A Detour

Mark Walker MWalker at gensym.com
Mon Oct 12 01:47:34 EDT 1998


Hello again,

After wathcing over 800 hot air balloons go up into the morning sky at once,
Christian and I drove south along the Rio Grande.  After taking a swim in
the reservoir outside of Truth or Consequences, N.M. (where does this name
come from?).  A bit windy, but we saw the following butterflies:

Papilio polyxenes (Black Swallowtail)
Pontia protodice (Checkered White)
Colias philodice (Clouded Sulpher)
Colias eurytheme (Orange Sulpher)
Kricogonia lyside (Lyside Sulpher)
Eurema nicippe (Sleepy Orange)
Nathalis iole (Dainty Sulpher)
Colias [Zerene] cesonia (Southern Dogface)
Eurema lisa (Little Yellow)
Brephidium exile (Western Pygmy Blue)
Hemiargus isola (Reakirt's Blue)
Hemiargus ceraunus (Ceraunus Blue)
Libytheana carinenta (American Snout)
Euptoieta claudia (Variegated Fritillary)
Vanessa cardui (Painted Lady)
Danaus plexippus (Monarch)
Danaus gilippus (Queen)
Pyrgus communis (Common Checkered Skipper, I think)

Tonight we are in the fine town of Douglas, AZ.  Earlier today, we put the
Geo down off the trailer and drove around the local mountains (didn't think
the Ryder truck would handle gravel roads too well).  So there we were, with
all of our earthly belongings stuffed in a truck, sitting on Route 80.  I
was almost hoping that it would be missing when we returned - there's a
certain amount of freedom in not owning anything at all (except my net, of
course).

So anyway - what a great day it was today!  Here's a partial species list,
most flying in numbers at an elevation of about 3000 ft.  My son is a jewel
- he was personally responsible for spotting the Giant Skipper, drinking
from a creek.  He also saw the Red-bordered Satyr.  He told me that he was
the eyes and I was the brains.  I probably should have confessed that I was
only good for the ride home, but you can't give away all of your secrets too
soon.  In a year or two he'll figure out the brain discrepancy for
himself...

Colias philodice (Clouded Sulpher)
Colias [Zerene] cesonia (Southern Dogface)
Phoebis sennae (Cloudless Sulpher)
Eurema mexicana (Mexican Sulpher)
Eurema nicippe (Sleepy Orange)
Nathalis iole (Dainty Sulpher)
Colias eurytheme (Orange Sulpher)
Atlides halesus (Great Purple Hairstreak)
Hemiargus ceraunus (Ceraunus Blue)
Hemiargus isola (Reakirt's Blue)
Celastrina ladon (Spring Azure - a bit of a surprise)
Libytheana carinenta  (American Snout)
Euptoieta claudia (Variegated Fritillary)
Phyciodes texana (Texan Crescent)
Phyciodes vesta (Vesta Crescent)
Unidentified Polygonia
Vanessa virginiensis (American Painted Lady)
Vanessa cardui (Painted Lady)
Limenitis [Basilarchia] arthemis (Red Spotted Purple)
Adelpha bredowii (California Sister)
Limenitis [Basilarchia] lorquini (Lorquin's Admiral) - is this recorded in
AZ?
Cyllopsis pyracmon (Nabokov's Satyr)
Gyrocheilus patrobas (Red-bordered Satyr)
Danaus gilippus (Queen)
Urbanus dorantes or procne (Dorantes/Brown Longtail)
Erynnis funeralis (Funereal Duskywing)
Pyrgus communis (Common Checkered Skipper - I think)
Ancyloxypha or Copaeodes (unidentified skipperling)
Agathymus, probably neumoegeni (Orange Giant Skipper)




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