More SE Arizona Butterflies
Heath, Fred
fred.heath at power-one.com
Mon Mar 23 21:13:00 EST 1998
On a 2.5 hour afternoon trip through Garden Canyon in Fort
Hauchucha in Arizona we were able to find only 9 species, but among
them were a very fresh Short-tailed Skipper (Zestusa dorus) and
Juniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus siva) which were a treat.
The highlight of the jaunt was a very territorial Morning Cloak
(Nymphalis antiopa) which came out and first challenged us. A few
minutes later it was seen manuvering with a bat over the road. At
first, we thought the bat was chasing the butterfly, but soon realized
much to our amazement and amusement the opposite was true. The bat
flew back and forth a few times with the butterfly in hot pursuit.
Finally the bat headed down the road, out of the butterfly's
territory. The Mourning Cloak came back up the road chasing a
Two-tailed Swallowtail (Papilo multicaudata) in the opposite
direction.
-----Fred
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