[Ctleps-l] [NEleps] Naugatuck Industrial Park - 6 hairstreak species + L-t Skipper cats in Portland

Tue Jul 3 20:03:00 EDT 2018

Hi Harry,

Thanks for the thoughts. I had the Long-tailed right along the bank of
the CT River, which is a point toward it having flown up on it's own.
It's true that there seems to be a bit of a trend of a few southern
vagrants showing up this time of year. A Common Checkered Skipper I
found along the Housatonic River in northern CT on 7/11/16 and a
Sleepy Orange at Bent of the River in western CT in June a few years
ago found by Patrick Comins come to mind. Of course, these species
winter much farther north than Long-tailed Skipper.

I find it unlikely though that it found a male to mate with if it came
up on its own - unless it that happened much farther south.

Here are some photos of the skipper: http://flic.kr/p/27mtUCK

Caterpillar: http://flic.kr/p/27EP3JC

Eggs: http://flic.kr/p/27ojYzP

Peter DeGennaro

On Mon, Jul 2, 2018 at 5:15 PM, Harry Pavulaan <harrypav at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Peter:
>
>
> The question came up whether the recent Connecticut Long Tailed Skipper flew
> up on its own or arrived via human transport.  I have a feeling that the one
> recently observed in Connecticut and laying eggs arrived on its own.
> Reason:  In Rhode Island, all records are beginning August 17 and 20 and
> going into October.   These are all fresh individuals with all of their
> tails.  If they are fresh, they are of local origin.  The recent Connecticut
> individual has seen it's day and likely travelled a great distance.  My
> suggestion is that they DO fly up on their own at this time of year, lay
> their eggs and their offspring start appearing in mid-August.
>
>
> One thing to keep in mind is that there are way more numbers of any
> butterfly than those observed and then reported by butterfly folks.  Most
> certainly, individuals of species such as the Long Tailed Skipper travel up
> annually.  Odds of one of the few coming up the coast, then crossing paths
> with a butterflier in New England are akin to winning a big lottery or being
> struck by lightning.
>
>
> These were reported as lifers even in the D.C. metro region until around
> 1990.  Now they are a frequent sight.  I don't think they are any more
> common now than they ever were, but since more people are observing and
> reporting butterflies, odds are increasing for people crossing paths with
> them.  Just imagine how many other interesting species are being seen.
> Recall last year, several people observed Sleepy Oranges in Rhode Island and
> one in Massachusetts.  Two observers independently observed a Large Orange
> Sulphur at Great Swamp in Rhode Island last year, while I came within feet
> of one here in Loudoun County, VA.  I tend to give butterflies more credit
> than most.  After all, they have wings and are prone to travel.  Think of
> the possibilities.
>
>
> I might suggest raising those young caterpillars because odds are they will
> never make it to adulthood, courtesy of parasites and predators.
>
>
> Harry Pavulaan
>
>
>
>
> Sent from Outlook
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: NEleps at yahoogroups.com <NEleps at yahoogroups.com> on behalf of Peter
> DeGennaro degennap at gmail.com [NEleps] <NEleps-noreply at yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2018 2:32 AM
> To: Butterfly Posting; Northeasternlepidopterists
> Subject: [NEleps] Naugatuck Industrial Park - 6 hairstreak species + L-t
> Skipper cats in Portland
>
> 6/29/18 - Naugatuck Industrial Park, Naugatuck, CT - late afternoon -
> it's a little before peak Satyrium hairstreak season here, good
> diversity but mostly low numbers. As in prior years, some of the
> Edwards' Hairstreaks had reduced spotting or the band of spots was
> misaligned. I will post photos once I catch up editing/uploading them.
>
> Full list of species:
>
> Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 2
> Coral Hairstreak 1
> Acadian Hairstreak 2
> Edwards' Hairstreak 7
> Banded Hairstreak 1
> Hickory Hairstreak 1
> Gray Hairstreak 1
> Eastern Tailed Blue 4
> Great Spangled Fritillary 2
> Little Wood Satyr 4
> Common Wood Nymph 1
> Silver-spotted Skipper 3
> Northern Cloudywing 1
> European Skipper 1
> Little Glassywing 8
> Dun Skipper 1
>
>
> 6/26 - Portland Fairgrounds, Portland - I stopped by late in the day
> as I was working close by. The Long-tailed Skipper eggs have hatched -
> I counted about five cats along with their leaf shelters. The winds
> and time of day kept my count low - Cabbage Whites, Bronze Copper,
> Eastern Comma (12), Red Admiral, Monarchs (5 - including a mating
> pair), Zabulon Skippers, Peck's Skipper and probably a couple of
> others
>
>
> Peter DeGennaro
>
>
> ------------------------------------
> Posted by: Peter DeGennaro <degennap at gmail.com>
> ------------------------------------
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo Groups Links
>
> <*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
>     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEleps/
>
> <*> Your email settings:
>     Individual Email | Traditional
>
> <*> To change settings online go to:
>     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEleps/join
>     (Yahoo! ID required)
>
> <*> To change settings via email:
>     NEleps-digest at yahoogroups.com
>     NEleps-fullfeatured at yahoogroups.com
>
> <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>     NEleps-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com
>
> <*> Your use of Yahoo Groups is subject to:
>     https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/
>