Rocky Mountain High Part 2

[Mark Walker]

On Sunday, July 21, we got an early start and headed south towards Moab,
Utah.  This is Colorado River country - the land of Arches and Canyonlands.
We had breakfast in Moab, and were well on our way into the Manti-La Sal
National Forest before 9:00 a.m.  This was too bad, as I wanted to spend
some time in the lowlands looking for Speyeria nokomis.  But the highlands
were beckoning me - and we still had a long way to go.
 
As we traversed through the mid elevation oak woodland on our way towards
Mt. Poole we began seeing Lepidoptera.  And lots of them!  By 10:00 a.m.
there was a regular explosion of Hemileuca nuttalli (Nuttall's Sheepmoth)
all about us.  This made it particularly hard to see the occasional
similarly colored female Speyeria cybele that had already taken wing.  As we
went higher and higher, this Fritillary gave way to the Northwestern
Fritillary (Speyeria hesperis).  By the time we reached 11,000 ft. Speyeria
mormonia was the sole Fritillary but was also quite plentiful.  Other high
flyers included Plebejus icarioides (Boisduval's Blue), Pieris marginalis
(Veined White), Pontia sisymbrii (Spring White), Pontia occidentalis
(Western White), and Agriades glandon (Arctic Blue).  The Pontia surprised
me a little, as they were only found only above timberline - while many of
the other arctic species were absent.  Other mid-level flyers included
Colias Alexandra (Alexandra's Sulphur), Satyrium calanus (Banded
Hairstreak), Lycaeides melissa (Melissa Blue), Plebejus icarioides
(Boisduval's Blue) - yet another different looking form, Nymphalis milberti
(Milbert's Tortoiseshell), Limenitis weidemeyerii (Weidemeyer's Admiral),
Cercyonis oetus (Small Wood Nymph), Poanes taxiles (Taxiles Skipper),
Hesperia colorado (Western Branded Skipper), and Ochlodes sylvanoides
(Woodland Skipper).
 
Driving farther east we headed into Colorado and back up high in the
Uncompahgre National Forest.  The afternoon weather was already starting to
be a factor, but we did manage to stop a few more times to look for
something new.  A lone and tattered Lycaena heteronea (Blue Copper) was a
bit of a surprise.  In this area we began seeing more rabbitbrush in bloom,
and as always there were many butterflies nectaring on it.  The closer to
the Black Canyon of the Gunnison we got, the more common Cercyonis oetus
seemed to be.  Fritillaries were still common and each wooded area would
reliably produce Weidemeyer's Admirals.
 
By the time we stopped for the evening, we were looking straight at the
Continental Divide.  The highest peaks were well shrouded by ominous
thunderheads that seemed to grow to life before our very eyes.  I began to
get excited about the prospects of hunting for bugs in this formidable
terrain.  We decided to stay the night in the town named after the scenic
gorge, with plans on heading up into the clouds in the morning.  The family
was tired - tired mostly of me stopping the car every 5 minutes to chase
after something.  Tired of me getting angry at the auto-locking doors -
which I struggled with and were responsible for at least a dozen missed
opportunities.
 
Arghhhh.  Technology is for the birds.
 
Mark Walker
Getting ready to leave Colorado Springs, where technology has once again
paid for my recreation.
 
  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/private/leps-l/attachments/20020731/586a0a7c/attachment.html