7th Lakehurst, NJ 4JC

Michael Gochfeld gochfeld at eohsi.rutgers.edu
Sun Jul 15 19:31:21 EDT 2001


June 30, 2001.  The count is centered approximately at Lakehurst, NJ 
(Ocean County, NJ) It has a mixture of Pine Barrens, abandoned and 
active cranberry bogs, old fields, farm fields, and forest edges. A 
large part of it is a military base, which has, among others things, a 
monument to the Hindenberg crash site. 

One of the best old fields was depleted by a golf course, but using the 
State's Endangered species act, people were able to limit the golf 
course to 18 holes instead of the originally planned 36 holes. The 
remainder of the site is in pretty good shape.  

Here are the results of the 7th annual "fourth of July count".  All 
parties concurred that butterfly activity was low and slow. Several 
species at the lowest or second lowest counts. Partly it reflects the 
season. The late morning was unbearably hot (mid-90's) and butterfly 
activity seemed to be depressed (as were the counters).

Some of the counts which will seem low reflect the fact that this is 
largely a pine barrens area where some common species are unexplicably 
uncommon. Other low counts reflect the seasonality in general (the 
timing of the count in relation to phenology), and some low counts 
reflect the peculiar phenology of 2001.   
=============================================================
Papilio polyxenes	Black Swallowtail	0  usually missed
Papilio glaucus		Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 1  typically scarce 
Papilio troilus 	Spicebush Swallowtail	6  typical numbers
Pieris rapae		Cabbage White		22  2nd lowest
Colias philodice	Clouded Sulphur		2   typical
Colias eurytheme	Orange Sulphur		29  typical
Lycaena phlaeas		American Copper		62  2nd lowest
Lycaena epixanthe	Bog Copper		21  2nd lowest
Satyrium titus		Coral Hairstreak	8   lowest
Satyrium calanus	Banded Hairstreak	11  2nd lowest
Satyrium liparops	Striped Hairstreak	2   2nd lowest
Satyrium favonius	Northern/Southern or Oak Hairstreak 0 (only 1x)	
Parrhasius m-album 	White M Hairstreak	0  (only 1x)
Strymon melinus		Gray Hairstreak		1   typically scarce
Calycopis cecrops	Red-banded Hairstreak	0   usually missed
Everes comyntas		Eastern Tailed Blue	77  2nd highest
Celastrina neglecta	Summer Azure		8   2nd highest
Euptoieta claudia	Variegated Fritillary	2   usually scarce, 	
					these were very worn. 
Speyeria cybele		Great Spangled Fritillary 1   usually scarce 
Boloria selene		Silver-bordered Fritillary 0  (gone? phenology?)
	Probably the July brood hadn't emerged yet. 
Phyciodes tharos	Pearl Crescent		34  2nd highest
Polygonia interogationis Question Mark		1   often missed
Polygonia comma	Eastern Comma			0   usually missed
Nymphalis antiopia	Mourning Cloak		1  usually scarce
Vanessa virginiensis	American Lady		17  pretty typical 
Vanessa cardui		Painted Lady		0   usually missed, but 
	most other NJ counts seem to have found it
Vanessa atalanta	Red Admiral		4  typical numbers, but 
	low considering the large numbers present in southern and 	
	northern NJ in July. 
Junonia coenia		Common Buckeye		1  typically scarce 	
Limenitis arthemis	Red-spotted Purple	2   2nd highest
Limenitis archippus	Viceroy			0  	only 1x	
Satyrodes appalachia	Appalachian Brown	2  typical
Neonympha areolata	Georgia Satyr		19 2nd highest
Megisto cymela		Little Wood Satyr	27  typical
Cercyonis pegala	Common Wood-Nymph	112 2nd highest
Danaus plexippus	Monarch			3  (lowest count,and 
these were very very fresh) 
Epargyreus clarus	Silver-spotted Skipper	6  lowest count
Achalarus lyciades	Hoary Edge		1 (1 reliable plant)
	Each year we find 1-3 individuals on a single partially shaded 
Milkweed plant. Sometimes they are the only ones found. 
Thorybes bathyllus	Southern Cloudywing	0  seen on 3 prior 	
	counts with a high of 38. 
Thorybes pylades	Northern Cloudywing	4  highest 
Erynnis horatius	Horace's Duskywing	1  usually missed
Pholisora catullus	Common Sootywing	1  only once before
Nastra lherminier	Swarthy Skipper		14  second highest 
Ancyloxphya numitor	Least Skipper		1  usually 0 or 1
Thymelicus lineola	European Skipper	1  usually 0 or 1, but 	
once had 23.  This species is usually "gone" by the 3rd week of 	
June. 
Hesperia attalus	Dotted Skipper		5 typical numbers.
Polites peckius		Peck's Skipper		0  usually 0 or 1
Polites themistocles	Tawny-edged Skipper	4  typical
Polites origenes	Crossline Skipper	7  typical
Wallengrenia egeremet	Northern Broken Dash	1  only once before
	This species seems not to be common in the Pine Barrens and we 
tend to miss the July brood in most years. 
Pompeius verna		Little Glassywing	7  medium
Atalopedes campestris	Sachem			0  irruptive, Sachems 	
arrived in central NJ about July 10th. 
Atrytone logan		Delaware Skipper	5  2nd highest 
Poanes massasoit	Mulberry Wing		0  usually 0 to 2
Poanes zabulon		Zabulon Skipper		0 (only 1x)
Euphyes conspicua	Black Dash		0  only 1x
Euphyes bimacula	Two-spotted Skipper	4  2nd highest. A bog 	
species. 
Euphyes vestris		Dun Skipper		5  2nd highest	
Amblyscirtes vialis	Common Roadside Skipper	0 (only 1x, a very late, 
	worn individual in 2000)	
	TOTAL SPECIES	43 in 2001 was second highest species count
	TOTAL INDIVIDUALS 543 in 2001 was second lowest count 

 
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