Few butterflies this year

[Randy]

Loretta,

I`m in Durham, NC and yes the numbers are very low this year! The
numbers are at maybe 20% of what we had last year, but last year was
my first full year of watching butterflies and photographing them as
well.

We did the Durham NABA Butterfly count on Aug 14th and we tied the
Raliegh record of 51 species for a days count in NC. My garden was in
the count circle but the storms at 2:30 pm chased all the butterflies
away and we didn`t get to add some from my garden. My garden has had
some good numbers show up as I had 50 species before June visit my
garden. Currently my garden for 1999 has had 55 species visit I
believe last year it was 54 species. Hopefully the rains yesterday
will help us along as my garden today produced 22 species which is
above the normal 12-16 I usually get. Early and mid July I barely had
any visitors to my garden.

Unknown to most I have been building a Butterflies Found in NC website
that currently has 86 species with photos I`ve collected in the field
in the past 2 years. You can find my site by going to
http://www.naturevision.com and clicking on the butterflies link.

Oh and a correction I was on the Ashe County count it was  American
Lady that we missed for the first time on that count. three parties
hit Durham yesterday and we turned up one American Lady also.


Randy Emmitt
86 Species of NC Butterflies Online!
http:www.naturevision.com

On 15 Aug 1999 09:00:57 -0700, gbl at atomic.net (George B. Lutman)
wrote:

>Being given the title "Butterfly Lady" at the N.C. Zoological Park, I am
>in a unique position to speak to visitors from many states.
>
>Visitors from MO, VA, GA, AL, and over all of NC note the reduced
>numbers of butterflies this year. The July 4th Ashe County (NC)
>butterfly count recorded no Painted Lady this year for the first time.
>
>18 species of butterflies have been attracted to my own perennial patch
>and we have identified 8 woodland species. Yet, this year, we have seen
>very few, if any, of the butterflies common to our garden.
>
>Is this just a low count due to a natural cycling? I would appreciate
>any comments from readers about the low numbers of butterflies this
>year.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Loretta Lutman