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20 Nov FW: Of El Nino and Butterflies [Dennis Burnette ] 20 Nov James IS, SC leps 19 Nov. 2009 [Dennis Forsythe ] 18 Nov Rainy Day Butterflying [nottke1 ] 17 Nov Re: daytime moth [Alex Netherton ] 17 Nov daytime moth ["Loretta" ] 16 Nov RE: daytime moth ["Helms, J" ] 16 Nov daytime moth ["Loretta" ] 16 Nov Re: Lake Crabtree [Alex Netherton ] 16 Nov Yesterdays butterflies and odes [] 15 Nov Lake Crabtree ["Ali Iyoob" ] 15 Nov Guilford Co., NC, butterflies 11-15-09 [Dennis Burnette ] 15 Nov Pitt County, November 15 [Salman Abdulali ] 15 Nov Some Mecklenburg County butterflies [] 14 Nov Francis Marion SC leps 11-14 [] 14 Nov Snouts and More ["Lynn B. Smith" ] 14 Nov Monarch, Cloudless 11/14 [Kevin Metcalf ] 14 Nov Late leps in Raleigh ["Ali Iyoob" ] 14 Nov Monarch [Alex Netherton ] 12 Nov Re: "Monarchs in Space" [Paul Cherubini ] 12 Nov "Monarchs in Space" [Ina Warren ] 12 Nov recent Conway, SC leps [Gary Phillips ] 11 Nov Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) [David Garfield ] 11 Nov Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) [Alex Grkovich ] 11 Nov Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) ["Robert Grosek" ] 10 Nov Wake Co. Butterflies ["Richard Stickney" ] 10 Nov Listowner message (was Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily)) [jspippen ] 10 Nov Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) [Alex Netherton ] 10 Nov Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) [Alex Grkovich ] 10 Nov Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) ["Robert Grosek" ] 10 Nov Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) [Neil Jones ] 09 Nov Charleston Co. leps 11-09 [] 9 Nov Pitt County, November 9 [Salman Abdulali ] 09 Nov Butterfly Report, Sunday, 11/8/09 [Dennis Burnette ] 9 Nov Zebra Heliconian - Hanahan, SC [Nathan Dias ] 9 Nov Outer Banks Butterflies at Wings Over Water 2009 [jspippen ] 8 Nov BADLINK Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) [David Garfield ] 8 Nov James Is, SC leps 8 Nov.. 2009 [Dennis Forsythe ] 8 Nov James Is, SC leps 8 Nov.. 2009 [Dennis Forsythe ] 8 Nov Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) [David Garfield ] 08 Nov Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) [Alex Netherton ] 08 Nov Re: Success story in UK about re-introduction of the British Blue butterfly [Alex Netherton ] 08 Nov Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) [Neil Jones ] 08 Nov Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) [Alex Netherton ] 8 Nov Pitt County, November 8 [Salman Abdulali ] 7 Nov A few Wake/Caswell butterflies ["Legrand, Harry" ] 7 Nov Success story in UK about re-introduction of the British Blue butterfly ["Jules Fraytet" ] 7 Nov How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) ["Jules Fraytet" ] 05 Nov Butterfly Program - Butterflies as Pollinators [Dennis Burnette ] 4 Nov Wake County ["Ali Iyoob" ] 4 Nov Pitt County, November 4 [Salman Abdulali ] 3 Nov late Butterflies in central Forsyth Co. [Lois Schneider ] 03 Nov Early Nov. Butterflies & Moths [Dennis Burnette ] 2 Nov Re: RFI Tagged Monarch [Jason Love ] 2 Nov RFI Tagged Monarch [Dennis Forsythe ] 1 Nov Folly Beach, SC leps 10/31 [Dennis Forsythe ] 31 Oct monarchs ["Loretta" ] 30 Oct A Few Butterflies & Moths, Greensboro Arboretum [Dennis Burnette ] 29 Oct Folly Beach, SC leps 10/29 [Dennis Forsythe ] 28 Oct Pitt County, October 28 [Salman Abdulali ] 28 Oct American Snout in Morehead City ["John Fussell" ] 27 Oct Durham Co. Butterflies ["Richard Stickney" ] 25 Oct Folly Beach, SC leps 10/25 [Dennis Forsythe ] 24 Oct Butterfly counts in 2009 ["Legrand, Harry" ] 24 Oct Pitt County, October 24 [Salman Abdulali ] 23 Oct Darner and Sulphur ["K&R" ] 23 Oct Yadkin Co., NC Butterflies [Dennis Burnette ] 23 Oct Pitt County, October 23 [Salman Abdulali ] 22 Oct Pitt County, October 22 [Salman Abdulali ] 22 Oct RE: Orange-barred Sulphur ["Legrand, Harry" ] 21 Oct Some Caswell Co., NC, butterflies ["Legrand, Harry" ] 21 Oct Orange-barred Sulphur [Derb Carter ] 21 Oct Pitt County, October 21 [Salman Abdulali ] 21 Oct Coastal & Durham Butterflies ["Richard Stickney" ] 19 Oct RE: Checkered-Skippers in Wake County. NC ["Legrand, Harry" ] 19 Oct Wake County ["Ali Iyoob" ] 19 Oct Pitt County, October 19 [Salman Abdulali ] Subject: FW: Of El Nino and Butterflies From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:18:25 -0500 Carolina Butterfliers, A friend in Winston-Salem who sometimes uses tour companies for her trips sent me the paragraph below from Victor Emanuel of VENT. We¹re certainly seeing the rain. It will be interesting to see if the Carolinas will be affected next spring. Subject: Of El Nino and Butterflies ³Unless you are from the southern part of the United States, you may not be aware that Central Texas has just come through its most severe drought since the 1950s. With an El Niño winter reportedly on the way, rain finally began falling in the third week of September and has continued, off and on, ever since. Though the drought has not been officially declared over, it has certainly been alleviated. As a result, we have witnessed the most dramatic change in the landscape most of us have ever seen. In August, rivers were drying up, the vegetation was brown, trees had died, and our lake levels were way down. By late September, the land was lush and green and displaying an excellent bloom of fall wildflowers. Some species that normally bloom in the spring are blooming now. Prior to the rains, there had been very few butterflies around. Now there is an abundance of butterflies including such beauties as bordered patch, giant swallowtail, Gulf fritillary, common buckeye, red admiral, and a host of skippers. For those of us who love the natural world, these changes are marvelous to observe and add so much to our lives.² -- Dennis Burnette Greensboro, NC Guilford County deburnette AT triad.rr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisburnette/ Subject: James IS, SC leps 19 Nov. 2009 From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:49:03 -0500 Hi All, Yesterday, I spent an hour mid-day in beautiful weather at Ft. Johnson Marine Lab. on James IS, SC. I found a number of butterflies in the lantana. Cloudless Sulfur-10+ Little Yellow-3 Gulf Fritillary-10 Common Buckeye-3 Monarch-2 Long-tailed Skipper-6 Wild Indigo Duskywing-1 a surprise. Tropical Checkered-Skipper-12+ Fiery Skipper-6 Cheers, Dennis -- Dennis M. Forsythe PhD Charleston, SC 29412 843.795.3996-home 843.953.7264-fax 843.708.1605-cell dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com Subject: Rainy Day Butterflying From: nottke1 <nottke1 AT earthlink.net> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:02:00 -0500 (EST) I don't know if this has appeared on carolinaleps earlier, but you can follow the action of the Painted Ladys on the shuttle trip at http://www.nsbri.org/Education/ButterfliesinSpace.html Jim Nottke Pfafftown, NC Subject: Re: daytime moth From: Alex Netherton <danetherton AT charter.net> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:05:50 -0500 Shame the bugguide feller could only solve his problem with poison. One of our world's problems IMHO. Alex Netherton Asheville, NC http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carolinamountainbirding/ http://blueridgediscovery.blogspot.com Loretta wrote: > Chris Helms identified the moth as a Buck Moth (Hemileuca maia). I > Googled same and got two interesting sites with photos and > information. The second site is provide by a man who received a nasty > sting from the caterpillar. It's definitely a do not touch critter. > > > http://10000birds.com/buck-moth-hemileuca-maia.htm > > http://bugguide.net/node/view/269833 > > Loretta Lutman > Asheboro, NC > Randolph Co. > Subject: daytime moth From: "Loretta" <butterflies_bg AT triad.rr.com> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:27:29 -0500 Chris Helms identified the moth as a Buck Moth (Hemileuca maia). I Googled same and got two interesting sites with photos and information. The second site is provide by a man who received a nasty sting from the caterpillar. It's definitely a do not touch critter. http://10000birds.com/buck-moth-hemileuca-maia.htm http://bugguide.net/node/view/269833 Loretta Lutman Asheboro, NC Randolph Co. Subject: RE: daytime moth From: "Helms, J" <j.chris.helms AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:43:00 -0500 Bet it's a Buck Moth (Hemileuca maia). November is typically the month I've seen them both in the Sandhills and down here at Lake Waccamaw. Chris Helms Lake Waccamaw State Park Columbus Co. NC -----Original Message----- From: Loretta [mailto:butterflies_bg AT triad.rr.com] Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 3:54 PM To: carolinaleps-request AT duke.edu; carolinaleps AT duke.edu Subject: daytime moth Every year about this time, there is a black and white moth with a vigorous flight pattern, that flies during daylight hours. Is it also nocturnal? What is it? Loretta Lutman Asheboro, NC Subject: daytime moth From: "Loretta" <butterflies_bg AT triad.rr.com> Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:53:30 -0500 Every year about this time, there is a black and white moth with a vigorous flight pattern, that flies during daylight hours. Is it also nocturnal? What is it? Loretta Lutman Asheboro, NC Subject: Re: Lake Crabtree From: Alex Netherton <danetherton AT charter.net> Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:04:05 -0500 Ali, I don't know if you are aware, but I own a Yahoo group that is specific to Southeastern Odonates at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/se-odonata/ I have purposefully left the group settings so we can attach photos for ID purposes. The group is very popular, and has as its members some of the finest Odonate Entomologists in the US. I am sure they would love to answer any questions you might have, and I would love to welcome you and anyone else interested to the group. If anyone wishes to join, and does not want to go through the Yahoo hoops, let me know; I can directly subscribe you. Alex Netherton Asheville, NC http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carolinamountainbirding/ http://blueridgediscovery.blogspot.com Ali Iyoob wrote: > Today at Lake Crabtree I had 5 Cloudless Sulfurs, 2 C. Buckeyes, 1 Eufala > Skiper, 1 Monarch, 1 Orange Sulfur, and 1 Red Admiral. > I also had 4 Meadowhawks, 2 of which I know were Blue-faced. One flew by too > fast, and the other is a real puzzler. It looks just like a Blue-faced, > except for the fact that its face is red. I got great shots of it and can be > viewed at > http://www.flickr.com/photos/longspur/4106693367/ Any help would be > appreciated. > > Ali Iyoob > North Raleigh, NC > www.flickr.com/photos/longspur > http://birdingjournal.blogspot.com > > > > > > Subject: Yesterdays butterflies and odes From: birdcr AT concentric.net Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:36:19 -0500 Folks, Yesterday meg and I worked on the gardens here. We had a beautiful Mourning Cloak in excellent condition, 2 Cloudless Suphurs and a Clouded Skipper. Also a fewmale Autumn Meadowhawk landed on Meg's arm while I observed it. While digging a hole for a camellia I found a Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, not seen one of these in some time, not sure if my digging brought it out or what. Spring Peepers called all day, saw a Common Ground Skink and the painted turtles were out on logs in the pond. Cheers, Randy Emmitt and Meg Millard Rougemont, NC Subject: Lake Crabtree From: "Ali Iyoob" <Aliiyoob AT nc.rr.com> Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:04:59 -0500 Today at Lake Crabtree I had 5 Cloudless Sulfurs, 2 C. Buckeyes, 1 Eufala Skiper, 1 Monarch, 1 Orange Sulfur, and 1 Red Admiral. I also had 4 Meadowhawks, 2 of which I know were Blue-faced. One flew by too fast, and the other is a real puzzler. It looks just like a Blue-faced, except for the fact that its face is red. I got great shots of it and can be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/longspur/4106693367/ Any help would be appreciated. Ali Iyoob North Raleigh, NC www.flickr.com/photos/longspur http://birdingjournal.blogspot.com Subject: Guilford Co., NC, butterflies 11-15-09 From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:32:26 -0500 Don Allemann, Gregg Morris, and I took advantage of the clear sky and 76 degree temperature to look for butterflies in Greensboro, Guilford County, NC, this afternoon, 11/15/09. We stopped first at the Greensboro Arboretum, where we saw two butterflies and two moth species in about 45 minutes. Don and I continued on to the Legacy Demonstration Garden at the Guilford County Cooperative Extension Center where we spent another hour. In total we recorded 10 butterflies of 7 species, plus 2 day-flying moths. That¹s a pretty good count for the middle of November! Greensboro Arboretum = A Legacy Demonstration Garden = L Location: A L Total Butterflies: Cabbage White 0 1 1 Cloudless Sulphur 0 1 1 Sleepy Orange 0 1 1 Monarch 0 1 1 Common Checkered Skipper 1 0 1 Fiery Skipper 1 1 2 Sachem 0 3 3 Total butterflies: 2 8 10 indiv., 7 species Day-flying moths: Yellow-collared Scape Moth 1 0 1 Ailanthus Webworm Moth 1 0 1 Total moths: 2 0 2 indiv., 2 species Dennis -- Dennis Burnette Greensboro, NC Guilford County deburnette AT triad.rr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisburnette/ Subject: Pitt County, November 15 From: Salman Abdulali <abdulalis AT ecu.edu> Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:30:12 -0500 Butterflies seen today (2009-11-15) in Pitt County, mostly at the Arboretum. The sun emerged today after a week of rain and clouds, and the butterflies clearly wanted to take advantage of it. Cloudless Sulphur- 2, Pitt County Arboretum Sleepy Orange - several, Pitt County Arboretum Cabbage White - 1, ECU campus, new late date for Pitt Gray Hairstreak - 1, Pitt County Arboretum, new late date for Pitt American Snout - 1, Pitt County Arboretum, first November record for Pitt Monarch - 2, Pitt County Arboretum Variegated Fritillary - 1, Pitt County Arboretum Common Buckeye - several, Pitt County Arboretum American Lady - several, Pitt County Arboretum Painted Lady - 1, Pitt County Arboretum, new late date for Pitt Red Admiral- 1, Pitt County Arboretum Checkered Skipper- 1, Pitt County Arboretum Southern Skipperling - 2, Pitt County Arboretum, new late date for Pitt Fiery Skipper - several, Pitt County Arboretum Eufala Skipper - 1, Pitt County Arboretum, new late date for Pitt Ocola Skipper - several, Pitt County Arboretum, new late date for Pitt Salman Abdulali Greenville, NC Subject: Some Mecklenburg County butterflies From: piephofft AT aol.com Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:55:47 -0500 Folks, Butterflies noted November 14 at Sheffield Park and Evergreen Nature Preserve included: Monarch 1 Orange sulphur 2 Cloudless sulfur 1 Question Mark 3 Common checkered skipper 1 Taylor Piephoff Charlotte, NC PiephoffT AT aol.com Subject: Francis Marion SC leps 11-14 From: p51mustnb AT aim.com Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:36:56 -0500 Hey all, Went to the FMNF today and I had a spot along Wardfield Rd. that had surprising numbers and diversity for November. The spot looked like a house should have been there in the past as there were live oaks scattered about where there should have been pine forest. There were a few open patches with a yellow flower that was basically the only nectar around. Cloudless Sulphur - 10+ Little Yellow - 6+ Sleepy Orange - 6+ RB Hairstreak - 1 Gulf Fritillary - 2 Buckeye - 20+ American Lady - 1 Pearl Crescent - 4 SSS - 1 Longtailed Skipper - 5 - I rarely see them in the FM, more around human plantings White Checkered Skipper - 3 Fiery Skipper - 2 males and 2 females Clouded Skipper - 1 worn Brazilian Skipper - 1 - a surprise as no canna anywhere nearby Scape Moths Mournful Sphinx (Enyo lugubris) Ray Simpson Charleston, SC Subject: Snouts and More From: "Lynn B. Smith" <smithlynnb AT bellsouth.net> Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:01:05 -0500 Hello all, Today SCAN went to Manchester State Forest in Sumter County, SC. Gorgeous day, temps making it up into the low 70s. I saw, in order of first appearance, American Snout - 5 Carolina Satyr Cloudless Sulphur 2 Sleepy Orange 2 Question Mark Lynn Smith Camden, SC Subject: Monarch, Cloudless 11/14 From: Kevin Metcalf <skermetcalf AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:39:31 -0500 Saw one each of Monarch and Cloudless Sulphur in northern Mecklenburg County today. Kevin Metcalf Huntersville, NC Subject: Late leps in Raleigh From: "Ali Iyoob" <Aliiyoob AT nc.rr.com> Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:47:16 -0500 Today at Prairie Ridge, I found a Common Buckeye and Cabbage White. Ali Iyoob North Raleigh, NC www.flickr.com/photos/longspur http://birdingjournal.blogspot.com Subject: Monarch From: Alex Netherton <danetherton AT charter.net> Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:46:32 -0500 Hi folks; I was at a tailgate market near UNC-A and saw a very fresh Monarch, I think a male. It was nectaring on a Pansy one of the vendors had on display. He was very "tame", and allowed close approach. Showed no inclination to fly south. I was amazed, as we have had a number of frosts, some of them rather hard. Hope he gets out of the area before we have a real killer frost! -- Alex Netherton Asheville, NC http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carolinamountainbirding/ http://blueridgediscovery.blogspot.com Subject: Re: "Monarchs in Space" From: Paul Cherubini <monarch AT saber.net> Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:50:17 -0800 Ina Warren wrote: > Monarch Watch is in the process of shipping over 600 Plan B monarch > kits to about 425 schools. Not shipped for free, however. My understanding is Monarch Watch charges around $17 for each kit (not including shipping). So 600 times $17 = $10,200 in gross sales income for the Monarch Watch. Since each kit contain 6 caterpillars, 600 shipped kits = 3,600 caterpillars shipped to schools. What are the 3,600 caterpillars supposed to eat at this time of the year? Apparently they are supposed to be fed an artificial diet supplied by the Monarch Watch like this: http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/4ALC/fact.jpg What are the students supposed to do with the 3,600 monarch adults when they emerge from their chrysalids in December? Seems to me they will have to be: a) put to death (e.g. frozen) b) held indoors in captivity for life c) released outdoors where it is lethally cold in Dec. Paul Cherubini Subject: "Monarchs in Space" From: Ina Warren <wildwood3 AT citcom.net> Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:14:21 -0500 Monarch Butterfly enthusiasts, The following is a link to the website - with all the latest on Monarchs In Space. Monarch Watch will post updates as the mission progresses. http://www.monarchwatch.org/space/index.html Here is a news release about Monarchs in space - (including a 3 1/2 minute video by Dr Chip Taylor on the project) Also, some terrific info at http://www.monarchwatch.org/space/Monarchs-in-Space.pdf on the monarch life cycle as well as the challenges of microgravity. http://www.news.ku.edu/2009/november/10/butterflies.shtml Monarch Watch is in the process of shipping over 600 Plan B monarch kits to about 425 schools. - - - Please consider forwarding info on this exciting program to schools and youth groups in your area that may wish to follow the launch of Atlantis space shuttle on Monday, Nov. 16 (or shortly thereafter in case of delays) and transfer to and progress at the International Space Station. To find the dates/times to see the ISS, access: http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/skywatch.cgi?country=United+States and click on your state and then city. Keep looking up... Ina Warren. Brevard, NC Subject: recent Conway, SC leps From: Gary Phillips <carolinensis AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:22:56 -0800 (PST) hi y'all, not much in the way of scaley-wingeds lately 'round the confines, but the last week or so saw: Cloudless Sulphur Sleepy Orange (NO Orange Sulphur in the yard this year, that sux) Carolina Satyr Long-tailed Skipper Silver-spotted Skipper and a few cool moths: Cymatophora approximaria (no common name) Lunate Zale Black-dotted Ruddy Porcelain Gray Somber Carpet and a few of those "now what's this here thing" to be ciphered out... fwiw, i've enjoyed reading the postings (and references) regarding b'fly vision/pheromones, etc. based on my own observations, i'm inclined to think flower color is sure important to some species, e.g. Cloudless Sulphur and Sleepy Orange. they zero in on red to orange blooms of several different plant species, rarely visiting blue/purple, yellow or white blooms, even of plants in the same genus as some of the red/orange species. woof, woof Mr. Newton... oh yeah, and there was this Whirlabout i photographed one night while mothing on the deck... Gary Phillips Conway, SC "A dog might as well speculate on the mind of Newton." - Darwin Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) From: David Garfield <dag23 AT duke.edu> Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:43:22 -0500 Hi all, Both vision and scent are important for butterflies, and both have been extensively studied. One of my favorite (well written, well conducted) studies is by Bernard and Remington in 1991. A great study with great references to earlier works. You can find that paper here (http://www.pnas.org/content/88/7/2783.full.pdf ). It *should* be open access, but if you are having trouble accessing the link, please shoot me an email. Best wishes, David Garfield Biology Department Duke University On Nov 11, 2009, at 8:36 AM, Alex Grkovich wrote: > Bob, > > I've read that Leps DO in fact use sight (as well as scent) to > locate nectaring plants...But they definitely do use scent...How > else would they, for example, come to bait traps from relatively far > away??? > > Alex > > --- On Wed, 11/11/09, Robert Grosek wrote: > > From: Robert Grosek > Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From > Science Daily) > To: "Alex Grkovich" , "Carolina BF > ListServ" > Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 8:30 AM > > Hi Alex - > > <<...but they are also using sight as well...