Joshua Tree Butterfly Count

[Heath, Fred]

        While many of you were recording your first butterfly sighting of 
     the year, some of us folks here in southern California have already 
     completed the year's first July 4th Count at Joshua Tree National 
     Park. The count is run early because Joshua Tree straddles the Mojave 
     and Colorado deserts and a count at the more traditional June-July 
     time would find very few butterflies and overheated counters. The 
     following is the list of 30 species found and numbers counted as 
     totaled by compiler Marilyn Lutz: 
     
     Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes 2; Becker's White, Pontia 
     beckerii, 5; Spring White, Pontia sisymbrii, 1; Checkered White, 
     Pontia protodice, 74; White sp?, 479; Sara Orangetip, Anthocaris sara, 
     19; Gray Marble, Anthocharis lanceolata, 1; Orange Sulphur, Colias 
     eurytheme, 15; Sulphur Sp?, 7(maybe one Queen Alexandra's, C. 
     harfordii); Cloudless Sulphur, Phoebis sennae, 3; Sleepy Orange, 
     Eurema nicippe, 32; Dainty Sulphur, Nathalis iole, 79; Great Purple 
     Hairstreak, Atlides halesus, 3; Juniper "loki' Hairstreak, Callophrys 
     gryneus loki, 3; Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus, 3; W. Pygmy Blue, 
     Brephidium exile, 10; Ceraunus Blue, Hemiargus ceraunus, 10; Reakirt's 
     Blue, Hemiargus isola, 13; Square-spotted Blue, Euphilotes battoides, 
     2; Dotted (Mojave) Blue, Euphilotes enoptes mojave, 2; Silvery Blue, 
     Glaucopsyche lygdamus, 18; Acmon Blue, Plebejus acmon, 4; Blue sp?, 
     13; Mormon Metalmark, Apodemia mormo, 17; California Patch, Chlosyne 
     california, 4; Sagebrush Checkerspot, Chlosyne acastus, 2; Variable 
     Checkerspot, Euphydryas chalcedona, 29; Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, 
     17; Monarch, Danaus plexippus, 3; Queen, Danaus gilippus, 3; Common 
     Checkered Skipper, Pyrgus communis communis, 10; Northern 
     White-skipper, Heliopetes ericetorum, 7; Orange Skipperling, Copaeodes 
     aurantiacus, 4.
     
                                          ----------Fred