Past Issue November 2005
In This Edition:
1) Upcoming November Events NABA's MISSION STATEMENT: 1. UPCOMING EVENTS - 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. 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, please contact Ms. Pat Hinton at hintonpa@umsl.edu. Participants will be able to purchase a box dinner by advance reservation. 2. BUTTERFLY SIGHTINGS FOR OCTOBER 2005 by Yvonne Homeyer Additional September Sightings: Jeannie Moe found 1 Bronze Copper on 9/19 at Marais Temps Clair Conservation Area in St. Charles County. October Sightings: In early October, Orange Sulphurs, Eastern Tailed-Blues, Painted Ladies, Buckeyes and Monarchs were still numerous, while Cloudless Sulphur sightings began to taper off. By the middle of the month, the number of Eastern Tailed-Blues and Monarchs had dropped considerably. At Busch Wildlife on 10/1, Monarchs (40), Buckeyes (40), Painted Ladies (30), Pearl Crescents (25) and Orange Sulphurs (20) were counted, along with 2 Black Swallowtails, 1 Cabbage White, 1 Red Admiral, 2 Red-spotted Purples, 2 Gray Commas and 2 Common Checkered-Skipper; 19 species total (JZ, YH, SM). On 10/2, Jim and Yvonne reported 30 Buckeyes, 30 Orange Sulphurs, 22 Pearl Crescents, 10 Painted Ladies, 20 Viceroys and 10 Monarchs at Little Creve Coeur Lake, plus 1 Question Mark, and 1 Common Checkered-Skipper; 14 species total. On 10/5, Jim Ziebol counted 35 Monarchs in the garden area outside the Tyson entrance gates and he found 3 Variegated Fritillaries at Route 66 SP. Mary Eileen Rufkahr saw a dozen Monarchs on Common Sedum in her garden early in the month. Sherry McCowan reported a very interesting phenomenon involving Monarchs. For three mornings in a row – 10/4, 10/5, and 10/6 - she found a large roost of Monarchs that had spent the night in the same two trees in Forest Park. On the first day, she saw a cluster of at least 75 Monarchs perched on the lower branches of these trees, while other Monarchs were just beginning to stir and fly out over a field of goldenrod and asters. The following morning, 10/5, Sherry returned to the area before it was light and counted 130 Monarchs. On the third day, 10/6, Sherry counted 100 Monarchs. By the fourth morning, 10/7, all the Monarchs were gone. The first Dainty Sulphur of the season was found by Jim Ziebol at Busch Wildlife on 10/7, along with 50 Painted Ladies, 10 Buckeyes, 20 Pearl Crescents, 2 Eastern Tailed-Blues, and 1 Monarch. The next day, 10/8, Dave Berry found a large number of Dainty Sulphurs during a float trip along the Meramec River between Scott’s Ford and Indian Springs Ranch. The last Butterfly Walk, led by Dennis Bozzay, took place at Young Conservation Area on 10/9, a clear, sunny day that warmed to 65 degrees. Jeannie Moe, Mary-Eileen Rufkahr, Dave Larson, Linda Virga, her guest Gene, and Yvonne participated. (VIEW GROUP PHOTO.) Jeannie kept track of the group’s sightings: 3 Pipevine Swallowtails, 1 Cabbage White, 12 Orange Sulphurs, 3 Clouded Sulphurs, 3 Cloudless Sulphurs, 3 Gray Hairstreaks, 20 Eastern Tailed-Blues, 12 Pearl Crescents, 1 Variegated Fritillary, 10 Buckeyes, 8 Painted Ladies, 1 Viceroy, 2 Monarchs, 14 Sachems, 6 Fiery Skippers, and 3 Common Checkered-Skippers – 16 species in all. Most of the butterflies were very fresh. Temperatures remained in the 70s the rest of the week. On 10/12 at Horseshoe Lake, Jim Ziebol reported 2 Cabbage Whites, 60+ Orange Sulphurs, 1 Clouded Sulphur, 8 Little Yellows, 50+ Cloudless Sulphurs, 1 Sleepy Orange, 52 S. Dogface, 25 Pearl Crescent, 2 Summer Azures, 1 Snout, 2 Painted ladies, 30+ Buckeyes, 4 Sachem and 1 Fiery Skipper. Also on 10/12, Jeannie Moe found 17 species in good numbers at Fountain Lakes in St. Charles County. White Aster was common along the trails. Of note were1 Southern Dogface, 4 Dainty Sulphurs, a migrant that has been scarce in our area this year, 8 Common Checkered-Skippers, and 2 Bronze Coppers, undoubtedly a resident breeding species. Other butterflies reported were 3 Cabbage Whites,100 Orange Sulphurs, 26 Little Yellows, 25 Clouded Sulphurs, 1 Eastern Tailed-Blue, 100 Pearl Crescents, 2 Viceroys, 3 Painted Ladies, 80 Buckeyes, 4 Monarchs, 