[Ctleps-l] Cassius Blue and Stratford Point

[Hpazures@aol.com]

Cassius Blue was documented breeding one year in Virginia Beach.  A stray to Connecticut is not out of the realm of possibility. 

Has the Mimosa Tree been inspected for additional Blues?  Has anyone checked other trees along the coast?  A simple tap will usually put butterflies to flight!

Harry Pavulaan

Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 21, 2016, at 11:26 PM, Peter DeGennaro <degennap at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 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=CwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wPbNkt6T_H4X7m_PlvSFCGU2a9-csNvfRK2IVMi-mp0&m=PjZ8s5jcvmV-CDiYNCv89a83Jb-zPonE0LS2LtGbsec&s=NVzqd_cgO9Ind34wTG1ISwvztFhSABi-Y95jiCT140Y&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=CwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wPbNkt6T_H4X7m_PlvSFCGU2a9-csNvfRK2IVMi-mp0&m=PjZ8s5jcvmV-CDiYNCv89a83Jb-zPonE0LS2LtGbsec&s=FtmlQUu82wxIYiPWcezJdDNPalCB4A_dj3snYedrS9U&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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