Not an ill wind

[Kenn Kaufman]

The morning of Sept. 30 in Tucson was partly overcast and very windy,
gusting to over 35 mph, seemingly not good conditions for leps.  In
checking the back yard, however, I was surprised to find a Lerodea
arabus (so-called Violet-clouded Skipper).  This is not a rare bug in
this region but it is distinctly uncommon.  Although I have found the
species in foothill canyons at the edge of the nearby Santa Catalina
Mts., and although it reportedly persists in small numbers in Tucson
itself, this was the first one I'd seen in this particular yard in a decade
of watching.  I couldn't help wondering if the wind might have been a
factor -- violent gusty wind perhaps displacing this skipper a short
distance away from its normal haunts.

I also couldn't help going out to photograph it, and in prowling around
after other stuff I noticed something interesting:  all of the butterflies
appeared more approachable than usual.  Things that had been
flighty a couple of days ago, spooking at any motion, were suddenly
easy to approach.  Again, it seemed likely that the wind was a factor.
Either the butterflies were preoccupied with just holding on to
whatever they were perched on, or more likely they didn't notice
my movement because absolutely everything around them was
moving.  Whatever the reason, I found it easy to get right up next
to every butterfly, and then just wait for a calm moment between
gusts to take photos.  My overall reaction is that maybe excessively
windy days aren't all bad.

Kenn Kaufman
Tucson, Arizona
kennk at ix.netcom.com



 
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