will speak on "Issues in Conservation: Missouri Insects." He will be followed by Doug Ladd, Director of Conservation Science for the Missouri Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, speaking on "Do Our Local Conservation Efforts Have A Global Impact?" This event is co-sponsored by the International Center for Tropical Ecology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Saint Louis Zoo, Missouri Botanical Garden, The Nature Conservancy-Missouri Chapter and the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Participants will be able to purchase a box dinner by advance reservation. For additional information or to register by the October 22 deadline, please contact Dr. Patrick Osborne at the International Center for Tropical Ecology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Department of Biology, 8001 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63121, by phone at 314-516-5219, or email at osborneplATmsx.umsl.edu.

3. AUGUST 2004 BUTTERFLY REPORT by Yvonne Homeyer

Columbia Bottoms was busy with Cloudless Sulphurs and Little Yellows on 8/1, but only 15 species were found, including 4 Orange Sulphurs (low number), 3 Dainty Sulphurs, 4 Monarchs, 1 Viceroy, 1 Painted Lady, and 5 Hayhurst’s Scallopwings (YH). Also on 8/1, Dennis Bozzay found 15 species at Hilda Young C.A., including 3 Swarthy Skippers, and at his garden in Crestwood he saw Monarch, Red-banded Hairstreak, and Fiery Skipper. On 8/8, Jim Ziebol and Yvonne Homeyer spent the morning at Two Rivers NWR in Calhoun County, IL. Despite the sunny weather, few butterflies were seen. Highlights included 8 Dainty Sulphurs, 5 Monarchs, 1 Red Admiral, and 2 Common Sootywings. That afternoon at Marais Temps Clair, however, butterflies were numerous: 50 Cloudless Sulphurs, 25 Orange Sulphurs, 10 Little Yellows, 3 Sleepy Orange, 15 Monarchs, 4 Variegated Fritillaries, 1 Bronze Copper, 25 Common Checkered-Skippers - 17 species counted in just 30 minutes.

Not one but two(!) Funereal Duskywings* at Busch Wildlife, each in a different location, were a double surprise for Jim and Yvonne on 8/9 (video); among the 34 species seen that day were Zebra and Giant Swallowtails, 1 Painted Lady, 15 Monarchs, 1 Red-banded Hairstreak, 1 Clouded Skipper, and 1 Common Checkered-Skipper. However, no Orange Sulphurs were found. Dave Berry reported all 6 species of Swallowtails (Giant, Pipevine, Spicebush, Black, Zebra, yellow Tiger and black Tiger) plus Monarchs and Cloudless Sulphurs on 8/8 and 8/9 at his St. Peters garden. Many Silvery Checkerspots and Summer Azures were nectaring on Wingstem at Tyson on 8/13 and a Clouded Skipper (video) was a good find at Hilda Young C.A. (YH, JZ). Jim and Yvonne reported 26 species on 8/15 at Bootleg Access in Washington County, including 6 species of sulphurs (but only 2 Orange Sulphurs), 2 Tawny Emperors, 2 Delawares and 4 Crosslines. Torrey Berger reported an increase in skippers in mid-August, tallying 9 Peck’s, 11 Fiery, 1 Crossline, 6 Silver-spotted, 5 Sachem, 1 Delaware on 8/14, along with 1 Spicebush, 2 Tiger, and 1 Monarch. About 12 Sachems were seen at Stacy Park natural area on 8/18 (YH). In mid-August, Sleepy Oranges showed up in the Crestwood gardens of Dennis Bozzay (a new species for his yard) and Tom "Terrific" Krauska; Tom found 20+ eggs on his Wild Senna, the caterpillar food plant.

Our last 4^th of July Count took place on 8/22 at Horseshoe Lake. From the count results, you’d never know it has been a relatively slow summer! All the sulphurs were seen, and in good numbers: 11 Clouded, 107 Orange, 59 Southern Dogface, 86 Cloudless, 34 Little Yellow, 23 Sleepy Orange and 103 Dainty Sulphur. Highlights included 1 Dukes’ Skipper, 2 Clouded Skippers, 34 Common Sootywings, 1 Bronze Copper, 212 Common Checkered-Skippers, 24 Tawny Emperors, and 19 Monarchs. Jim Ziebol (coordinator), Linda Virga, Mark Peters, Kraig Paradise, Torrey Berger, Mary Eileen Rufkahr, Dennis Bozzay, Sherry McCowan and Yvonne Homeyer participated in the count on a beautiful sunny day - which was also the coolest Horseshoe Lake count we’ve ever done, with a high of about 80 degrees. At his home later that day, Torrey found 1 Southern Dogface, 3 Tiger (yellow and black forms), 1 Little Glasywing, 11 Fiery, 8 Sachem, 18 Peck’s, and 8 Silver-spotted Skippers.