>> > > This is probably a moot point but I'll throw it out. Even if the > butterflies are within sight of one another, they may still be > choosing their mates on scent and not vision. It appears that the > lepidopterists who set up this paradigm did not rule out olfactory > influences. If the scientists found a way to mask the butterflies' > pheronomes and afterwards the butterflies consistently chose their > mates by color, then we would know for sure how important the sight > component is. > > I offer this because I suspect that butterflies find their nectaring > (and egg laying) sites by scent when they are still a long distance > from the plant. As they fly closer to the plant, is there any need > for the butterfly to switch modalities to vision? > > - Bob > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Alex Grkovich > To: Robert Grosek ; Carolina BF ListServ > Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 12:35 PM > Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From > Science Daily) > > Robert... > > They are (using scent) for sure...but they are also using sight as > well...For instance, the male Tiger Swallowtail prefers yellow > females to black females...which is an indication that sight also > plays into the selection process... > > Alex > > From: Robert Grosek > To: Carolina BF ListServ > Sent: Tue, November 10, 2009 12:07:16 PM > Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From > Science Daily) > > I found Jule's article thought provoking: > > http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm > > From what I read, butterflies appear to have a stronger sense of > smell that that of vision. One resource stated that a butterfly > cannot see beyond just a few feet (although most photographers would > disagree!) I wonder if the same genetic variation that produced > different wing colors on the butterflies mentioned in this article > also produced different pheronomes? That is, wouldn't it be likely > that the butterflies are using scent rather than sight to find a mate? > > The Related Articles in the center column of the above article are > also enjoyable. > > Bob Grosek > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Jules Fraytet > To: carolinaleps > Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 7:30 AM > Subject: How one butterfly species may become two species( From > Science Daily) > > http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm > > > Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) From: Alex Grkovich <agrkovich2003 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:36:08 -0800 (PST) Bob,   I've read that Leps DO in fact use sight (as well as scent) to locate nectaring plants...But they definitely do use scent...How else would they, for example, come to bait traps from relatively far away???   Alex --- On Wed, 11/11/09, Robert Grosek wrote: From: Robert Grosek Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) To: "Alex Grkovich" , "Carolina BF ListServ" Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 8:30 AM #yiv162689245 DIV { MARGIN:0px;} Hi Alex -   <<...but they are also using sight as well...>>   This is probably a moot point but I'll throw it out.  Even if the butterflies are within sight of one another, they may still be choosing their mates on scent and not vision. It appears that the lepidopterists who set up this paradigm did not rule out olfactory influences. If the scientists found a way to mask the butterflies' pheronomes and afterwards the butterflies consistently chose their mates by color, then we would know for sure how important the sight component is.   I offer this because I suspect that butterflies find their nectaring (and egg laying) sites by scent when they are still a long distance from the plant.  As they fly closer to the plant, is there any need for the butterfly to switch modalities to vision?   - Bob        ----- Original Message ----- From: Alex Grkovich To: Robert Grosek ; Carolina BF ListServ Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 12:35 PM Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) Robert...   They are (using scent) for sure...but they are also using sight as well...For instance, the male Tiger Swallowtail prefers yellow females to black females...which is an indication that sight also plays into the selection process...   Alex From: Robert Grosek To: Carolina BF ListServ Sent: Tue, November 10, 2009 12:07:16 PM Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) I found Jule's article thought provoking:   http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm   From what I read, butterflies appear to have a stronger sense of smell that that of vision. One resource stated that a butterfly cannot see beyond just a few feet (although most photographers would disagree!)   I wonder if the same genetic variation that produced different wing colors on the butterflies mentioned in this article also produced different pheronomes? That is, wouldn't it be likely that the butterflies are using scent rather than sight to find a mate?   The Related Articles in the center column of the above article are also enjoyable.   Bob Grosek ----- Original Message ----- From: Jules Fraytet To: carolinaleps Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 7:30 AM Subject: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) From: "Robert Grosek" <bluewing AT stny.rr.com> Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:30:19 -0500 Hi Alex - <<...but they are also using sight as well...>> This is probably a moot point but I'll throw it out. Even if the butterflies are within sight of one another, they may still be choosing their mates on scent and not vision. It appears that the lepidopterists who set up this paradigm did not rule out olfactory influences. If the scientists found a way to mask the butterflies' pheronomes and afterwards the butterflies consistently chose their mates by color, then we would know for sure how important the sight component is. I offer this because I suspect that butterflies find their nectaring (and egg laying) sites by scent when they are still a long distance from the plant. As they fly closer to the plant, is there any need for the butterfly to switch modalities to vision? - Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: Alex Grkovich To: Robert Grosek ; Carolina BF ListServ Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 12:35 PM Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) Robert... They are (using scent) for sure...but they are also using sight as well...For instance, the male Tiger Swallowtail prefers yellow females to black females...which is an indication that sight also plays into the selection process... Alex ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Robert Grosek To: Carolina BF ListServ Sent: Tue, November 10, 2009 12:07:16 PM Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) I found Jule's article thought provoking: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm From what I read, butterflies appear to have a stronger sense of smell that that of vision. One resource stated that a butterfly cannot see beyond just a few feet (although most photographers would disagree!) I wonder if the same genetic variation that produced different wing colors on the butterflies mentioned in this article also produced different pheronomes? That is, wouldn't it be likely that the butterflies are using scent rather than sight to find a mate? The Related Articles in the center column of the above article are also enjoyable. Bob Grosek ----- Original Message ----- From: Jules Fraytet To: carolinaleps Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 7:30 AM Subject: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm Subject: Wake Co. Butterflies From: "Richard Stickney" <Richard.Stickney AT ncmls.org> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:49:23 -0500 Hi all, I stopped by a couple of places in Raleigh on Sunday: JC Raulston Arboretum: Orange Sulphur 3 Cabbage White 1 Painted Lady 5 American Lady 4 Snout 2 Buckeye 1 Fiery Skipper over 20 Ocola Skipper 1 Checkered Skipper 8 Yates Mill Pond Park (all in open field adjacent to actual park): Orange Sulphur 3 Buckeye 1 On the Museum grounds last week, we were still seeing some Sachems, Fiery Skippers (quite common still), Clouded Skippers, a couple of Cloudless Sulphurs, and an American Lady. Richard Stickney NC Museum of Life and Science Subject: Listowner message (was Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily)) From: jspippen <jspippen AT duke.edu> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:03:20 -0500 (EST) Butterfliers, Just a reminder that CarolinaLeps "serves as a forum for butterfly enthusiasts or "butterfliers" to discuss all aspects of butterfly life in the Carolinas, including butterfly finding, butterfly identification, trip reports, butterfly counts, butterfly behavior, backyard butterflying, butterfly gardening, butterfly photography, and butterfly club information. Although I expect most discussion on this list to be about butterflies, moth discussion is welcome also, hence the name "CarolinaLeps" -- leps being short for Lepidoptera, the scientific name for butterflies and moths as a taxonomic group." While the current thread of butterfly speciation initially was butterfly related, that relation has now become tangential, and there are more appropriate forums elsewhere to continue this discussion. Please keep CarolinaLeps focused on discussing topics specifically related to butterflies and moths in the Carolinas. Cheers, Jeff, Carolinaleps owner ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Jeffrey S. Pippen Nicholas School of the Environment Duke University, Durham, NC 27708 http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/nature.htm ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) From: Alex Netherton <danetherton AT charter.net> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:53:41 -0500 Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) From: Alex Grkovich <agrkovich2003 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:35:35 -0800 (PST) Robert... They are (using scent) for sure...but they are also using sight as well...For instance, the male Tiger Swallowtail prefers yellow females to black females...which is an indication that sight also plays into the selection process... Alex ________________________________ From: Robert Grosek To: Carolina BF ListServ Sent: Tue, November 10, 2009 12:07:16 PM Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) I found Jule's article thought provoking:   http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm   From what I read, butterflies appear to have a stronger sense of smell that that of vision. One resource stated that a butterfly cannot see beyond just a few feet (although most photographers would disagree!)   