Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
Photo by Brian Magurn
The first butterfly walk of the season (on June 29) was off to a shaky start with overcast skies and strong breezes. Butterflies don’t like that wind, and seeing one lone Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and a couple of Cabbage Whites didn’t bode well for the adventure, but it got better. A group of 12 people met at the Interpretive Center of Sweet Run State Park, one of the newest parks in the system. We walked through the Xerces pollinator planting beside the barn, crossed the old Mountain View farmyard, scouted along the driveway and bugging strip, and peered around the pollinator garden. The sun finally brightened up and, though not a great haul, we found 44 butterflies in 11 species, including a Cloudless Sulphur and a Monarch. We will be seeing more and more of those Monarchs as they move steadily north. More and more of the 80+ species we see in summer will be exploring our gardens for nectar and host plants (to lay their eggs on).
The next butterfly walk will be on July 20 at the Willowsford Conservancy wetlands area, and the Annual Butterfly Count is on August 3.
Species list:
• Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
• Spicebush Swallowtail
• Zebra Swallowtail
• Cabbage White
• Clouded Sulphur
• Orange Sulphur
• Cloudless Sulphur
• Eastern Tailed Blue
• Pearl Crescent
• Monarch
• Swarthy Skipper