Past Issue October 2005
In This Edition:
1) Upcoming October & November Events NABA's MISSION STATEMENT: 1. UPCOMING EVENTS - October & November, 2005 Below is a list of our upcoming field trips and programs. Feel free to invite a friend, or even better, several friends! An experienced field trip leader will show beginners how to use field marks to identify butterflies in the wild. Beginners and children accompanied by adults are welcome on every butterfly walk and count. Directions to each location are found at the end of the Calendar. Water, hat, and sunscreen are recommended for every outing. Tick prevention methods include wearing long pants and closed shoes, and using insect repellent. Sun. Oct. 9. Butterfly Walk at Hilda Young C.A. near Eureka. Meet at 10:00 at the parking lot. There are no facilities. This will be our last outing of the season! Bring lunch. Leaders: Dennis Bozzay & Yvonne Homeyer. [Note: this was originally scheduled for Sat. Oct. 8. There will be no walk on Oct. 8.] DIRECTIONS: 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 a 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. Wed. Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. Jim Ziebol will present a video featuring butterflies of the Rio Grande Valley, followed by a slide show of local butterflies from Dennis Bozzay. Location for this special event is the Machacek Library, 6424 Scanlan in the southwest part of the city of St. Louis. This event is free and open to the public, and guests of NABA members are welcome to attend. DIRECTIONS: 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. Fri. Oct. 14. 7:00 p.m. NABA Dinner at Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant, a salad buffet. Our dinners here in June and again in August were so much fun that we want to do it again. Sweet Tomatoes is located on Watson Road about 1/2 mile west of Sappington/Crestwood Plaza, across from Lindburg Cadillac. You don't have to RSVP, just come and have a good time. Sweet Tomatoes also has a delicious pasta and dessert bar. Wed. Nov. 9. 6:00 p.m. NABA display table at the 2005 Conservation Forum to be held at the Saint Louis Zoo's Living World. The theme of this year's forum is "Floodplains: Conservation and Development?" For additional information or to register by the October 28 deadline, please contact Ms. Pat Hinton at (314) 516-6203, or e-mail hintonpa@umsl.edu. 2. BUTTERFLY SIGHTINGS FOR AUGUST and SEPTEMBER 2005 by Yvonne Homeyer Late Report for July: Contrary to its name, the Common Roadside Skipper is anything but common in the St. Louis area. On 7/6, Jim Ziebol found 2 of these rare skippers at Young C.A. and 1 at Route 66 S.P. He also found a Clouded Skipper at Young on the same day. Comment: As of 9/25/05, no one has reported finding a Dainty Sulphur in our area this season. It is unusual not to see any Dainty Sulphurs and members have been in locations where it has been found in the past. If anyone has seen a Dainty Sulphur, please let me know. August Sightings: Anne Craver observed a Spicebush Swallowtail at her Clayton home on 8/1. On 8/7, Dennis Bozzay led a butterfly walk at Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge in Calhoun County, IL , with Mary-Eileen Rufkahr, Jeannie Moe and Yvonne Homeyer participating. A total of 23 species were seen. Species found on 8/7 that were not seen on 7/31 included E. Comma, Bronze Copper, Tawny Emperor and Least Skipper. Cloudless Sulphur (200+), Little Yellow (100+), and Pearl Crescent (100+) were the species seen in greatest abundance. Tawny Emperor, Buckeye, Red Admiral, Snout, Painted Lady, Monarch, Viceroy, Common Sootywing, and Fiery Skipper were also noted. Expected but absent on both 7/31 and 8/7 were Dainty Sulphur and Common Checkered-Skipper. On 8/12, Dave Larson observed 13 species on the butterfly bushes by the Tyson Headquarters Building: Tiger, Pipevine and Spicebush Swallowtails, Great Spangled Fritillary, Painted Lady, Monarch, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Silver-spotted Skipper, Sachem, Little Glassywing, Zabulon, Peck’s and Tawny-edged Skippers. Mary-Eileen Rufkahr had several butterfly visitors in her garden on 8/13: Tiger and Pipevine Swallowtails, Cabbage White, Cloudless Sulphur, Painted Lady and Monarchs. On 8/15, Jeannie Moe found 1 Black Swallowtail,12 Pearl Crescents, 2 Eastern Tailed-Blues, and 4 Monarchs