I wonder if the same genetic variation that produced different wing colors on the butterflies mentioned in this article also produced different pheronomes? That is, wouldn't it be likely that the butterflies are using scent rather than sight to find a mate?   The Related Articles in the center column of the above article are also enjoyable. Bob Grosek ----- Original Message ----- >From: Jules Fraytet >To: carolinaleps >Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 7:30 AM >Subject: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) > >http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) From: "Robert Grosek" <bluewing AT stny.rr.com> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:07:16 -0500 I found Jule's article thought provoking: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm From what I read, butterflies appear to have a stronger sense of smell that that of vision. One resource stated that a butterfly cannot see beyond just a few feet (although most photographers would disagree!) I wonder if the same genetic variation that produced different wing colors on the butterflies mentioned in this article also produced different pheronomes? That is, wouldn't it be likely that the butterflies are using scent rather than sight to find a mate? The Related Articles in the center column of the above article are also enjoyable. Bob Grosek ----- Original Message ----- From: Jules Fraytet To: carolinaleps Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 7:30 AM Subject: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) From: Neil Jones <neil AT nwjones.demon.co.uk> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:45:14 +0000 Alex Netherton wrote: > > > Creationism is hidebound religious superstition. Sorry to those who > disagree, but keep your beliefs out of my face, and as long as I pay > taxes, out of my schools. I will return the favor by not asking that > you teach Evolution, even though you receive non-profit tax breaks! > > Note: Evolution is NOT a religious belief, but is a scientific concept > (no longer really a "theory", Mr Reagan, Bush, etc) supported by years > of study and established fact. It has never been a replacement for any > religious or spiritual belief. Creation "Science" is simply an oxymoron. > Alex Netherton > Asheville, NC > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carolinamountainbirding/ > http://blueridgediscovery.blogspot.com I could not agree more Alex.. It is important, if we are to properly study butterflies, that we properly understand biology and evolution is one of its central tenets. The "evolution is only a theory" concept is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the word "theory" . A theory can mean an unproven notion or idea but a scientific theory uses the second definition of the word where it means a system by which we describe the working of something.Examples are The Theory of Gravity, Number Theory, and The Heliocentric Theory of the Solar System. These are all sufficiently wwell established, as is evolution for us to regard them as FACTS. Creation "science" and its functionally identical derivative the equally oxymoronic "Intelligent" Design are completely disproved. I would content that not a single proper scientist believes in them. The massive twenty volume Oxford English Dictionary which the accepted definitive guide to the English language describes a scientist as " a person using scientific methods". Since neither of these concepts follows scientific methods it follows that their adherents are not scientists by definition, even though a rare minority may have passed some exams in the subject. There are some excellent books on the subject, such as "Why Evolution Is True" by Jerry A Coyne, who is a professor at the University of Chicago. I read it on the train returning from a butterfly meeting in London on Saturday ( A three hour journey each way..) and I have also seen recommendations for "Finding Darwin's God" by Prof Kenneth Miller of the Ivy League Brown University. (Miller is a devout Roman Catholic.) Another good recent book is Oxford Professor Richard Dawkins's "The Greatest Show On Earth- The Evidence For Evolution".I finished reading it on the journey to London. The beginning was recently published by the Times and as I am a bit of a scholar of languages, including Latin, it struck a chord with me. I include it below. As he says " Evolution is a fact, and [my] book will demonstrate it. No reputable scientist disputes it, and no unbiased reader will close the book doubting it." Neil Jones neil AT nwjones.demon.co.uk www.butterflyguy.com Imagine that you are a teacher of Roman history and the Latin language, anxious to impart your enthusiasm for the ancient world --- for the elegiacs of Ovid and the odes of Horace, the sinewy economy of Latin grammar as exhibited in the oratory of Cicero, the strategic niceties of the Punic Wars, the generalship of Julius Caesar and the voluptuous excesses of the later emperors. That's a big undertaking and it takes time, concentration, dedication. Yet you find your precious time continually preyed upon, and your class's attention distracted, by a baying pack of ignoramuses (as a Latin scholar you would know better than to say /ignorami/) who, with strong political and especially financial support, scurry about tirelessly attempting to persuade your unfortunate pupils that the Romans never existed. There never was a Roman Empire. The entire world came into existence only just beyond living memory. Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, Romansh: all these languages and their constituent dialects sprang spontaneously and separately into being, and owe nothing to any predecessor such as Latin. Instead of devoting your full attention to the noble vocation of classical scholar and teacher, you are forced to divert your time and energy to a rearguard defence of the proposition that the Romans existed at all: a defence against an exhibition of ignorant prejudice that would make you weep if you weren't too busy fighting it. If my fantasy of the Latin teacher seems too wayward, here's a more realistic example. Imagine you are a teacher of more recent history, and your lessons on 20th-century Europe are boycotted, heckled or otherwise disrupted by well-organised, well-financed and politically muscular groups of Holocaust-deniers. Unlike my hypothetical Rome-deniers, Holocaust deniers really exist. They are vocal, superficially plausible and adept at seeming learned. They are supported by the president of at least one currently powerful state, and they include at least one bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Imagine that, as a teacher of European history, you are continually faced with belligerent demands to "teach the controversy", and to give "equal time" to the "alternative theory" that the Holocaust never happened but was invented by a bunch of Zionist fabricators. Fashionably relativist intellectuals chime in to insist that there is no absolute truth: whether the Holocaust happened is a matter of personal belief; all points of view are equally valid and should be equally "respected". The plight of many science teachers today is not less dire. When they attempt to expound the central and guiding principle of biology; when they honestly place the living world in its historical context --- which means evolution; when they explore and explain the very nature of life itself, they are harried and stymied, hassled and bullied, even threatened with loss of their jobs. At the very least their time is wasted at every turn. They are likely to receive menacing letters from parents and have to endure the sarcastic smirks and close-folded arms of brainwashed children. They are supplied with state-approved textbooks that have had the word "evolution" systematically expunged, or bowdlerized into "change over time". Once, we were tempted to laugh this kind of thing off as a peculiarly American phenomenon. Teachers in Britain and Europe now face the same problems, partly because of American influence, but more significantly because of the growing Islamic presence in the classroom --- abetted by the official commitment to "multiculturalism" and the terror of being thought racist. It is frequently, and rightly, said that senior clergy and theologians have no problem with evolution and, in many cases, actively support scientists in this respect. This is often true, as I know from the agreeable experience of collaborating with the Bishop of Oxford, now Lord Harries, on two separate occasions. In 2004 we wrote a joint article in /The Sunday Times/ whose concluding words were: "Nowadays there is nothing to debate. Evolution is a fact and, from a Christian perspective, one of the greatest of God's works." The last sentence was written by Richard Harries, but we agreed about all the rest of our article. Two years previously, Bishop Harries and I had organised a joint letter to the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. [In the letter, eminent scientists and churchmen, including seven bishops, expressed concern over the teaching of evolution and their alarm at it being posed as a "faith position"at the Emmanuel City Technology College in Gateshead.] Bishop Harries and I organised this letter in a hurry. As far as I remember, the signatories to the letter constituted 100 per cent of those we approached. There was no disagreement either from scientists or from bishops. The Archbishop of Canterbury has no problem with evolution, nor does the Pope (give or take the odd wobble over the precise palaeontological juncture when the human soul was injected), nor do educated priests and professors of theology. /The Greatest Show on Earth/ is a book about the positive evidence that evolution is a fact. It is not intended as an antireligious book. I've done that, it's another T-shirt, this is not the place to wear it again. Bishops and theologians who have attended to the evidence for evolution have given up the struggle against it. Some may do so reluctantly, some, like Richard Harries, enthusiastically, but all except the woefully uninformed are forced to accept the fact of evolution. They may think God had a hand in starting the process off, and perhaps didn't stay his hand in guiding its future progress. They probably think God cranked the Universe up in the first place, and solemnised its birth with a harmonious set of laws and physical constants calculated to fulfil some inscrutable purpose in which we were eventually to play a role. But, grudgingly in some cases, happily in