I found my first butterflies of the year, four Eastern Commas (Polygonia comma), at Tuebingen Woods in Ann Arbor Thursday afternoon March 22. While these were not the first butterflies reported in southeast Michigan this year, that distinction goes to Martin Bialecki who saw an Eastern Comma on March 13 in southwest Washtenaw County, they were certainly beautiful little gems. With temperatures rising to the upper 50's and lower 60's during the next few days it should be possible on sunny days to find more Eastern Commas and other over-wintering adult butterlies such Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa), Milbert's Tortoise Shell (Nymphalis milberti), Gray Comma (Polygonia progne), Compton's Tortoise Shell (Nymphalis vau-album), and possibly Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) in suitable forested habitats.
If anyone should happen to find a Question Mark they should try to get a photo of it since it would be a very rare find in March in southeast Michigan. There is no doubt that Question Marks succeed in over-wintering not too far south of Michigan but in Michigan there is no convincing evidence, of which I am aware, for successful local over-wintering. With continued global warming that probably will change in the near future.
Roger KuhlmanOn Saturday March 24 Martin Bialecki found a beautiful Milbert's Tortoise Shell (Nymphalis milberti) near where he lives in southwest Washtenaw County. This butterfly has been rather scarce in our region the past few years so we hope the cycle has turned again in its abundance.
Sunday March 25 was a pretty decent day for both birds and butterflies. In the morning while it was cloudy and sometimes rainy I birded several locations in central and northwestern Washtenaw County. At Four Mile Lake I found a Barred Owl in one of the wooded sections. Near Green Lake and M-52 I saw a Pileated Woodpecker in a grove of Black Locust trees.
In the afternoon as the sun came out I found several Eastern Commas (Polygonia comma) and Mourning Cloaks (Nyphalis antiopa) close to the Discovery Center (used to be the Geology Center). It was pretty amazing tracking the flight of one of the Mourning Cloaks as it vigourously swept through and around the White Pines. You would think that an over-wintering adult butterfly like this one emerging from winter diapause would not have the energy it displayed.
Later in the afternoon I found a single Gray Comma (Polygonia progne) on a trail off of Embury Road. Since Gray Commas and Eastern Commas are very similiar on the upperside, I had to net the butterfly to comfirm its identity by viewing the underside wings. Here the very dark ground color with gray striated pattern was visible. Also the tapered ends to comma mark (Eastern Comma has knobby ends) was clear. What I noticed about this butterfly was that it was a weak flier and not as active as the Eastern Commas I had previously seen. After catching the butterfly and releasing it, instead of darting away quickly it floated calmly off and then landed a few feet away from me by the trail. It also seemed a little smaller than the Eastern Commas I had seen earlier. When found all these features of a free-roaming Comma (Polygonia sp;ecies) are suggestive that a Gray Comma is being seen but identification can only be clinched conclusively by seeing the underside pattern of the wings.
Two Cabbage Whites (Pieris rapae) were seen flying on March 29. One was in Ann Arbor and a second one in southwest Washtenaw County. For the month of March a total of 5 species were found--an excellent total.
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