at Little Creve Coeur Lake, a wetlands in St. Louis County. On 8/20, Torrey Berger, Jeannie Moe and Dennis Bozzay visited Little Creve Coeur Lake again and found 26 species, a good total for the day. Highlights included Dukes’s Skipper, a rare wetlands butterfly in decline, many Checkered Whites (found at only a few locations in our area), Sleepy Orange, and Southern Dogface. Other species seen were Spicebush and Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, Little Yellow, Cloudless Sulphur, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Gray Hairstreak, Pearl Crescent, Painted Lady, Buckeye, Red Admiral, Viceroy, Hackberry, Monarch, Silver-spotted Skipper, Common Sootywing, Fiery, Sachem, Peck’s and Zabulon Skipper. They logged 6 of the 7 sulphurs possible in our area – only Dainty Sulphur was lacking. A special find for Richard and Susan Day on 8/19 at their Alma, IL property was a Milbert’s Tortoiseshell. In Illinois, this species is limited to the northern part of the state, so the Days’ sighting is not only a new addition to their garden list but is also a county record. Dennis Bozzay used some vacation days in late August to go butterflying at St. Francois State Park (20 species on 8/24), Hilda Young C.A. (28 species on 8/27) and Busch Wildlife (24 species on 8/28). Highlights from St. Francois State Park included Wood Nymph, Least Skipper, Great Spangled Fritillary, Red Admiral, and Monarch. At Hilda Young, Dennis saw 5 species of sulphurs including Sleepy Orange, Pipevine and Spicebush Swallowtails, Gray Hairstreak, Summer Azure, E. Comma, Red Admiral, Red-spotted Purple, Wood Nymph, Northern Pearly-eye, Monarch, Least, Fiery, Sachem, Peck’s, Little Glassywing, Zabulon and a worn Roadside Skipper, probably a Bell’s. Highlights of his trip to Busch on 8/28 were Gray Hairstreak, Gray Comma, Painted Lady, Viceroy, 150+ Hackberry, 4 Tawny Emperor, 30 Monarchs, about 10 Monarch caterpillars on Swamp Milkweed in the Butterfly Garden, and six skipper species. On 8/25, Torrey Berger had the following butterfly visitors at his garden: Pipevine, Tiger, Cloudless Sulphur, Painted Lady, Sachem, Peck’s, Fiery, Delaware and Dun Skippers. In August, Dave Berry had numerous individuals of each of the following species: Tiger Swallowtail, Painted Lady, Gray Hairstreak, Monarch, Sachem, Fiery, and Peck’s. In the last week of August, Dennis Bozzay found many caterpillars munching away on host plants in his garden: 18 Monarch caterpillars on Swamp and Butterfly Milkweed, 6 Black Swallowtail caterpillars on parsley and fennel, and 1 Silver-spotted Skipper caterpillar on Locust. Anne McCormack saw a Southern Dogface in her Kirkwood garden in late August. Dogface are not usually found in gardens so that is a good yard butterfly. Yvonne saw Monarchs nectaring on her Swamp Milkweed in Brentwood almost every day in the latter part of the month. Belle Warden has added Buttonbush and Passionflower to her Madison, IL garden this year. Although the Hackberry tree in her yard is doing well, two nearby Hackberry trees were cut down by the city in a "cleanup" effort. Belle reported the following species in her yard in August: Pipevine and Black Swallowtails (including caterpillars), Cabbage White, several Snouts (their host tree is Hackberry), Painted Lady (as many as 12 at a time), Red-spotted Purple, Viceroy, Monarchs, Silver-spotted Skipper, Delaware Skipper and Dun Skipper. Contributors for above sightings: Torrey Berger, Dave Berry, Dennis Bozzay, Anne Craver, Richard and Susan Day, Yvonne Homeyer, Dave Larson, Scott Marshall, Anne McCormack, Jeannie Moe, Mary-Eileen Rufkahr, Belle Warden, Jim Ziebol. September Sightings: On 9/3, Jim Ziebol and Yvonne checked three locations for butterflies: Young C.A. (22 species), Route 66 State Park (26 species), and Tyson Research Center (13 species). A total of 23 Monarchs were seen. Highlights included Variegated Fritillary and Gray Comma at Young C.A.; Sleepy Orange, Great Spangled Fritillary, Red Admiral, Northern Broken-Dash and Byssus Skipper at Route 66; and Sleepy Orange and Northern Pearly-eye at Tyson. On 9/5, Jeannie Moe visited Busch Wildlife and found 10 species, including Giant Swallowtail, Red-spotted Purple, Hackberry, E. Comma, and Least Skipper; that same day at Busch, Dennis Bozzay counted 10 Monarch caterpillars on Common Milkweek at the Butterfly Garden, and