Swallowtail Promenade - Goodsprings, NV 5/12/00

[Mark Walker]

Las Vegas is a nice place to visit, but the mountain areas surrounding the
city that never sleeps are far nicer places to live.  Or something like
that.

I was able to take a detour thru the Spring Mountains on both my way to and
from the Networld/Interop show in Vegas last week.  The higher elevations
(Mt. Charleston is above 11,000 ft.) are still too wintry for Lep activity,
but the lower, more arid elevations are in full bloom.  Unfortunately, the
wind can blow pretty hard.  Most roads are unpaved, and unless you have an
off-road vehicle, they can be pretty treacherous.  

Thank God I had my trusty 3-cylinder Geo Metro.  Never has there ever been
such an off-road vehicle.

Then again, the mechanic that is fixing it at the moment didn't quite agree.
He seemed to think that the $500 repair bill might be some indication of the
contrary.  I don't know where he gets such crazy ideas.  Oh well.  Thank God
it's paid for - sort of.

So anyway, where was I?  Oh yeah - the Swallowtails!  Not much else flying,
so it was a good thing that they were as common as they were.  As far as I
can tell, there were at least two species flying (even with voucher
specimens, this can be challenging).  One is a ssp. of Papilio polyxenes
(coloro?) and the other is a ssp. of P. zelicaon (nitra?).  There were both
black and yellow forms.  The abdominal markings really do seem to be the
only way an amateur like me can do an id'ing.  I didn't see any Indra's - at
least I don't think I did.

Even with the ST's being as common as they were, they were incredibly
difficult to capture.  Is it possible to spend several hours being blasted
by wind and sun - surrounded by mating butterflies - and end up with an
empty net?  Yes.  It is possible.  It is very, very possible.

Of course, I was blindfolded and had one hand tied behind my back.  It's all
part of the sport, you know.  Kind of like barbless hooks (no, I haven't
considered a bottomless net).

Here is a list of other species sighted:

Papilio zelicaon (Anise Swallowtail)
Papilio polyxenes (Black Swallowtail)

Pontia beckerii (Becker's White)

Callophrys gryneus (Juniper Hairstreak)

Apodemia mormo (Mormon Metalmark)
Poladryas arachne (Arachne Checkerspot)
Thessalia leanira alma (Alma Checkerspot)

Pyrgus communis (Checkered Skipper)
Heliopetes ericetorum (Large White Skipper)

Mark Walker
sleepless in Bradley, CA