Torrey Berger claimed a new site record for Dukes’ Skipper: Little Creve Coeur Lake, on 8/26/04. Dukes’ Skipper has only been found in a few locations in the St. Louis area due to the destruction/filling of its wetlands habitat. Little Creve Coeur Lake is the most significant wetlands area remaining in St. Louis County. On 8/27, Torrey logged 27 species at Riverlands, including Bronze Copper, Gray Hairstreak, Orange Sulphur, Variegated Fritillary, Southern Dogface, Checkered White (only the 2^nd report of the season), Viceroy, Monarch, Snout, and several skipper species: Horace’s Duskywing, Southern Cloudywing, Common Sootywing, Common Checkered-Skipper, Tawny-edged, Least, Fiery, and Delaware.

For the second year in a row, our field trip to Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge in Calhoun County, IL got rained out (8/29). On 8/30, a warm sunny day, Jim Ziebol found a Leonard's Skipper at Tyson, and at Hilda Young C.A he saw 1 Clouded Skipper, 2 N. Pearly-eyes, 1 Wood-Nymph, Red Admiral and several Sachem.

Cynthia Bauer’s Florissant garden was visited by Tiger Swallowtail, Southern Dogface, Clouded and Cloudless Sulphur, and Monarchs in August. In June, she reported finding a Swamp Metalmark at Sioux Passage Park. This species is quite rare in the St. Louis area due to the scarcity of its host plant, Swamp Thistle. She has also seen many skippers in her yard, which has a wealth of coneflowers, milkweed, zinnias, buddleia, and many birds (but no crows this year).

CONTRIBUTORS: Cynthia Bauer, Torrey Berger, Dave Berry, Dennis Bozzay, Ann Earley, Ron Goetz, Yvonne Homeyer, Tom "Terrific" Krauska, Scott & Annie Marshall, Jeannie Moe, Bob & Claudia Noe, Kraig Paradise, Mark Peters, Mary Eileen Rufkahr, Simon and Vickie Pursifull, Linda Virga, Belle Warden, Jim Ziebol.

Send your sightings by the last day of the month to Yvonne Homeyer. An asterisk denotes video or photo of unusual or hard-to-find species. Bold means first report of the season.

Our chapter displayed local butterfly information (and our beautiful butterfly tablecloth!) at the St. Louis BioBlitz in Forest Park on Saturday, September 11th. Kathleen O'Keefe and Mike Thelen staffed the display for this event, the first of its kind in St. Louis, which attempted to list all plants and animals in the Park. Thanks to Kathleen and Mike for helping at this event.

The chapter display table was also at the Butterfly House Fall Festival at Faust Park in Chesterfield on Saturday, September 25 and Sunday, September 26. Many thanks to Jim Ziebol, Kate Boden, Dave Larson, Bob Siemer, and Ann Earley for helping with set-up and staffing for this event.

And thank you to all of the volunteers who have helped with our chapter display table at previous events throughout 2004! We appreciate the opportunity to participate in these events and raise public awareness of butterflies and our NABA chapter.

§ Butterflies range in size from a tiny 1/8 inch to a huge almost 12 inches. Butterflies can see red, green, and yellow.

§ Some people say that when the black bands on the Woolybear caterpillar are wide, a cold winter is coming.

§ The Brimstone butterfly (Gonepterix rhamni) has the longest lifetime of the adult butterflies: 9-10 months.

§ Representations of butterflies are seen in Egyptian frescoes at Thebes, which are 3,500 years old.

§ Antarctica is the only continent on which no Lepidoptera have been found.

§ There are about 24,000 species of butterflies. The moths are even more numerous: about 140,000 species of them were counted all over the world.

§ Many butterflies can taste with their feet to find out whether the leaf they sit on is good to lay eggs on to be their caterpillars' food or not.

§ Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees.

Although summer is now over, and autumn's cooler evenings have arrived, our butterfly walks and counts this year provided many wonderful photo and learning opportunities and great memories of local butterflies.

Many thanks go out to the members of our chapter who led our butterfly walks and counts this year. Your time commitment and dedication are appreciated! Special thanks go to Jim Ziebol and Yvonne Homeyer, who coordinated and planned all of this year's counts and walks. Indoor programs and activities are being organized for our chapter for the coming cold weather months. Details will be provided in future newsletters.

7. AND MORE...

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 (aee623ATprodigy.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.