Jim Ziebol saw a Gray Comma. Jim spotted a Eufala Skipper, a rare migrant, at Route 66 S.P on 9/10. That same day, Mary-Eileen Rufkahr saw 1 Little Yellow, 1 Cloudless Sulphur, 5 Monarchs and 1 Silver-spotted Skipper in her yard. On 9/13, Sherry McCowan found 3 Least Skippers in Forest Park, along with some Orange Sulphurs and a few Monarchs. A Spicebush Swallowtail, Cloudless Sulphur, 3 Painted Ladies and 3 Monarchs passed through Mary-Eileen’s garden on 9/18, and on 9/19 at the school in Florissant where she teachers, she observed 2 Spicebush Swallowtails, 2 Cloudless Sulphurs, 1 Clouded Sulphur, 3 Monarchs, and 1 Fiery Skipper in a 15-minute period. A bonanza of butterflies awaited Jim and Yvonne at Horseshoe Lake on 9/17 (27 species). At least 100 Orange Sulphurs, 150 Dogface, 250 Cloudless Sulphurs, 500 Eastern Tailed-Blues, 250 Pearl Crescents,100 Painted Ladies, 250 Buckeyes, 25 Viceroys and 50 Monarchs were counted. Others butterflies of interest included Black Swallowtail, 12 Checkered Whites, 4 Gray Commas (the most ever seen in one day there), 1 Southern Cloudywing, and 4 Common Checkered-Skippers (in short supply this season). On 9/18, Jim led the fourth and last Mo. Dept. of Conservation butterfly count at Busch Wildlife (21 species), including Giant Swallowtail, 116 Eastern Tailed-Blues, Red Admiral, Buckeye, Red-spotted Purple, Viceroy, 42 Monarchs, and Wild Indigo Duskywing. Mary-Eileen, Linda Virga and Yvonne participated. When Linda got home, she counted 40 Monarchs on a small patch of Sedum in her garden, and noted that the ageratum was also popular with the butterflies. On 9/19, Mick Richardson reported hundreds of Monarchs staging at the Gaddy Bird Garden in Tower Grove Park as it grew dark. The last Monarch report of the month came from Dave Larson, who counted a flock of approximately 100 migrating Monarchs high in the sky. The Monarchs were flying along on the wind currents, heading south to southwest. As Dave described it, "They were so beautiful, orange and black gems of color against the blue sky and white puffy clouds." Throughout September, Bob & Claudia Noe have seen Monarchs (including caterpillars), Painted Ladies, Pipevine Swallowtails, Orange and Cloudless Sulphurs, Red Admirals, 1 Buckeye, and Silver-spotted Skippers in their Chesterfield garden, and on 9/28, they observed Monarch caterpillars at the Butterfly House (outside garden). Visiting Sarah George’s garden were Tiger and Black Swallowtails, Cloudless Sulphur, Buckeye, Painted Lady, and Monarch. Anne Craver also reported Monarchs at her Clayton home. Black and Tiger Swallowtails, Monarchs, Painted Ladies and sulphurs were observed at the Green Center by Jane Schaefer. Migrating Monarchs were reported in good numbers from all over the St. Louis area, both natural areas and urban/suburban habitat. By January, the Monarch watchers in Mexico should have a good estimate of how many Monarchs have arrived at their wintering grounds and whether the population was able to rebound this breeding season. Contributors for Sept. report: Torrey Berger, Dave Berry, Dennis Bozzay, Anne Craver, Sarah George, Yvonne Homeyer, Dave Larson, Scott Marshall, Anne McCormack, Sherry McCowan, Jeannie Moe, Bob and Claudia Noe, Mick Richardson, Mary-Eileen Rufkahr, Jane Schaefer, Linda Virga, Belle Warden, Jim Ziebol. Bold indicates first reported sighting of the year. 3. SNOUTS ON THE MOVE IN TEXAS by Yvonne Homeyer Snouts are migrating through the Rio Grande Valley of Texas in large numbers this year. When they make their appearance in towns, there are so many of them that people stop to take notice. Mike Quinn, a NABA member and invertebrate naturalist with the Texas Dept. of Parks and Recreation, recently posted the following email on the NABA-CHAT listserv on Sept. 11. "On Sept. 2, Jan Dauphin reported the following: ‘Since 1500 hours – and they are still streaming through – tens, if not hundreds of thousands of American Snouts are streaming through our [Mission, TX] neighborhood. We have witnessed several of these movements through the Valley in the past, but nothing like this. You literally have to brush them off your clothes before going inside. Neighbors are standing outside watching them, cars are stopping to watch. All seem to be heading northeast." Mike Quinn goes on to report: "On the same day, FWS [Fish & Wildlife Service] ecologist