[Ctleps-l] Baltimores

[Peary Stafford]

Hi Peri:
      Your request triggered a memory of an email sent by Clay Taylor some
8 years ago about an irruption of Baltimores in CT.  I've pasted it below.
No mention of what they were feeding on...

Peary Stafford
Please say hello to Deane for us.



From: "Clay Taylor" <ctaylor at att.net>
To: <ctleps-l at lists.yale.edu>
Subject: Balto-palooza, Balto-mania, Balto-extravaganza!
Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2007 08:35:02 -0400
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 Hi all -

I met Diane and Janine at Machimoodus SP in East Haddam (Moodus, for us
residents...) Friday at 10am, hoping to do a little skipper spotting.   It
was cloudy and a little breezy, but after a while the clouds thinned out
and it warmed up.

Baltimore Checkerspots!!!!!!!!!!    LOTS of Baltimore Checkerspots!!!!!!!!!

How many?    Hundreds.   Everywhere.    In the grass, on the flowers,
chasing each other around, resting on the dirt roads, mating shamelessly,
some were fresh, others worn and tattered, and there were even some
caterpillers!   Amazing.

My camera battery was low, so I resolved to take only a few photos, but I
couldn't resist all the photo-ops, so I ran it dead.    Ah, well, it's only
electrons.

There were other butterflies present as well - good opportunities to study
European Skippers, Little Glassywings, a few Delawares, but surprisingly
low skipper diversity.

I would encourage anybody that wants to see / photograph one of our most
stunning butterflies to visit the park this weekend / July 4th, and while
you are at it, pop up to the Mt. Parnassus Skating Rink (Rt. 82 and Mt.
Parnassus Road, East Haddam) to see the Bog Coppers.

Machimoodus SP list -

Black Swallowtail - 3
Cabbage White - 7
Clouded Sulphur - 8
Orange Sulphur - 11
American Copper - 2
Eastern Tailed-Blue - 7
Great-spangled Fritillary - 6
Pearl Crescent - 1 very worn female
Baltimore Checkerspot - 300+
Eastern Comma - 1 Super Fresh!
Red Admiral - 10 all very fresh
American Lady - 1 Super Fresh with the bluish sheen to the wingtips
Monarch - 1 plus egg on milkweed
Southern Cloudywing - 1 my FOTY
European Skipper - 50
Little Glassywing - 10
Delaware - 3

and we never even went near the woods, for satyrs, nymphs, etc.!


On a habitat note, there are some amazing stands of milkweed that have
grown up in the grassy fields just apst the two ponds that will soon be
Hairstreak Heaven!    Now, I am sure that they were not there last year -
is it possible to grow full-sized plants in just one season?    They will
be covered in butterflies very soon!!!!

I want to resurrect the East Haddam Butterfly Count next Saturday, July 7th
- see my follow-up posting later today.

Clay Taylor
Moodus, CT
ctaylor at att.net
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