Santa Lucia Mountains - Day 1 (6/7/02)

Mark Walker MWalker at gensym.com
Tue Jun 11 03:00:29 EDT 2002


Things have been so dry and uneventful lately, that I was wondering when I
might actually get to enjoy butterflies again.  I had business up in the San
Francisco Bay area last week, and planned on going to my nephew's high
school graduation in Templeton, CA over the weekend, so I decided to stop
along the way and check out the coastal mountain range south of Monterey.  I
was not disappointed.
 
All of the leps from SoCal are having a party in more northern latitudes.
It's been a long time since I've seen so many butterflies on the wing all at
once.  Thousands and thousands of leps - all around you.  It was downright
buggy.
 
Day One:  Ventana Wilderness, Monterey County
 
I drove into Monterey county on Thursday.  The weather had been perfect.  I
stayed the night in the bustling town of Greenfield, and decided to drive up
to higher altitudes that evening just to check things out.  The Ventana
Wilderness is just an hour drive from this part of highway 101.  The sun was
just about ready to set when I arrived on top of Chews Ridge and there were
hundreds and hundreds of Nymphalis californica (California Tortoiseshell)
still flying and battling for territory.  I wondered if this was a sign of
things to come.  I drove on to my humble motel room and prayed for similar
weather on Friday.
 
I had a conference call to make at 2:00 p.m., so I couldn't spend too much
time at higher altitudes.  I arrived up high by 10:30 a.m., and everything
was already exploding.  The tortoiseshells were everywhere, as I expected.
But so were other leps as well.  Celastrina ladon echo (Echo Blue) could be
found on virtually every plant with a blossom.  The amazingly variable
Chlosyne palla (Northern Checkerspot) was abundant, particularly in the
meadows.  I do believe that Chlosyne gabbii (Gabb's Checkerspot) was also
flying.  It sure looks like at least two species (I'll keep you posted).
Adelpha bredowii (California Sister) floated past every oak tree.  There
were dozens of Papilio eurymedon (Pale Swallowtail) aloft.  I don't swing my
net at these anymore, so I had a lot more time to watch and enjoy them
floating by.  Near the ridgetop I found Epargyreus clarus (Silver Spotted
Skipper) quite common.  Erynnis tristis (Mournful Duskywing) was the most
common Duskywing.
 
By 11:00 a.m. the Fritillaries began flying.  By noon, I had seen every
species that flies here - and in huge numbers.  Speyeria coronis coronis
(Coronis Fritillary), Speyeria callipe comstocki (Comstock's Fritillary),
and the amazing Speyeria adiaste clemencei (Clemence's Fritillary) were all
on the wing.  This is the first time I've seen the latter species, and I
must say it was an exhilarating experience.  I was just about convinced that
it didn't really exist, and that all those lepidopterists who've claimed to
see it were mistaking old, worn out, unsilvered Speyeria for something new.
When you finally see it, there's no questioning this bug as being something
new.  It is distinctive in flight, and easy to tell apart from the other
fritts.
 
These mountains enjoy a wetter climate then our mountains down south.  The
moisture comes from both rain as well as fog.  I don't know how wet the year
has been up here, but the terrain is lusher and greener than any of our
areas down south.  It was good to see.
 
As much as I enjoyed the Unsilvered Fritts, I was tickled as much by the
appearance of two other species.  The first was Thessalia leanira daviesi
(Leanira Checkerspot).  This sub-species is darker and quite different than
our T. l. wrightii that flies down south.  The other bug I enjoyed was
Plebejus icarioides (Boisduval's Blue).  The Lupine was plentiful in the
higher meadows, and the bug was reliable about it's foodplant.  I don't know
if this is P. i. evius up here.  The females have a gorgeous amount of
orange scaling on both the dorsal forewing and hindwing.  I'll have to
compare them with my southern specimens to get a better feeling.
 
I left the area by 1:00 p.m., a shame since everything was still quite
active.  On the other hand, I felt as if I had seen it all.  There were a
few grass skippers that I never did identify, and I'm sure another singleton
of something new was just around the next corner.  But satisfying it all
was, for sure.
 
Here's a species list for Friday:
 
Papilio rutulus (Western Tiger Swallowtail)
Papilio eurymedon (Pale Swallowtail)
 
Zerene eurydice (California Dogface)
 
Lycaena gorgon (Gorgon's Copper)
Satyrium californica (California Hairstreak)
Celastrina ladon echo (Echo Blue)
Plebejus icarioides (Boisduval's Blue)
Plebejus lupine (Lupine Blue)
 
Speyeria coronis coronis (Coronis Fritillary)
Speyeria callippe comstocki (Comstock's Fritillary)
Speyeria adiaste clemencei (Clemence's Fritillary)
 
Chlosyne palla (Northern Checkerspot)
Chlosyne gabbii (Gabb's Checkerspot)
Phyciodes mylitta (Mylitta Crescentspot)
Euphydryas chalcedona (Chalcedon's Checkerpot)
Nymphalis californica (California Tortoiseshell)
Vanessa virginiensis (American Painted Lady)
Junonia coenia (Buckeye)
 
Limenitis lorquini (Lorquin's Admiral)
Adelpha bredowii (California Sister)
Coenonympha california (California Ringlet)
 
Erynnis tristis (Mournful Duskywing)
Epargyreus clarus (Silver Spotted Skipper)
 
Mark Walker
Oceanside, CA
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