Chris Best estimated a swarm of American Snouts might have contained 7.5 million butterflies in the Alamo area." Alamo is the town closest to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, where Chris Best works. Chris, by the way, is originally from St. Louis. Mission, where the Dauphins live, is further to the west. Mission is the town closest to the NABA Butterfly Park and the site of the annual October Butterfly Festival. On one of our October trips to the Valley, Jim Ziebol and I saw swarms of Snouts at Anzalduas Park and Falcon Dam. We could see 50-100 Snouts perched on or flying around a single willow. They were everywhere! The songbirds migrating south through the Valley, along with the resident birds, had plenty to eat that year. In St. Louis, I can’t ever remember seeing more than 2 or 3 individuals in a single day. Snout caterpillars eat the leaves of the Hackberry tree. One of our members, Belle Warden, has Hackberries- and Snouts - in her yard. For more information about this migratory spectacle, Mike Quinn has created a special website: www.texasento.net/snout.htm. If you want to get on the NABA-CHAT listserve, just go to NABA’s home page, www.naba.org, and sign up. It’s very easy and quick to do. Finally, keep a lookout for those migrating Snouts headed our way! 4. "KID'S CORNER" UPDATE by Mary-Eileen Rufkahr NABA St. Louis members - please continue to check out the "Kids’ Corner" on our web site. Young members (and young-at-heart members) can safely surf sites devoted to butterflies, read butterfly-themed jokes and riddles and get a list of books related to butterflies. The site is updated every month or so; continue to check it out to find out what is new! If you have any ideas for the Kids’ Corner, please e-mail Mary-Eileen Rufkahr at MerufkahrATaol.com. The Kid's Corner web address is: http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/kids.htm 5. BIOBLITZ 2005 WRAP-UP by Mary-Eileen Rufkahr On Saturday, September 24, NABA-St. Louis participated in the BioBlitz at Little Creek Nature area in Florissant, MO. Along with several other area nature-oriented organizations, NABA hosted a table for children to visit with their families. At our table, we offered children a chance to create a "walk away" butterfly garden. Children were given a cup to decorate, fill with soil and plant a sprinkling of native plant seeds. Each child also received an activity book filled with puzzles, coloring sheets and information on how to watch butterflies and create their own butterfly garden at home. Thanks to the members who saved and donated seeds for the BioBlitz: Dave Berry and Jeannie Moe. The articles contributed by Ann Earley, Yvonne Homeyer and Dennis Bozzay made our "activity booklet" a success with all the children who took one home with them. Thanks also to the members who volunteered their time working at the table: Ann Early, Yvonne Homeyer, Jeannie Moe and Dave Berry. 6. BIOBLITZ 2005 COMMENTARY by Yvonne Homeyer Thanks to Mary Eileen Rufkahr, our Education Chairperson, NABA-St. Louis had an outstanding interactive display for children at the 2005 BioBlitz, which took place at Little Creek Nature Area, located across from Florissant Valley Community College and owned by the Ferguson-Florissant School District. Children were invited to scoop soil into a small cup, sprinkle in some native plant seeds (donated by Jeannie Moe and Dave Berry), and top off with a final layer of soil. They could decorate their cup with markers and butterfly stickers. This "take-home-a-butterfly-garden" was accompanied by an informative booklet geared to children about butterflies and gardening prepared by Mary Eileen, Dennis Bozzay, Ann Earley and Yvonne Homeyer. At the end of the day, NABA-St. Louis donated the remaining supplies and handouts to the Ferguson-Florissant School District so their teachers could continue this project in their classrooms. Good work, Mary-Eileen! And thanks to Ann Earley, Jeannie Moe and Dave Berry for their help at our table. On another level, I was disappointed with BioBlitz. NABA-St. Louis had volunteered to participate in BioBlitz with a butterfly survey. Dave Berry and I came prepared with binoculars, camcorder and field guides. But all the other insect surveyors were collectors, who had arrived with nets, boxes, envelopes and pins. How many butterflies, dragonflies, beetles