[Ctleps-l] Cassius Blue and Stratford Point

[Peter DeGennaro]

8/20 - my father and I were in Stratford when I saw Donna Lorella's email
that the Cassius Blue was back so we headed over to Branford. I figured out
that the mimosa (silk) tree in Donna's yard is in the pea family; the
blue's foodplants to the south are also legumes. Sure enough, we spotted
the it flying near the top of the tree. It came down to nectar only
briefly before it returned to the mimosa when an Eastern Pondhawk attacked.
Here's the best photo I got: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__flic.kr_p_Lf76dE&d=CwIBaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wPbNkt6T_H4X7m_PlvSFCGU2a9-csNvfRK2IVMi-mp0&m=aF1Ak6aFzoa4cVvqhkyPuTIfgXtAVF3LxM3Tn61QUsY&s=Y6SPIxdxMZV3-kMtmHdA3EwJjPM5rWSmhlICphn6aVM&e= 

It is difficult to argue that it's a natural vagrant given that they are
not known north of South Carolina. Also, one of its hosts is lima bean -
I'm thinking its chrysalis hitched a ride in a shipment of lima beans to
the Northeast. But it is very worn, and there have been a lot of days
recently with southwest winds. It does have a history of vagrancy, as far
north as Kansas in the central flyway. It will be interesting to see if any
other records turn up this year north of SC.

Full list:
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1
Spicebush Swallowtail 1
Gray Hairstreak 1
Red-banded Hairstreak 3
Cassius Blue 1
Red-spotted Purple 1
Silver-spotted Skipper 2
Tawny-edged Skipper 1
Broad-winged Skipper 1

Earlier, we took a look around Stratford Point. A late start due to some
errands, but we arrived berfore the clouds rolled in. The Swarthy Skippers
are out in huge numbers, I ended up with a count of 39, though there are
likely many more. They were especially common in the grassy area just north
of the parking area. Here's one on a zinnia: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__flic.kr_p_Lmo7sE&d=CwIBaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wPbNkt6T_H4X7m_PlvSFCGU2a9-csNvfRK2IVMi-mp0&m=aF1Ak6aFzoa4cVvqhkyPuTIfgXtAVF3LxM3Tn61QUsY&s=IfQAr7yNayt3oLfZE5w9vUYpAv-Z_8Pe8XauUWY8T8A&e= 

Full list:
Black Swallowtail 7
Cabbage White 10
Clouded Sulphur 2
Orange Sulphur 15 including 2-3 white forms
Gray Hairstreak 2
Eastern Tailed Blue 15
Pearl Crescent 6
Common Buckeye 4
Monarch 10
Common Sootywing 1
Swarthy Skipper 39
Tawny-edged Skipper 1

I also saw my life Fisher.

Peter DeGennaro
Naugatuck
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