[Fwd: White Mountains Trip Report]

[Hank & Priscilla Brodkin]

I am forwarding a write-up of SEABA's White Mountain Weekend Field Trip
last weekend - written by leader Stan Lilley.


> Stan Lilley wrote:
> 
> Here you go Hank:
> 
> Undaunted by a highway closure due to fire, and armed with Jim Brock’s
> Winter 1999 NABA article, "Definitive Destination - The White
> Mountains of Arizona," the SEABA team was determined to make the most
> of a White Mountains weekend. Much of the habitat described in Jim’s
> article was closed because of the extreme fire danger, but we were
> able to access the Green’s Peak area, some State land west of
> Springerville and a short stretch on the west side of Hwy 191 south of
> Alpine. We found some Rocky Mountain Wild Iris  and Fleabane or Aster
> compositae in bloom, though little else, but still managed to tally 31
> species. Highlights of the trip included Western Tiger Swallowtail,
> Satyr Comma, California Tortoiseshell, Common Ringlet, Draco Skipper
> and Tawny Edged Skipper. Wherever Wild Iris was found there were lots
> of butterflies. Even the motel parking lot yielded cooperative
> Mourning Cloaks. Besides the butterflies we encountered several wild
> turkeys, elk and antelope. The tight access restrictions , dry
> conditions and heavy afternoon cloud buildup made for less than ideal
> circumstances, but this is a butterfly location not to be missed. The
> scenery is exceptional and the cool temperatures – upper 70’s to low
> 80’s were a welcome change to those "down below." A complete list of
> butterflies seen follows:
> 
> PIPEVINE SWALLOWTAIL (Battus philenor)
> 
> WESTERN TIGER SWALLOWTAIL (Papilio rutulus)
> 
> MUSTARD WHITE (Pieris napi)
> 
> ORANGE SULPHUR (Colias eurytheme)
> 
> CLOUDLESS SULPHUR (Phoebis sennae)
> 
> DAINTY SULPHUR (Nathalis iole)
> 
> GREAT PURPLE HAIRSTREAK (Atlides halesus)
> 
> JUNIPER HAIRSTREAK (Callophyrus gryneus)
> 
> GRAY HAIRSTREAK (Strymon melinus)
> 
> MARINE BLUE (Leptotes marina)
> 
> REAKIRT’S BLUE (Hemiargus isola)
> 
> SPRING AZURE (Celastrina ladon)
> 
> ACMON BLUE (Plebejus acmon)
> 
> VARIEGATED FRITILLARY (Euptoieta claudia)
> 
> ATLANTIS FRITILLARY (Speyeria atlantis)
> 
> THEONA CHECKERSPOT (Thessalia theona)
> 
> FULVIA CHECKERSPOT (Thessalia fulvia)
> 
> MYLITTA CRESCENT (Phyciodes mylitta)
> 
> FIELD CRESCENT (Phyciodes campestris)
> 
> SATYR COMMA (Polygonia satyrus)
> 
> CALIFORNIA TORTOISESHELL (Nymphalis californica)
> 
> MOURNING CLOAK (Nymphalis antiopa)
> 
> AMERICAN LADY (Vanessa virginiensis)
> 
> PAINTED LADY (Vanessa cardui)
> 
> WEST COAST LADY (Vanessa annabella)
> 
> COMMON RINGLET (Coenonympha tullia subfusca)
> 
> GOLDEN BANDED SKIPPER (Autochton cellus)
> 
> NORTHERN CLOUDYWING (Thorybes pylades)
> 
> MEXICAN CLOUDYWING (Thorybes mexicana)
> 
> DRACO SKIPPER (Polites draco)
> 
> TAWNY EDGED SKIPPER (Polites thermistocles)
> 
> _________________________
> Stan Lilley
> Hereford, AZ
> cbirdey at Primenet.com


-- 
	             Hank & Priscilla Brodkin
	          Carr Canyon, Cochise County, AZ
                    Lat: 31.450, Long: 110.267
             SouthEast Arizona Butterfly Association
          http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabasa/home.html