[leps-talk] RE: The onset of winter.

Wed Oct 6 14:30:54 EDT 2004

Mark,

Got home rather late last night...Weather was messy, with a lot of rain and
clouds, but a few breaks did produce some interesting records...

We drove over to Concan (Uvalde Co.) and hiked/collected at the Bird
Sanctuary, and along Rt. 127 @ 3.7 mi. south of town) last Sunday...Among
the species either vouchered or observed were the following: GIANT
SWALLOWTAIL (female ovipositing on what I believe was prickly ash), PIPEVINE
SWALLOWTAIL (abundant), LARGE ORANGE SULPHUR (including white females),
LYSIDE SULPHUR, WHITE STRIPED LONG TAILED SKIPPER (abundant again, as I've
consistently found on visits to San Antonio et environs), GULF FRITILLARY,
DUSKY-BLUE GROUNDSTREAK, LITTLE YELLOW, SLEEPY ORANGE, BORDERED PATCH, TAWNY
EMPEROR, etc. I also looked hard among the cedars for *M. gryneus castalis*
vs. *siva*, to see just what the taxon looks like here, but did not see or
flush them out (possibly on one occasion along Rt. 127 but I am not sure as
I lost the fast flying small Lycaenid, whatever it was, mainly due to the
cloudiness - they're hard to follow when there's no sun...)

"Significant finds at Concan and along Rt. 127 south of the Frio River
included (what I believe is) COYOTE CLOUDYWING, MIMOSA YELLOW, and TEXAN
WOOD NYMPH. The MIMOSA YELLOW (*nise*) is quite distinct in appearance from
LITTLE YELLOW (lisa), both in appearance and in behavior and also
habitat...Clear yellow (almost) below, no basal VHW black spots, reduced
black borders etc. They definitely stay inside the forest understory, and
have a slower, more jerky flight than does lisa...The TEXAN WOOD NYMPH (*C.
p. texana*) is HUGE...I have taken this before in Wichita Falls, TX and in
San Antonio (1985 and 1991 respectively)...but THIS one almost looked like
brown bird flying up from a cedar bush...Magnificent...Too bad I couldn't
voucher it...

At Hondo Creek (east of Hondo, Medina Co. on Hwy. 90), to the south of the
bridge, a quick half-hour visit produced a VICEROY (ssp. *watsonii*), TAWNY
EMPERORS, BORDERED PATCH, FATAL METALMARK, JANAIS and BORDERED PATCHES,
(thousands of) CLOUDED SKIPPERS (yuck - I'm sick of these), GRAY HAIRSTREAK,
and a few other things including DESERT CHECKERED SKIPPERS...But overlooked
included LEILIA EMPERORS and GOATWEED EMPERORS (which I did see in scrub in
west San Antonio...), the WHITE SKIPPERS etc. etc....

SOUTHERN DOG FACES were also everywhere as expected...	

I made a run up to the San Antonio Ranch near Helotes...there is good
habitat in this area with a good diversity of species...A favorite spot on
Lagos Vista Rd. where there is extensive orange lantana was checked, but
heavy clouds and cool temps (less than 75F) produced almost nothing...It is
possible that the Silver Banded Hairstreak occurs here...I netted a small
greenish Hairstreak here in late Nov. 2002 and it escaped...The host is
present but I have never seen this thing again...

Not found on the visit at all were Satyrs...including RED, CAROLINA AND
GEMMED SATYRS; despite the fact that I believe I had checkedout good locales
for all of them...I also have not seen - since July 1985 at Wichita Falls -
in Texas is the MEXICAN SULPHUR (*E. mexicana*)...strange because I've been
down there now in three successive autumn seasons...

It's good to have good friends of one's Assistant in select places such as
south-central Texas...one should pray for the continued health of these
friends...

Once again, I apologize for not contacting my Texas buddies while down
there...one of these times, I promise...meanwhile I have to brush up on my
pool shot...Sorry, also for not providing scientific names...I'm too busy
here at the office and maybe too lazy...