others, thoughtful and rational churchmen and women accept the evidence for evolution. What we must not do is complacently assume that, because bishops and educated clergy accept evolution, so do their congregations. Alas there is ample evidence to the contrary from opinion polls. More than 40 per cent of Americans deny that humans evolved from other animals, and think that we --- and by implication all of life --- were created by God within the last 10,000 years. The figure is not quite so high in Britain, but it is still worryingly large. And it should be as worrying to the churches as it is to scientists. This book is necessary. I shall be using the name "historydeniers" for those people who deny evolution: who believe the world's age is measured in thousands of years rather than thousands of millions of years, and who believe humans walked with dinosaurs. To repeat, they constitute more than 40 per cent of the American population. The equivalent figure is higher in some countries, lower in others, but 40 per cent is a good average and I shall from time to time refer to the history-deniers as the "40percenters". To return to the enlightened bishops and theologians, it would be nice if they'd put a bit more effort into combating the anti-scientific nonsense that they deplore. All too many preachers, while agreeing that evolution is true and Adam and Eve never existed, will then blithely go into the pulpit and make some moral or theological point about Adam and Eve in their sermons without once mentioning that, of course, Adam and Eve never actually existed! If challenged, they will protest that they intended a purely "symbolic" meaning, perhaps something to do with "original sin", or the virtues of innocence. They may add witheringly that, obviously, nobody would be so foolish as to take their words literally. But do their congregations know that? How is the person in the pew, or on the prayer-mat, supposed to know which bits of scripture to take literally, which symbolically? Is it really so easy for an uneducated churchgoer to guess? In all too many cases the answer is clearly no, and anybody could be forgiven for feeling confused. Think about it, Bishop. Be careful, Vicar. You are playing with dynamite, fooling around with a misunderstanding that's waiting to happen --- one might even say almost bound to happen if not forestalled. Shouldn't you take greater care, when speaking in public, to let your yea be yea and your nay be nay? Lest ye fall into condemnation, shouldn't you be going out of your way to counter that already extremely widespread popular misunderstanding and lend active and enthusiastic support to scientists and science teachers? The history-deniers themselves are among those who I am trying to reach. But, perhaps more importantly, I aspire to arm those who are not history-deniers but know some --- perhaps members of their own family or church --- and find themselves inadequately prepared to argue the case. Evolution is a fact. Beyond reasonable doubt, beyond serious doubt, beyond sane, informed, intelligent doubt, beyond doubt evolution is a fact. The evidence for evolution is at least as strong as the evidence for the Holocaust, even allowing for eye witnesses to the Holocaust. It is the plain truth that we are cousins of chimpanzees, somewhat more distant cousins of monkeys, more distant cousins still of aardvarks and manatees, yet more distant cousins of bananas and turnips . . . continue the list as long as desired. That didn't have to be true. It is not self-evidently, tautologically, obviously true, and there was a time when most people, even educated people, thought it wasn't. It didn't have to be true, but it is. We know this because a rising flood of evidence supports it. Evolution is a fact, and [my] book will demonstrate it. No reputable scientist disputes it, and no unbiased reader will close the book doubting it. Why, then, do we speak of "Darwin's /theory/ of evolution", thereby, it seems, giving spurious comfort to those of a creationist persuasion --- the history-deniers, the 40-percenters --- who think the word "theory" is a concession, handing them some kind of gift or victory? Evolution is a theory in the same sense as the heliocentric theory. In neither case should the word "only" be used, as in "only a theory". As for the claim that evolution has never been "proved", proof is a notion that scientists have been intimidated into mistrusting. Influential philosophers tell us we can't prove anything in science. Mathematicians can prove things --- according to one strict view, they are the only people who can --- but the best that scientists can do is fail to disprove things while pointing to how hard they tried. Even the undisputed theory that the Moon is smaller than the Sun cannot, to the satisfaction of a certain kind of philosopher, be proved in the way that, for example, the Pythagorean Theorem can be proved. But massive accretions of evidence support it so strongly that to deny it the status of "fact" seems ridiculous to all but pedants. The same is true of evolution. Evolution is a fact in the same sense as it is a fact that Paris is in the northern hemisphere. Though logic-choppers rule the town, some theories are beyond sensible doubt, and we call them facts. The more energetically and thoroughly you try to disprove a theory, if it survives the assault, the more closely it approaches what common sense happily calls a fact. We are like detectives who come on the scene after a crime has been committed. The murderer's actions have vanished into the past. The detective has no hope of witnessing the actual crime with his own eyes. What the detective /does/ have is traces that remain, and there is a great deal to trust there. There are footprints, fingerprints (and nowadays DNA fingerprints too), bloodstains, letters, diaries. The world is the way the world should be if this and this history, but not that and that history, led up to the present. Evolution is an inescapable fact, and we should celebrate its astonishing power, simplicity and beauty. Evolution is within us, around us, between us, and its workings are embedded in the rocks of aeons past. Given that, in most cases, we don't live long enough to watch evolution happening before our eyes, we shall revisit the metaphor of the detective coming upon the scene of a crime after the event and making inferences. The aids to inference that lead scientists to the fact of evolution are far more numerous, more convincing, more incontrovertible, than any eyewitness reports that have ever been used, in any court of law, in any century, to establish guilt in any crime. Proof beyond reasonable doubt? /Reasonable/ doubt? That is the understatement of all time. Subject: Charleston Co. leps 11-09 From: p51mustnb AT aim.com Date: Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:46:13 -0500 Hey all, It was a warm but cloudy day today and with rain and cooler weather coming, I figured I'd hit the usual migrant spots on Patriot's Pt. and Folly Beach. I spent around a half hour in PP and about an hour and a half at the S. end of Folly. Patriot's Pt. (the field): Cloudless Sulphur - 10+ Little Yellow - 3 Orange Sulphur - 1 male Gulf Fritillary - 6+ Monarch - 4 Pearl Crescent - 2 Red Admiral - 2 Buckeye - 6+ Folly Beach: Cloudless Sulphur - 3 Little Yellow - 2 Gulf Fritillary - 10+ Monarch - 6+ Buckeye - 6+ CERAUNUS BLUE - 4 (a colony, all males) Ray Simpson Charleston, SC Subject: Pitt County, November 9 From: Salman Abdulali <abdulalis AT ecu.edu> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 17:48:57 -0500 A fresh silver-spotted skipper on lantana was today's surprise. The following were seen today (2009-11-09) on the ECU campus in Greenville. Cloudless Sulphur Sleepy Orange Monarch - 2 Painted Lady - 1, new late date for Pitt American Lady Silver-spotted Skipper - 1, first November record for Pitt, looked fresh Fiery Skipper Ocola Skipper - 1, new late date for Pitt Salman Abdulali Greenville, NC Subject: Butterfly Report, Sunday, 11/8/09 From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:41:40 -0500 On Sunday, 11/8/09, Don Allemann, Lynn Burnette, Helen DeCasper, Julien McCarthy, and I, all members of the Triad Chapter ­ Carolina Butterfly Society, participated in a field trip to find late season butterflies in Greensboro, Guilford County, NC. It was a beautiful day, sunny, calm, and about 76 degrees. We spent a total of about 2.5 hours in the Greensboro Arboretum (A) and the Legacy Demonstration Garden (L). We didn¹t expect to find much because of the late date and rapidly dwindling supply of nectar sources. We were pleased to spot 23 individuals of 8 species. We also found 1 Ailanthus Webworm Moth at the Greensboro Arboretum. Here is the list: Species A L Total Cabbage White 1 1 2 Cloudless Sulphur 2 1 3 Painted Lady 0 2 2 Monarch 1 1 2 (one worn male, one fly-by) Com. Checkered-Skipper 3 1 4 Clouded Skipper 0 3 3 Fiery Skipper 5 1 6 Sachem 1 0 1 Total 13 10 23 I have posted some photos of some of the butterflies and a few other cool critters we saw on my flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisburnette/sets/72157622764645830/ -- Dennis Burnette Greensboro, NC Guilford County deburnette AT triad.rr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisburnette/ Subject: Zebra Heliconian - Hanahan, SC From: Nathan Dias <diasn AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 11:22:30 -0800 (PST) Slightly belated post: the other day while I was dropping off a gift (Red Mulberry tree) at Jack and Pat Eckstine's, we saw a nice Zebra Heliconian nectaring at some of their wildflowers.  The sighting occurred along the eastern edge of the Goose Creek Reservoir, in the Eckstine's wonderfully restored native habitat. We also saw a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar on one of their passion vines. This is the latest Zebra Heliconian I can recall seeing that far inland in SC... Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC Subject: Outer Banks Butterflies at Wings Over Water 2009 From: jspippen <jspippen AT duke.edu> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 10:11:08 -0500 (EST) Butterfliers, While leading field trips for the annual Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival at the NC Outer Banks last weekend, I noted a few butterflies enjoying the sunny weather. Always nice to see leps in November in NC! Orange Sulphur, 2 Cloudless Sulphur, 3 Sleepy Orange, 1 Red Admiral, 1 Common Buckeye, 4 Monarch, 5 Clouded Skipper, 1 Also, in the ode department, I saw a flyby saddlebags of some flavor and an Eastern Pondhawk. Cheers, Jeff ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Jeffrey S. Pippen Nicholas School of the Environment Rm A-241 LSRC Bldg, Box 90328 Duke University, Durham, NC 27708 PH: (919) 660-7278 http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/nature.htm ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Subject: BADLINK Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) From: David Garfield <dag23 AT duke.edu> Date: Sun, 8 Nov 2009 19:25:15 -0500 The tiny URL link for the recommended experiment should have been: http://tiny.cc/SZp8X Sorry about that. --DG On Nov 8, 2009, at 6:59 PM, David Garfield wrote: > You are right in your reading of Darwin. There are times that he > clearly supports Lamarck's hypotheses. But in the end, he concludes > that it is probably a minor contribution relative to his proposed > mechanism of Natural Selection. Darwin was brilliant, but, in the > end, he was a man of his time, working with the data and ideas he > had access to. > > As for "No one seems to be pursuing the possibility that some > species may be able to alter the mutation rate (and maybe > direction?) when faced with natural selection"..this is not the > case. The idea has been quite rigorously investigated (you can read > about the classic study here: http://tiny.cc/mnoQa). There is > evidence that some species, notably among the bacteria, can alter > mutation rates and shuffle around the order of genes in response to > stressful environments. The effect is an increase in variation that > may help individuals out of a tough spot. However, I'm unaware of > any evidence that this response produces directional change. > > If you are interested in the topic, might I suggest reading up on > the work of James Baldwin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ > Baldwin_effect) and the literature on the evolution of phenotypic > plasticity from such authors as Pigliucci and NC State's own Trudy > MacKay. > > Best wishes, > > David Garfield > Biology Department > Duke University > > On Nov 8, 2009, at 6:21 PM, Alex Netherton wrote: > >> Well, that is the classic description of Lamarck, but honestly, >> look at some of Darwin's writing, and it seems to be the same. I >> feel that some species respond to selection pressure by mutating. >> Do some mutate in a certain direction? Darwinism (the Central >> Dogma) says no. No one seems to be pursuing the possibility that >> some species may be able to alter the mutation rate (and maybe >> direction?) when faced with natural selection > Subject: James Is, SC leps 8 Nov.. 2009 From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 8 Nov 2009 18:59:21 -0500 Hi All, Donna and I spent from 1-3PM walking around our Eastwood neighborhood (James Is.) including Sunrise Park on Charleston Harbor. The weather was great-71 degrees F, clear and calm. The main nectar plant was Lantana. We had the following: Cloudless Sulfur-12 Little Yellow-3 American Snout-1 Gulf Fritillary-18 Painted Lady-1 Common Buckeye-5 Monarch-10+ Long-tailed Skipper-3 Fiery Skipper-8 Ocola Skipper-1 Cheers, Dennis -- Dennis M. Forsythe PhD Charleston, SC 29412 843.795.3996-home 843.953.7264-fax 843.708.1605-cell dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com Subject: James Is, SC leps 8 Nov.. 2009 From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 8 Nov 2009 18:59:51 -0500 Hi All, Donna and I spent from 1-3PM walking around our Eastwood neighborhood (James Is.) including Sunrise Park on Charleston Harbor. The weather was great-71 degrees F, clear and calm. The main nectar plant was Lantana. We had the following: Cloudless Sulfur-12 Little Yellow-3 American Snout-1 Gulf Fritillary-18 Painted Lady-1 Common Buckeye-5 Monarch-10+ Long-tailed Skipper-3 Fiery Skipper-8 Ocola Skipper-1 Cheers, Dennis -- Dennis M. Forsythe PhD Charleston, SC 29412 843.795.3996-home 843.953.7264-fax 843.708.1605-cell dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) From: David Garfield <dag23 AT duke.edu> Date: Sun, 8 Nov 2009 18:59:47 -0500 You are right in your reading of Darwin. There are times that he clearly supports Lamarck's hypotheses. But in the end, he concludes that it is probably a minor contribution relative to his proposed mechanism of Natural Selection. Darwin was brilliant, but, in the end, he was a man of his time, working with the data and ideas he had access to. As for "No one seems to be pursuing the possibility that some species may be able to alter the mutation rate (and maybe direction?) when faced with natural selection"..this is not the case. The idea has been quite rigorously investigated (you can read about the classic study here: http://tiny.cc/mnoQa). There is evidence that some species, notably among the bacteria, can alter mutation rates and shuffle around the order of genes in response to stressful environments. The effect is an increase in variation that may help individuals out of a tough spot. However, I'm unaware of any evidence that this response produces directional change. If you are interested in the topic, might I suggest reading up on the work of James Baldwin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_effect) and the literature on the evolution of phenotypic plasticity from such authors as Pigliucci and NC State's own Trudy MacKay. Best wishes, David Garfield Biology Department Duke University On Nov 8, 2009, at 6:21 PM, Alex Netherton wrote: > Well, that is the classic description of Lamarck, but honestly, look > at some of Darwin's writing, and it seems to be the same. I feel > that some species respond to selection pressure by mutating. Do some > mutate in a certain direction? Darwinism (the Central Dogma) says > no. No one seems to be pursuing the possibility that some species > may be able to alter the mutation rate (and maybe direction?) when > faced with natural selection Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) From: Alex Netherton <danetherton AT charter.net> Date: Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:21:36 -0500 Subject: Re: Success story in UK about re-introduction of the British Blue butterfly From: Alex Netherton <danetherton AT charter.net> Date: Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:15:11 -0500 Are there any US butterflies that use this life cycle? I know the Harvester feeds on aphids. Alex Netherton Asheville, NC http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carolinamountainbirding/ http://blueridgediscovery.blogspot.com Jules Fraytet wrote: > http://www.nerc.ac.uk/publications/planetearth/2009/autumn/aut09-wing.pdf > Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) From: Neil Jones <neil AT nwjones.demon.co.uk> Date: Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:03:41 +0000 Alex Netherton wrote: > Somehow, it seems that Lamarck may not have been completely wrong... > > Alex Netherton > Asheville, NC > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carolinamountainbirding/ > http://blueridgediscovery.blogspot.com No this is not correct. Lamarkian evolution proposed the inheritance of ACQUIRED characteristics. Like a stretching giraffe passing on a longer neck. This example is not like this. It is however a blow to the creationist rubbish that is so prevalent in certain countries Neil Jones neil AT nwjones.demon.co.uk www.butterflyguy.com Subject: Re: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) From: Alex Netherton <danetherton AT charter.net> Date: Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:54:19 -0500 Somehow, it seems that Lamarck may not have been completely wrong... Alex Netherton Asheville, NC http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carolinamountainbirding/ http://blueridgediscovery.blogspot.com Jules Fraytet wrote: > http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm > Subject: Pitt County, November 8 From: Salman Abdulali <abdulalis AT ecu.edu> Date: Sun, 8 Nov 2009 16:03:04 -0500 Butterflies seen today, 2009-11-08, at River Park North and Pitt County Arboretum, under perfect weather conditions. Cloudless Sulphur - abundant Sleepy Orange Orange Sulphur - 1, River Park North Cabbage White - 1, River Park North, new late date for Pitt Monarch - 1, Pitt County Arboretum Variegated Fritillary Common Buckeye - abundant at Pitt County Arboretum Red Admiral - 1, Pitt County Arboretum American Lady - abundant at Pitt County Arboretum Pearl Crescent - 3, River Park North, new late date for Pitt Checkered-Skipper - several Fiery Skipper - abundant Ocola Skipper - 1, Pitt County Arboretum, new late date for Pitt Salman Abdulali Greenville, NC Subject: A few Wake/Caswell butterflies From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 17:43:29 -0500 Obviously, there aren't a lot of things flying in the Piedmont of NC now. Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh (Wake Co.) has mostly been "dug up", leaving only a few things in bloom. There was a light frost this morning, but that wasn't a big deal. I only saw Orange Sulphur, Monarch, Painted Lady (2), RED-BANDED HAIRSTREAK (pretty late!), Fiery Skipper, Sachem, and lots of Common Checkered-Skippers -- today (Nov. 7). A few days earlier -- Nov. 5, I saw an Eastern Comma and a Clouded Skipper, among a few other things, in Caswell County. Harry LeGrand NC Natural Heritage Program DENR Division of Natural Resources Planning and Conservation 1601 MSC Raleigh, NC 27699-1601 (919) 715-8697 (work) e-mail: harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov ----------------------------------------------------- Notice: E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and therefore may be disclosed to third parties. Subject: Success story in UK about re-introduction of the British Blue butterfly From: "Jules Fraytet" <jlfray AT ix.netcom.com> Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 17:09:10 -0500 http://www.nerc.ac.uk/publications/planetearth/2009/autumn/aut09-wing.pdf Subject: How one butterfly species may become two species( From Science Daily) From: "Jules Fraytet" <jlfray AT ix.netcom.com> Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 07:30:37 -0500 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143710.htm Subject: Butterfly Program - Butterflies as Pollinators From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:51:55 -0500 The November meeting and program of the Triad Chapter ­ Carolina Butterfly Society, will be 7:00 pm, Wednesday, Nov. 11th. We have a great program coming up this month! The topic of the program is ³Butterflies and Other Pollinators² by Don Allemann. Don is a retired entomologist who worked for Syngenta, and is an active member of our chapter. All of us are aware that the honeybee that is so important for pollinating our food crops and flowers is in decline. Can native pollinators help save the day? Where do butterflies fit in? Come join us for a lively discussion. As always, folks from outside the Triad are welcome. Our group seems to like to eat! In recognition of that, we will meet for dinner at 5:45 before the meeting. We will be trying a new Mexican restaurant, Pancho Villa¹s, just off Stratford Rd. If you would like to join us, let me know and I¹ll send you directions to the restaurant. The November meeting will be at the Miller Park Community Recreation Center, 400 Leisure Lane, in Winston-Salem. The recreation center phone number is 