and other insects were killed and removed from the premises for later identification remains unknown. Collecting is an approved activity at BioBlitz, the purpose of which is to survey wildlife and plants at a specific location within a 24-hour period. The first BioBlitz was held last year at Forest Park in St. Louis. NABA frowns on collecting for several reasons. First, killing a butterfly removes it from the population, thereby preventing it from reproducing. Second, most butterflies and dragonflies can be easily identified in the wild by using field marks, the same technique we now use for bird identification. Finally, cameras and camcorders can be used to make a photographic record of a butterfly which cannot readily be identified in the field. For at least 10 years, since Jeff Glassberg (NABA’s founder) published Butterflies through Binoculars: the East, butterfly field guides have been available. Today, we would laugh at the idea of shooting a bird so it could be examined in the hand but insect collectors are still using analogous practices. Dave Berry and I also came across a distressing sight. We found a Grackle caught in an unattended bird trap – i.e., mist netting – which we later learned was one of 9 such nets used in an ongoing migratory bird census conducted by UMSL biology grad students on Little Creek Nature Area’s property. Dave spotted the Grackle caught in the mist netting – which of course is the purpose of the mist netting, to catch birds in these black nets which the birds can’t see. We looked around for a net attendant to remove the bird and found no one on duty. While Dave went for help, 3 grad students arrived, apparently in response to a request we had made earlier of some passers-by to find the people in charge. The Grackle was finally released. As if that was not enough stress, the bird was stuffed inside a bag to be taken away for further monitoring (banding, weighing, measuring) before being released. Although birds can be injured and even die in the process, the vast majority of birds survive the ordeal and live to fly away, and mist netting is therefore described by those who use it as safe. The issue of stress on the bird is handled in the literature as a necessary byproduct of mist netting and the best solution offered is quick removal from the net. We were told by one grad student involved in the study that these nets are only checked once every 30 minutes. Ironically, one of the rules at Little Creek Nature Area prohibits trapping by the general public: "At Little Creek, it is unlawful to: hunt, trap, or remove animals, plants, fruits, or mushrooms . . ." (Little Creek Brochure). 7. NECTARING PLANTS IN YOUR GARDEN by Yvonne Homeyer What were the most popular nectaring plants in your garden this year? What did the butterflies especially like in your yard? Was any particular butterfly species attracted to certain plants? If you were going to recommend a plant for someone to add to their butterfly garden, what would it be? Let us hear from you – anything from a sentence to a short article. We’ll share your success stories in future issues. 8. NABA TO PARTICIPATE IN ST LOUIS ZOO'S CONSERVATION FORUM by Ann Earley Our chapter will have a display table at the 2005 Conservation Forum to be held at the Saint Louis Zoo's Living World on Wednesday, November 9. Registration begins at 6 p.m., followed by presentations, exhibit viewing, and optional workshops. The theme of this year's forum is "Floodplains: Conservation and Development?" Panelists will be: Dr. Nicholas Pinter, Associate Professor, Department of Geology, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale; Ted Heisel, Executive Director, Missouri Coalition for the Environment; and Adolphus A. Busch, Chairman of the Board, Great Rivers Habitat Alliance. 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 28 deadline, please contact Ms. Pat Hinton at (314) 516-6203, or e-mail hintonpa@umsl.edu. 9. MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION… YOUR OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS, AS OF APRIL 2005: (AT = @ in Email address)
NEWSLETTER ARTICLES WELCOME: If you have questions or suggestions, e-mail Ann Earley (aee623ATprodigy.net). 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, Email: larsrblATearthlink.net ("AT" = @)
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