Alex

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Mark Walker [SMTP:mwalker at tils-ttr.org]
> Sent:	Monday, October 04, 2004 12:07 AM
> To:	woody.woods at umb.edu; tils-leps-talk at yahoogroups.com;
> leps-l at lists.yale.edu
> Subject:	RE: [leps-talk] RE: The onset of winter.
> 
> 
> Woody wrote:
> 
> >Mark, you ought to pay Alex a visit while you're in the neighborhood and
> do
> a P. rapae count in his back yard. It might give him a break from his
> gardening responsibilities
> 
> Ha! Actually, I DID pay Alex a visit. We drank coffee and looked over some
> of his bugs. I counted rapae the next day, but Alex went on to San
> Antonio,
> where he's hoping to count Papilio anchisiades.  Good luck Alex!
> 
> Mark.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leps-l at lists.yale.edu [mailto:owner-leps-l at lists.yale.edu]On
> Behalf Of Woody Woods
> Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2004 6:50 PM
> To: Mark Walker; tils-leps-talk at yahoogroups.com; leps-l at lists.yale.edu
> Subject: Re: [leps-talk] RE: The onset of winter.
> 
> 
> M...  -Woody
> 
> > From: "Mark Walker" <mwalker at tils-ttr.org>
> > Date: Sun, 3 Oct 2004 18:35:57 -0700
> > To: <tils-leps-talk at yahoogroups.com>, <leps-l at lists.yale.edu>
> > Subject: [leps-talk] RE: The onset of winter.
> >
> >
> > Todd Stout once wrote that, because of burnout from the long collecting
> > season out west, he tends to give up on local lepping sometime in
> August.
> I
> > know exactly what he's talking about, and have relatively few specimens
> from
> > places I've lived with dates after late July.  That was even true during
> my
> > years in Vermont, where the collecting season didn't even get started
> until
> > mid-May.  I did very little collecting in August or September, and I
> missed
> > a few great bugs on account of it.
> >
> > Of course, things totally change when you get to go someplace other than
> > where you live during the Autumn months.  I've been blessed to visit
> > Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Mexico,
> > Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and even Malaysia during the Autumn months - and
> I've
> > never had any trouble swinging my net as a visitor.
> >
> > Back home in San Diego, I've really been dragging my feet the past few
> > months = and our season is not yet over there.  I often snoose as the
> fall
> > broods begin flying in California.  But now I find myself on the eastern
> > coast of the United States, where the fall has already set in, and I've
> > found the urge to look for butterflies simply irresistable.  I wonder
> what
> > that is all about?
> >
> > So on Saturday under cloudy skies I explored some wild areas in southern
> > Rhode Island, and today, with a cooling trend setting in, I hiked some
> > trails in New Jersey's Pinelands under mostly sunny skies.  While the
> > specimens encountered are all considered "junk" bugs, I still found it
> > fulfilling to be out swinging a net and examining what might be
> > participating in the last flight here.
> >
> > Next weekend I'm looking forward to visiting Ron in South Carolina.  Ron
> > admitted that he didn't do much local collecting this late in the
> season,
> > but since I'm a visitor and am therefore not bored by the _local_
> > collecting, I'll do my best to drag his butt out into the bushes - well,
> you
> > know what I mean.  I'll also have to show him the Phyciodes that I took
> from
> > New Jersey, since I now have no idea how to id them };>)
> >
> > Kingston, R.I. - 10/2
> >
> > Colias philodice
> > Colias eurytheme
> > Pieris rapae
> > Lycaena phlaeas
> > Everes comyntas
> > Nymphalis antiopa
> > Polygonia comma
> >
> > New Lisbon, N.J. - 10/3
> >
> > Colias eurytheme
> > Phyciodes tharos?
> > Pieris rapae
> > Everes comyntas
> > Junonia coenia
> > Pyrgus communis
> >
> > Mark Walker
> > visiting Edison, N.J.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-leps-l at lists.yale.edu [mailto:owner-leps-l at lists.yale.edu]On
> > Behalf Of Neil Jones
> > Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2004 7:31 AM
> > To: tils-leps-talk at yahoogroups.com; leps-l at lists.yale.edu
> > Subject: The onset of winter.
> >
> >
> > "Season of mists and mellow fruitfullness" that is how one poet
> described
> a
> > British autumn. Well he didn't live where I do. Here in South Wales we
> say
> > that if we can see the English coast across the sea it is going to rain.
> If
> > we cannot it is because it is raining. It rains a lot here, in Welsh we
> have
> > to use the word for "to strike" to say it is raining. Today I cannot
> even
> > see
> > the nearby mountains. Winter is fast approaching.  I rather suspect he
> poet
> > had consumed the brewed products of the mellow fruit before writing the
> > poem.
> >
> > Last week however was a different story. A trip down to Dorset in the
> sunny
> > south of England was a little better. At Butterfly Conservation's HQ in
> > Lulworth,  haunt of the rare Lulworth Skipper, the small butterfly
> garden
> > was
> > full of fluttering life. Painted Ladies and Red Admirals abounded and we
> > were
> > able to watch a Hornet eating a hoverfly. One of my colleagues had the
> > foresight to bring his digital SLR camera and was able to take some
> > pictures.
> >
> > The highlight for me was the Hummingbird Hawkmoth (Macroglossum
> > stellatarum).
> > on the Buddleia. This is a migrant from Europe and although it isn't
> that
> > rare I had never seen one in the UK until 2003. Just bad luck I suppose.
> >
> > This was my second specimen seen  of the year. The earlier one being at
> the
> > National Botanic Garden of Wales
> >
> > There are some lovely poetic names for butterflies in Welsh.  The
> > Comma( Polygonia c-album) is "Adain Garpiog"  (Ragged Wings) and the
> Ringlet
> > ( Aphantopus hyperanthus) is "Iar fach y glaw" (The little hen of the
> rain
> > or
> > rain butterfly) It will fly in the rain which is rather a necessity
> living
> > here, or at least it feels that way today.
> >
> > Perhaps our friends from warmer climes can entertain us with sightings
> from
> > places where the cold wet of winter does not dampen the enthusiasm.
> >
> > --
> > Neil Jones- Neil at nwjones.demon.co.uk http://www.butterflyguy.com/
> > "At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
> > butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn Bog
> > National Nature Reserve.
> >
> >
> >
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> >
> >
> >
> 
> 
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