727-2831. Directions: From Business I-40, take the Knollwood exit to go south. Cross Stratford Road and go to the traffic light at Queen Street. Turn left (east) and go one long block around the park to Westfield Avenue. Turn right (south) and go a short block to Leisure Lane. Turn right again and go one block to the intersection with Elizabeth Avenue. Miller Park Community Recreation Center is at 400 Leisure Lane on the right. Dennis -- Dennis Burnette Greensboro, NC Guilford County deburnette AT triad.rr.com Subject: Wake County From: "Ali Iyoob" <Aliiyoob AT nc.rr.com> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 20:12:23 -0500 Today at Falls Dam, I had some butterflies, first time in a while! Common Buckeye-3 Red Admiral-12 (new personal high count) Cloudless Sulfur-1 Clouded Skipper-1 Painted Lady-1 Ali Iyoob Subject: Pitt County, November 4 From: Salman Abdulali <abdulalis AT ecu.edu> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 17:13:04 -0500 Butterflies seen today, 2009-11-04, at the Pitt County Arboretum, and the ECU campus. Cloudless Sulphur Sleepy Orange Cabbage White, 2 on ECU campus, new late date for Pitt Monarch Variegated Fritillary Common Buckeye Red Admiral Painted Lady, Pitt County Arboretum, new late date for Pitt American Lady Clouded Skipper Fiery Skipper Ocola Skipper, both locations, new late date for Pitt Salman Abdulali Greenville, NC Subject: late Butterflies in central Forsyth Co. From: Lois Schneider <loissch AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 21:49:47 -0500 As it warmed up in our garden, I found a Cloudless Sulphur, a Sleepy Orange, and a Monarch. That spurred me to go to Archie Elledge Sewage Treatment Plant, also in Central Forsyth, where I saw a Question Mark, two Painted Ladies, a Monarch, a Cabbage white, a Pearl Crescent, a Buckeye, and one of the Sulphurs in about an hour along the treatment ponds.` Jim Notke and Gene Schepker at my house, Gene Schepker at Archie Elledge (roughly 1;00 - 2:30 PM) Subject: Early Nov. Butterflies & Moths From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:19:26 -0500 Don Allemann and I decided to take advantage of the sunny sky and 70 degree temperature to look for butterflies in Greensboro, Guilford County, NC, this afternoon, 11/3/09. We recruited Helen deCasper and Jim Eldrett to join us at the last minute, then coincidently ran into John and Margaret Barlow in the Greensboro Arboretum. The six of us spent about an hour in the arboretum and then went to the Legacy Demonstration Garden at the Guilford County Agriculture Extension Center where we spent another hour or so. In total we recorded 21 butterflies of 10 species, plus 8 day-flying moths of 2 species. Not bad for the beginning of November! Greensboro Arboretum = A Legacy Demonstration Garden = L Location: A L Total Butterflies: Cabbage White 0 2 2 Cloudless Sulphur 1 1 2 Sleepy Orange 1 0 1 American Lady 1 1 2 Painted Lady 1 0 1 Monarch 0 1 1 (fresh male) Common Checkered Skipper 0 2 2 Clouded Skipper 1 0 1 Fiery Skipper 8 0 8 Sachem 0 1 1 (worn female) Total butterflies: 13 8 21 (10 species) Day-flying moths: Yellow-collared Scape Moth 3 1 4 Ailanthus Webworm Moth 2 2 4 Total moths: 5 3 8 (2 species) Dennis -- Dennis Burnette Greensboro, NC Guilford County deburnette AT triad.rr.com Subject: Re: RFI Tagged Monarch From: Jason Love <jasonplove AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 13:41:37 -0800 (PST) Sounds like tag numbers from Monarch Watch . You might be able to check their site and see who originally tagged those Monarchs. Jason --- On Mon, 11/2/09, Dennis Forsythe wrote: > From: Dennis Forsythe > Subject: RFI Tagged Monarch > To: carolinaleps AT duke.edu, "Billy McCord" , "Jackie" > Date: Monday, November 2, 2009, 4:09 PM > Hi All, > > Billy McCord (  McCordB AT dnr.sc.gov > ) asked me to query the group about > 2 tagged Monarchs he recently recaptured.  If you have > information > about either of these please reply directly to Billy. > > a) On 18 Oct., he record a male Monarch (excellent wing > condition and > right forewing  length of 58 mm) with tag # > MEG672-nectaring on > Solidago sempervirens. > b) On 19 Oct. He recovered a female Monarch (mediocre > condition with > rt. forewing length of 55 mm) with tag # MEL452-nectaring > at S. > sempervirens. > Both Monarchs were caught on the SW part of Folly Beach, > Charleston Co., SC. > > Again any information would be appreciated. > > Cheers, > > Dennis > > > -- > Dennis M. Forsythe PhD > Charleston, SC 29412 > 843.795.3996-home > 843.953.7264-fax > 843.708.1605-cell > dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com > Subject: RFI Tagged Monarch From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 16:09:56 -0500 Hi All, Billy McCord ( McCordB AT dnr.sc.gov ) asked me to query the group about 2 tagged Monarchs he recently recaptured. If you have information about either of these please reply directly to Billy. a) On 18 Oct., he record a male Monarch (excellent wing condition and right forewing length of 58 mm) with tag # MEG672-nectaring on Solidago sempervirens. b) On 19 Oct. He recovered a female Monarch (mediocre condition with rt. forewing length of 55 mm) with tag # MEL452-nectaring at S. sempervirens. Both Monarchs were caught on the SW part of Folly Beach, Charleston Co., SC. Again any information would be appreciated. Cheers, Dennis -- Dennis M. Forsythe PhD Charleston, SC 29412 843.795.3996-home 843.953.7264-fax 843.708.1605-cell dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com Subject: Folly Beach, SC leps 10/31 From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 07:22:41 -0500 Hi All, Donna and I spent an hour mid-day at the N end of Folly Beach, yesterday, 31 Oct. 2009. The weather was sunny and warm. WE had the following: Cloudless Sulfur-10 Little Yellow-3 Gulf Fritilary-15+ Common Buckeye-8 Long-tailed Skipper-1 Fiery Skipper-2 very worn. Dennis -- Dennis M. Forsythe PhD Charleston, SC 29412 843.795.3996-home 843.953.7264-fax 843.708.1605-cell dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com Subject: monarchs From: "Loretta" <butterflies_bg AT triad.rr.com> Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:48:53 -0400 Today during 3 separate walks in the garden, a monarch was sighted each time. All were large, and looked very fresh. One was on a seedling lantana, the other two were nectaring on Mexican sunflowers along with 2-3 American ladies. There were also a couple sulphurs that seem to feed exclusively on the pineapple sage. They also hover around yellow leaved plants, which interestingly are just about the same color as the butterfly. Loretta Lutman, Asheboro, NC Subject: A Few Butterflies & Moths, Greensboro Arboretum From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:23:17 -0400 Yesterday, Thursday, 10/29/09, I spent some time in the Greensboro Arboretum (Guilford Co., NC) to see what butterflies were still around. It was about 70 degrees and sunny. The number of nectar plants is greatly reduced from earlier in October, but I found four butterfly species and two colorful day-flying moths. Almost all the leps were nectaring on what appeared to be a pink daisy-like chrysanthemum. The Fiery Skippers also were using an adjacent lantana. Cabbage White 3 Sleepy Orange 3 Monarch 1 - male in good shape, nectaring exclusively on the remaining butterfly bush flowers. Fiery Skipper 3 Ailanthus Webworm Moth (Atteva punctella) 2 - pretty little orange and white guys. Yellow-Collared Scape Moth (Cisseps fulvicollis) 3 - wasp mimic with dark gray/black wings, dark blue body, and an orange "collar" just behind the head. I invite you to visit my new Flickr site to see these cool moths. I've also posted other autumn scenes. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisburnette/ Dennis -- Dennis Burnette Greensboro, NC Guilford County deburnette AT triad.rr.com Subject: Folly Beach, SC leps 10/29 From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:00:02 -0400 Hi All, Donna and I spent from 1-3PM today in 70 degree weather and clear skys at the S end of Folly Beach, Sc. We had the following: Palamedes Swallowtail-1 Cloudless Sulfur-10+ Little Yellow-10+ Sleepy Orange-1 Gulf Fritillary-50+ Common Buckeye-15 Monarch-10 Long-tailed Skipper-7 Tropical Checkered-Skipper-5 Fiery Skipper-10 Whirlabout-1 Eufala Skipper-1 Ocola Skipper-3 Cheers, Dennis -- Dennis M. Forsythe PhD Charleston, SC 29412 843.795.3996-home 843.953.7264-fax 843.708.1605-cell dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com Subject: Pitt County, October 28 From: Salman Abdulali <abdulalis AT ecu.edu> Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:08:39 -0400 Butterflies seen today (2009-10-28) at the Pitt County Arboretum: Cloudless Sulphur Orange Sulphur Sleepy Orange Cabbage White Monarch Common Buckeye American Lady Painted Lady Checkered-Skipper Southern Skipperling Clouded Skipper Fiery Skipper Ocola Skipper Salman Abdulali Greenville, NC Subject: American Snout in Morehead City From: "John Fussell" <jfuss AT clis.com> Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:35:00 -0400 Just saw an American Snout in my backyard, in Morehead City. A first for my yard. John Fussell Morehead City, NC jfuss AT clis.com Subject: Durham Co. Butterflies From: "Richard Stickney" <Richard.Stickney AT ncmls.org> Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:07:00 -0400 Hi all, Yesterday (10/26) I spent an hour or so out at Flat River Impoundment. There were a surprising lot of butterflies considering it was mostly cloudy and mid-60's: Sleepy Orange 11 some very deep orange on top and almost rust-colored underneath Cloudless Sulphur 1 Red Admiral at least 1 3 or 4 Anglewings flushed and flew off fast, couldn't tell species Buckeye 4 Viceroy 1 quite worn Pearl Crescent 9 American Lady 1 Checkered Skipper 5 Clouded Skipper 5 Fiery Skipper 1 Also several Virginia Ctenucha Moths and a young Eastern Ribbon Snake - my first ever! Richard Stickney NC Museum of Life and Science Subject: Folly Beach, SC leps 10/25 From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:43:36 -0400 Hi All, Donna and I spent an hour mid-day today looking for butterflies on Folly Beach, Charleston Co., SC with great weather. We had: Cloudless Sulfur-10+ Little Yellow-2 Cassius Blue-3 Gulf Fritillary-10+ Common Buckeye-1 Monarch-2 Long-tailed Skipper-10+ Cheers, Dennis -- Dennis M. Forsythe PhD Charleston, SC 29412 843.795.3996-home 843.953.7264-fax 843.708.1605-cell dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com Subject: Butterfly counts in 2009 From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:44:33 -0400 Folks: I just finished my editing/review of the NABA butterfly counts that were submitted in 2009 for NC and SC. As with 2008, there are 12 for NC and 3 for SC. A few in NC are different from 2008 to 2009; e.g., Davidson County and Pender County are new. Congaree, SC Croatan National Forest, NC Davidson County, NC Durham, NC Forsyth Co., NC Francis