GWC Prior Butterfly Stories 2005 continued ( Page 12 )

Our NABA Butterfly count in the Chelsea Michigan area on Saturday July 2 was a spectacular success. For the day we recorded 55 species of butterflies more than smashing the previous high of 49 for a Greater Washtenaw County count. Until this year the Chelsea count typically varied in numbers from 42 to 48 species. Our excellent result was due to having a very fine group of butterflies doing the count this year. Chris Rickards, John Swales, Roger Wykes, and Martin Bialecki should be commended for their superb efforts.

Having 55 species for the count, there were many highlights for the day. Probably the biggest was finding 21 Powesheik Skipperling (Oarisma powesheik), a Michigan state-threatened species, at Embury Swamp. Since the day began with temperatures in the upper 40's, the Powesheik were at first impossible to find in the fen we were searching. But by noon temperatures had warmed enough that we began to find many of them. Also out in the fen were Dorcas Copper (Lycaena dorcas), Baltimore (Euphydryas phaeton), Bronze Copper (Lycaena hyllus), Delaware Skipper (Anatrytone logan), Eyed Brown (Satyrodes Eurydice), Long Dash (Polites mystic), Mulberry Wing (Poanes massasoit), Silver-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene), Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis), and Dion Skipper (Euphyes dion). The favorite nectaring plants in the fen seemed to be a Dogbane species although Powesheik preferred Black-eyed Susan.

In the forested wetlands and surrounding forests to the fen we found Appalachian Eyed Brown (Satyrodes Appalachia), Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma), Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele), Hobomok's Skipper (Poanes hobomok), Mustard White (Pieris napi), Northern Pearly Eye (Enodia anthedon), Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis), Striped Hairstreak (Satyrium liparops), Northern Broken Dash (Wallengrenia egeremet) and Wood Nymph (Cercyonis pegala). In other drier oak-dominated prairie habitat and grasslands distributed about the count circle we found American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis), Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui), Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus), Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades), Monarch (Danaus plexippus), Northern Cloudywing (Thorybes pylades), Southern Cloudywing (Thorybes bathyllus), Roadside Skipper (Amblyscirtes vialis), and Edward's Hairstreak (Satyrium edwardsii). The Edward's Hairstreaks were in exceptionally large numbers at two locations and we counted 170 butterflies but probably could have counted at least an additional 100 individuals if we had concentrated on the species. For the Satyrium edwardsii and many of the other species in the drier oak habitats the favorite nectaring sources were Butterflyweed, Common Milkweed and New Jersey Tea.

High individual species totals for the day included Delaware Skipper(185), Edward's Hairstreak(170), Great Spangled Fritillary(102), Baltimore(95).

After this year's splendid Chelsea count I think we are going to be a little spoiled. Counts in the future with species totals in the mid-40's which in the past were always counted as successes might now seem disappointing.