37 Fiery Skippers, 7 Sachems, and 1 Peck’s Skipper. On 10/13 at Tyson, Jim found 1 Gray Comma and 2 Sleepy Oranges. On 10/15 at Horseshoe Lake, Jim and Sarah George found 1 Viceroy, 1 Monarch and 1 E. Comma, along with the expected sulphur species, ETB, Pearl Crescents, and Buckeyes. Also on 10/15, a Red-spotted Purple was seen at Columbia Bottoms by Jackie Chain, Yvonne found a fresh Red Admiral in Tower Grove Park, and Mary-Eileen saw a Cloudless Sulphur in her yard. A male Bronze Copper was observed at Horseshoe Lake by Bill Rowe on 10/16. Also on 10/16, a trip to Riverlands yielded 12 species, including Black Swallowtail, Checkered White, Gray Hairstreak, Monarch and Common Checkered-Skipper (YH, MER, JZ, SM). A trip to Riverlands a week later, on 10/23, yielded zero butterflies, as the afternoon high temperature was only in the mid-50s (YH, MER). However, a day earlier,10/22, Sherry McCowan spotted a Mourning Cloak at Lakewood Park Cemetery in Affton, while Jim Ziebol found 25 Cabbage Whites, 10 Clouded Sulphurs, 100+ Orange Sulphurs, 1 Goatweed, 3 Variegated Fritillaries, 1 Monarch and 10 Common Checkered-Skippers on the Levee Road in Monroe County, IL. On 10/27, 2 Orange Sulphurs and 1 Buckeye were flying at Young Conservation Area (JZ). Contributors: Torrey Berger, Dave Berry, Dennis Bozzay, Jackie Chain, Sarah George, Yvonne Homeyer, Dave Larson, Scott Marshall, Anne McCormack, Sherry McCowan, Jeannie Moe, Bill Rowe, Mary-Eileen Rufkahr, Belle Warden, Jim Ziebol. Bold indicates first reported sighting of the year. 3. MEMBERS IN THE NEWS – BETTY MANLIN submitted by Cindy Sorgea St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors, a St. Louis-based organization providing eldercare services, each year honors 25 older adults as Ageless – Remarkable St. Louisans for their contributions to society. This year, one of the honorees is Betty Manlin, a member of the North American Butterfly Association. Ms. Manlin, the “Butterfly Lady”, is 91 years old and continues to teach inner-city groups about butterfly biology and butterfly gardening. She also teaches butterfly biology at the Missouri Botanical Garden through the Butterfly House. She is passionate about nurturing young children’s interest in nature.
Above is a photo of Ms. Manlin, courtesy of photographer David Stradal. I hope you’ll consider an article in your publication about Betty and her wonderful contributions to others well after the age of retirement. Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank you, 4. "KID'S CORNER" BUTTERFLY QUOTATIONS AND MORE by Mary-Eileen Rufkahr It's all right to have butterflies in your stomach. Just get them to fly in formation. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder. NABA St. Louis members... check out the newest section of the kids’ corner. . .butterfly quotes and words of wisdom! From sources ranging from Charles Dickens to the ubiquitous “anonymous,“ this section has a variety of pithy phrases and ideas all centered around butterflies! The kids’ corner also has added another kid-centered link for everyone to check out. . .Club Caterpillar! When you flutter into the “Club,” you’ll have your choice of a dozen interactive games and activities to choose from. Whether you’re into puzzles and spend time at “Scrambled Wings,” or need some ideas on starting a kid’s butterfly garden, Club Caterpillar is the place to be. One of the coolest parts of the site is the section with electron microscope photos of butterflies. See wings, antennae and butterfly bodies magnified in detail up to 500 times! Things are always going on in the kids’ corner... check it out often! The Kid's Corner web link is: http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/kids.htmIf you have any ideas for the Kids’ Corner, please e-mail Mary-Eileen Rufkahr at MerufkahrATaol.com. 5. MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION… NEW MEMBERS: Our newest NABA-St. Louis member is: Jeff Norris. Welcome to our Chapter, Jeff, and hope to see you at one of our upcoming Butterfly Walks or events! 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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