Update on field time

[Michael Klein]

I have not posted much this month because there wasn't much to say.  Back on
the 2nd or 3rd of June I posted the sighting of hermes copper (Lycaena
hermes) in San Diego County.  Well, since then I have been out fairly
regularly to document sightings.  What a disappointment.  The one male I had
on June second is the only one I saw this month.  This property a year ago
had over 1,000 hermes and this year, one.

As most of you have heard form others about the extreme drought conditions
in Southern California, it is very real in San Diego.  With only reporting
about 3 inches of rain along the coast this past year (July thru June),
makes for a dismal lepping season.  But you still go out because either way
it is a good year to observe nature reacting to the dry conditions and what
insects are doing well, not so well or not doing anything.

Most of the areas I have been going to, the standard leps have been,
Bernardino blue (Euphilotes battoides bernardino), Behr's metalmark
(Apodemia mormo virgulti), and rural skipper (Ochlodes agricola).  Then
every once in a while I get a token Edward's blue (Hemiargus ceranus gyas),
of a funereal duskywing (Erynnis funeralis), or possibly a western pygmy
blue (Brephidium exilis).

I have not pursued the mountains here mostly because hermes would not be
there.  I have focused on the sage scrub and chaparral habitats.
Surprisingly even the expected chaparral leps are not flying, Satyrium
tetra, S. auretorum, and S. saepium.

Well, it did start to turn around on Friday, the 21st.  I have been given a
paying job to look for hermes at Lake Hodges in the upper San Diego city
area and adjacent t the City of Escondido.  There were sightings in 1981, 82
on the southeast side of Bernardo Mountain.  But in 1988 a brush fire burned
most of the south and southeast portions of the mountain.  It has not
recovered in 14 years and is completely unsuitable for the butterfly.  But,
city biologists have noted many locations around the Lake where the
butterfly's host plant, spiny redberry (Rhamnus crocea) is found.  So, I was
hired to look for the critter.  This past Friday, I was joined by Mark
Walker.  We have conversed by email many times and since he lives in
Oceanside, he is very close to the Lake.  I had a wonderful time with his
company and insight through all of his years of experience.  IT is always
rewarding to be in the field with people of like minds and passions.  It
really makes the day go by more quickly, especially when there are not many
leps on the wing.  The Miami blue project is very fortunate to have him on
the team.  MARK, THANKS AGAIN FOR JOINING ME.

Well, this day started off pretty much like any other day of little to no
lep activity.  By 11am when the marine layer burned away, things started
getting active.  We only finished the day with 6 species but 4 were blues,
which I had not had all this year.

We had:	cabbage white (Pieris rapae) - 3
	western pygmy blue (Brephidium exilis) - F-2
		marine blue (Leptotes marina) - M - 2
		Bernardino blue (Euphilotes battoides bernardino) - M - 3, F - 1
		acmon blue (Plebejus acmon) - M - 2, F - 2
		Behr's metalmark - 14 (could not clearly sex them)

Some of the other insects out were of personal interest with a female, and
one male Pepsis wasp (tarantula wasp), four species of Bombyliid (bee
flies).  With some of the brush busting we did I even brought home on my
neck a Pacific coast tick (Dermacentor occidentalis).  Of course he is now
an educational insect in alcohol.

Saturday, the 22nd was going to be my second to last chance to get out and
look for hermes.  I met some biology friends at the Crestridge Ecological
Reserve, east of the City of El Cajon at 9:30.  We walked the area where I
had my sighting on June 2nd with a negative result.  We then decided to
check out some sites further inland and into the transition zone of the
mountains.  We went to the community of Alpine and to the base of Viejas
Mountain.  On Crestridge we were at an elevation of 1,400 feet.  The Alpine
site is off Anderson Road at an elevation of 2,100 feet.  Viejas Mountain's
peak is about 4,000 feet. No hermes there, but much more lep activity with
some hedgerow (Satyrium saepium) and mountain mahogany (Satyrium tetra)
hairstreaks and fast flying great basin wood-nymphs (Cercyonis sthenele).  I
also caught a stunning tachinid fly that appears to parasitize arctiids
because of its very long legs (8mm).