migrants

[HpAzures at aol.com]

Has nobody in Connecticut seen Sachem Skippers in recent weeks?  There has 
been only one account which I am aware of.  At the end of August, they were 
swarming by the hundreds in locations on Long Island.  Brian Cassie found 
them in southeastern Massachusetts.  To get to Massachusetts, they must go 
through Connecticut, unless these tiny things fly all the way across Long 
Island and Block Island Sounds.  These skippers are having what appears to be 
their biggest year EVER, in the New York City/Long Island region.  I can't 
believe they are not moving through Connecticut.  Watch any flower beds for 
Skipper activity, especially when large lawns are present.  The males may 
look like Delaware Skippers but give them a hard second look.  

Another bug which has been moving eastward is the Red-banded Hairstreak.  
There have only been a handful of Connecticut records, mostly from the 
southwestern part of the state.  You'll need to look for them in the proper 
habitat to find them, and I suspect folks are just not checking these 
habitats.  Just find any scrubby, shrubby old-field, second growth field or 
coastal scrub area where Sumacs are common.  Check any blooming flowers of 
the small-flowered sort like Goldenrods, Boneset, Joe Pye and others at the 
edges of woods or within the scrubby habitat.  When the Sumacs are in bloom, 
they feed on Sumac flowers.  Walter Bosse and I found Red-bandeds at Trustom 
Pond National Wildlife Refuge in R.I. and also one individual being eaten by 
a garden spider at Great Swamp Management Area, also in R.I.  I found this 
critter in Pawtucket, R.I. several years ago.  So they ARE in Connecticut.  

Good luck, and watch for the Large Orange Sulphurs which many people believe 
they have seen in parts of Virginia, heading north.

Harry Pavulaan
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