What's flying in southern Connecticut: On and about Milkweed!

Dale Roberts/Bill Yule droberts03 at SNET.Net
Thu Jul 25 11:53:56 EDT 2002


Hi everyone,
    I've had a chance to get out a little and wanted to post some observations of what's flying. I wanted to approach things from a little different angle and so I'm warning you'all that this post is long and about milkweed, three different milkweeds actually.  Like most weeds milkweeds are opportunistic and pop up where soil is disturbed, particularly where agricultural uses have altered the land.  Here in southern CT we still have enough "old fields" here and there so that milkweeds are common and really excellent sources of nectar for both resident and immigrant insects. As I have written before "if you're a butterfly watcher you're a flower watcher too, that's where the action is."    In dry, upland old fields we find Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and Butterfly Milkweed (A. tuberosa) which are both magnets for migrant Monachs (OK now I'M concerned, where are the Monarchs?)as well as local butterflies.  Here's what I've been seeing at these two Milkweeds:
Pearl Crescents- abundant right now, strong second brood.
American Copper- common now.
Monarch- One loner.
Spicebush Swallowtail- Several very fresh individuals.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail- That's what I'm calling it for now.  (I hope someone has sent Harry P a CT specimen so he can check these for comparison to Appalachian Tiger)These seem to prefer stuff like Buttonbush, Garden Phlox and Butterfly Bush but once in while I'm getting Tigers on Milkweeds. Common this past week.
Great Spangled Frits- Still lots around, not as many as two weeks ago, but still a good year for these guys.
Silver Spotted Skipper-  a couple, again they prefer Butterfly Bush or Phlox.
Dun Skipper- several
Northern Broken Dash- several.
     Since I've gotten addicted to dragonflies I find myself spending more and more time in wet meadows and that brings me to our third nectar plant, Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata).  This plant has amazing drawing power and in addition to the leps listed above expect to see these right now on Swamp Milkweed if you take a walk into a wet meadow (especially one that has Tussock Sedge):
Mulberry Wing- common.
Black Dash- several
Little Glassywing- couple.
Clouded/Orange Sulfur- These guys don't nectar much on the other milkweeds in my experience but they do like swamp milkweed.
Peck's Skipper- just started seeing some fresh second brood Peck's this week.
   OK. That's the Milkweed butterfly report from Guilford CT.  Here's a little add-on:
Milkweed Bonus Bugs. AKA Charismatic Flower-Visiting Mega-Invertebrates.                           Day flying moths-
Orange-collared Scapemoth- Wasp mimic,
Squash Borer moth- this is an agricultural pest but a superb wasp mimic with these incredible red-fringed trailing legs, orange abdomen with a mid-dorsal blackspot on each lower segment. Feeds on Swamp milkweed just like a small Hummingbird Clearwing moth.
Real wasps: Lots of the large Golden Digger Wasps, Cricket Hunters, Spider Wasps.  This fascinating group of large wasps (many metallic blue) drink nectar from milkweed and other flowers and kill large insects to lay their eggs in.
Flower Beetles- right now two are common on milkweed, Red-headed Ash Borer and Pennsylvannia Leather-wing.  These are pollen nibblers and the PL-W really prefers Goldenrod which isn't quite out yet. Also look for the Banded Net-wing, a beetle that mimics the Lichen moth.
   On the foliage of milkweeds look for the following, remembering that the fashion vogue of Asclepias eating insects is Halloween, orange and black.
Eastern Milkweed bug (a true bug). Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle (beautiful pattern on the elytra). Red Milkweed Beetle aka "The Screaming Milkweed Beetle", yes it's true this beetle squeals and squeaks if you pick it up and hold it next to your ear!
   Also look for Jumping Spiders and Robber Flies lurking just beneath the flowerheads waiting to ambush the various unsuspecting flower visitors.  This year I've been seeing a very large (about an inch) dull orange Robber Fly that I don't recognize?? (Can you help me out here Mike?)
    OK I've gone on long enough and strayed too far afield once again. Thanks for indulging me.  Remember the Connecticut Butterfly Association field trip Saturday at the Flaherty Field Trials area in East Winsor where you will see Milkweeds and many of the insects I've mentioned and many I haven't!!

                                                     Bill Yule
PS:  The non-lepidopteron common names of the insects I've mentioned here come from the "Audubon Field Guide to Insects and Spiders" and the "Peterson Field Guide Insects". If anyone wants to know the scientific name of anything I've mentioned email me.

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