[Ctleps-l] Butterfly sightings- Lighthouse Point Park, New Haven

[Epmanshell at aol.com]

On Saturday morning, 8/11, I visited Lighthouse Point Park.
 
The butterfly garden is very well tended and was quite productive for  
butterflies.
 
Before being chased away by the combination of showers and thunder, I was  
able to find 19 species of butterflies in my walk around the park.  The  
list for the day is as follows:
 
Black Swallowtail (1)
Spicebush Swallowtail (1)
Cabbage White (13)
Clouded Sulphur (1)
Orange Sulphur (5)
Eastern Tailed-Blue (2)
Question Mark (1)
American Lady (2)
Painted Lady (10)
Common Buckeye (10)
Common Ringlet (1) (An apparent new species for the park's butterfly  list)
Monarch (9)
Silver-spotted Skipper (1)
Least Skipper (2)  (Another apparent new species for the park's  butterfly 
list)
Fiery Skipper (9)
Tawny-edged Skipper (1)
Sachem (1)
Zabulon Skipper (5)
Broad-winged Skipper (32)
 
I assumed it would be only a matter of time until we  found Common Ringlet 
in the park because this northern species has  extended its range south to 
the north shore of Long Island.  I found it in  the naturalized section of 
the park near the boat launching ramp.
 
The fact that Least Skipper occurred in the park appears to be due to the  
fact that the large stand of mugwort across the street from the butterfly 
garden  was eradicated and replaced with a small grassy meadow. I found one 
Least  Skipper in this little meadow and a second one in the  garden. 
 
In closing, I note that before we re-print the park's butterfly list,  we 
will want to update it to include Giant Swallowtail, a new species for  the 
park first found on 8/3, as well as the new species found on  8/11. 
 
Lenny Brown
Wallingford 
 
 
 
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