Lack of butterflies

[Mark Walker]

Jim Steffens commented:

>I would be interested in hearing about monarch counts in other parts of the
>country.


Well, the monarch numbers do seem to be down significantly for the second
week in July.  I've seen maybe a dozen here in Vermont since May, but almost
all have been very ragged and brownish (including those I saw this last
weekend).

I was down in the Philadelphia area over the weekend (Promise Keepers), and
did some poking around with my son.  The weather was fantastic, and there
were quite a few butterflies out, but not what I was expecting.  Still very
little on milkweed, other than the intruding beetles (who don't seem to have
been impacted at all by the strange weather).  In over 6 hours of looking
(in at least 8 different locations over 2 days), I saw only two Monarchs.
No hairstreaks.  Few skippers, other than Erynnis juvenalis, which seemed to
be quite common.

Could be a slow season all summer long.

Mark Walker
Castleton, VT