Marion National Forest, SC Hobcaw Barony, SC Lumber River State Park, NC Pender County, NC Sandhills Game Land, NC Southern Lake Norman, NC Southport, NC Surry Co., NC Transylvania Co., NC Wake Co., NC That isn't a whole lots of counts. Only one from the NC mountains was done, none for the SC Piedmont/Mts. were done, etc. Thankfully, some of you went on three or more counts. But, we need more people willing to step up and compile or start new counts. Jim Nottke and I each compiled three in NC, and Pat Sutton from New Jersey continues come down to SC to partake in and to compile two of the three SC counts. These counts will be published next spring in the NABA Butterfly Count report for 2009. Of course, most of the results have appeared on carolinaleps, a few days after the counts were taken. Harry LeGrand NC Natural Heritage Program DENR Division of Natural Resources Planning and Conservation 1601 MSC Raleigh, NC 27699-1601 (919) 715-8697 (work) e-mail: harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov ----------------------------------------------------- Notice: E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and therefore may be disclosed to third parties. Subject: Pitt County, October 24 From: Salman Abdulali <abdulalis AT ecu.edu> Date: Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:44:32 -0400 The NBNC database (16th approximation) contains only 91 records of 31 species for Pitt for the month of October. So it is no surprise that almost every day brings some new late dates. Today's sightings (2009-10-24) are from the Pitt County Arboretum. Cloudless Sulphur Cabbage White Gray Hairstreak Monarch Gulf Fritillary Variegated Fritillary Common Buckeye - seen after a gap of about 3 weeks American Lady Painted Lady Silver-spotted Skipper - new late date for Pitt Fiery Skipper Clouded Skipper Ocola Skipper Salman Abdulali Greenville, NC Subject: Darner and Sulphur From: "K&R" <krkit AT mindspring.com> Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:44:37 -0400 Today I spotted a Cloudless Sulphur at my house and a Shadow Darner at Wake Med Soccer Park, Cary. Kyle Kittelberger Raleigh, NC Subject: Yadkin Co., NC Butterflies From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:26:10 -0400 On Wednesday, 10/21/09, Lois Schneider, Gene Schepker, and I spent about two and a half hours between 2:00 and 4:30 pm in eastern Yadkin County, NC, near the Yadkin River looking for winter sparrows and butterflies. We did much better with the butterflies than with the sparrows! The temperature was about 76 degrees and the sky was mostly sunny. Cabbage White 3 Orange Sulphur 1 Cloudless Sulphur 1 Sleepy Orange 30 Variegated Fritillary 1 Pearl Crescent 37 Polygonia sp. 3 (almost certainly Question Marks) Mourning Cloak 1 Painted Lady 1 Common Buckeye 10 Monarch 1 Common Checkered-Skipper 3 Sachem 1 Wooly bear caterpillar (Isabella Tiger Moth) 12 live plus several dead on the road - lots of these guys wandering across the road and around the field edges. -- Dennis Burnette Greensboro, NC Guilford County deburnette AT triad.rr.com Subject: Pitt County, October 23 From: Salman Abdulali <abdulalis AT ecu.edu> Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:04:46 -0400 Butterflies seen today, 2009-10-23, at two locations in Pitt County: Boyd Lee Park (Winterville) and the ECU campus (Greenville). Cloudless Sulphur Sleepy Orange Cabbage White Gray Hairstreak - 1 in Winterville Monarch - 2, ECU campus Viceroy - 1 in Winterville Pearl Crescent - 1 in Winterville American Lady - 1 in Winterville Southern Pearly-eye - 1 in Winterville, first October record for Pitt Carolina Satyr - 1 in Winterville, new late date for Pitt Common Checkered Skipper - 1 at ECU Southern Skipperling - 1 in Winterville Clouded Skipper Fiery Skipper Salman Abdulali Greenville, NC Subject: Pitt County, October 22 From: Salman Abdulali <abdulalis AT ecu.edu> Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:18:41 -0400 Butterflies seen today (2009-10-22) at River Park North. The most abundant species were the Variegated Fritillary and Fiery Skipper. Sleepy Orange Cabbage White Red-banded Hairstreak - 1, new late date for Pitt Variegated Fritillary Pearl Crescent Common Checkered-Skipper Least Skipper Clouded Skipper Fiery Skipper Salman Abdulali Greenville, NC Subject: RE: Orange-barred Sulphur From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:21:01 -0400 As many of you are aware, who have the 16th Approximation of "Notes on the Butterflies of North Carolina" printed out, or have looked at the website - this is just the SECOND ever record of the species (Phoebis philea) for North Carolina. The first was a specimen taken in September 1937 from Grandfather Mountain! More pertinent is that there are several records, from 1999, from the Coastal Plain of South Carolina. Unlike with birds, stray butterflies aren't worth the effort to chase, unless there are several seen by the initial observer. But, this does point out one important thing, which is mostly lacking in NC - the near absence of lepsters living along the southern coast of the state, where a stray is most likely to appear. Derb lives in Orange County, but has relatives living in New Hanover County, so at least he gets down there a few times a year. If we had better coverage of Brunswick and New Hanover counties, I think we'd have one to several more butterfly species on the state list. I guess maybe I need to start hitting some golf balls along the southern coast. :) Harry Harry LeGrand, Vertebrate Zoologist North Carolina Natural Heritage Program 1601 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1601 Office: (919) 715-8697 harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov www.ncnhp.org E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties. Note my new e-mail address (above) From: Derb Carter [mailto:derbc AT selcnc.org] Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 6:44 PM To: carolinaleps AT duke.edu Subject: Orange-barred Sulphur This morning I was hitting golf balls at a driving range in Wilmington so as hopefully not to totally embarrass myself on an upcoming golf weekend with some college friends. I had a male orange-barred sulphur flying around the driving range and perching in some nearby shrubs. If I had my camera I would have had some shots but unfortunately I did not. My first for North Carolina. Derb Carter Chapel Hill Subject: Some Caswell Co., NC, butterflies From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:17:01 -0400 The emphasis at this time of year is on "some"! Despite perfect weather -- sunny and up to the mid-70s -- the pool of butterflies is getting smaller by the day. Nectar plants are few and far between -- mainly Aster pilosus. (Yes, it isn't "Aster" anymore.) Here's all that I could muster in 5 hours in Caswell Game Land today (Oct. 21): Orange Sulphur 1 Cloudless Sulphur 2 Sleepy Orange 5 E. Tailed-Blue 2 Pearl Crescent 5 Question Mark 15 Eastern Comma 12 American Lady 3 Red Admiral 4 Common Buckeye 3 Monarch 2 Clouded Skipper 2 that's it for the skipper list! NOTE: One red maple tree, in the morning sun, had a bit of a wound, with some sap dripping down the trunk. I saw 15-16 butterflies on the trunk, by scanning up and down about 25-30' worth of trunk!! About 3-4 Red Admirals, about 7-8 Question Marks, and 4-5 E. Commas. I have never seen more than about 5 butterflies on a single tree trunk before. Harry LeGrand NC Natural Heritage Program DENR Division of Natural Resources Planning and Conservation 1601 MSC Raleigh, NC 27699-1601 (919) 715-8697 (work) e-mail: harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov ----------------------------------------------------- Notice: E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and therefore may be disclosed to third parties. Subject: Orange-barred Sulphur From: Derb Carter <derbc AT selcnc.org> Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:43:54 -0400 This morning I was hitting golf balls at a driving range in Wilmington so as hopefully not to totally embarrass myself on an upcoming golf weekend with some college friends. I had a male orange-barred sulphur flying around the driving range and perching in some nearby shrubs. If I had my camera I would have had some shots but unfortunately I did not. My first for North Carolina. Derb Carter Chapel Hill Subject: Pitt County, October 21 From: Salman Abdulali <abdulalis AT ecu.edu> Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:58:38 -0400 Today, 2009-10-21, at the ECU campus and Pitt County Arboretum. Warm and sunny conditions. Cloudless Sulphur - 30 Summer Azure - 1 at ECU, first October record for Pitt Gray Hairstreak - 1 at Pitt County Arboretum Monarch - 5 American Lady - 2 Painted Lady - 2 at Pitt County Arboretum Silver-spotted Skipper - 1 at ECU, new late date for Pitt Common Checkered-Skipper - 2 Clouded Skipper - 5 at Pitt County Arboretum Fiery Skipper - 15 Ocola Skipper - 1 at Pitt County Arboretum Salman Abdulali Greenville, NC Subject: Coastal & Durham Butterflies From: "Richard Stickney" <Richard.Stickney AT ncmls.org> Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:55:08 -0400 Hi all, As I'd planned, I went to the coast for the last couple of days, but due to the weather I went much farther south than planned. I spent a day on Jekyll Island off southern Georgia and saw about what you'd expect - Gulf Frit., Long-Tailed, Fiery & Salt Marsh Skippers, Phaon Crescents, Cloudless Sulphurs, a Barred Yellow and a few Monarchs. Highlight was a BEAUTIFUL Roseate Skimmer (dragonfly) that sat for some nice pics. Yesterday (10/20) I spent most of my time in Charleston but stopped near Moncks Corner to look at a field just bursting with composites in bloom. I found few butterflies: 10 Buckeyes, 1 Little Yellow, 1 Cloudless Sulphur, 1 Monarch and NO Skippers - disappointing! As for our Museum grounds, today I've seen 2 Monarchs, 1 Painted Lady, 4 Cloudless Sulphurs, 5 Clouded Skippers, 1 Sachem, 1 Fiery Skipper and 1 Mourning Cloak. Richard Stickney NC Museum of Life and Science Subject: RE: Checkered-Skippers in Wake County. NC From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:29:52 -0400 Common Checkered-Skipper is locally common in Wake County at this time of year (fall), but less numerous earlier in the year. They like extensive lawns, pastures, etc. -- wide open areas with lots of white clover, red clover, etc. for nectaring. I can usually find 5-15 at the Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, often around the blooms of white clover in the lawns. My route along Mid-Pines Road and Inwood Road south of the city usually turns up some, especially in fall. Maybe you are spending too much time in wooded areas, or manicured areas. I wouldn't expect to see many around Falls Lake or Neuse River, where you often look for butterflies. Harry LeGrand NC Natural Heritage Program DENR Division of Natural Resources Planning and Conservation 1601 MSC Raleigh, NC 27699-1601 (919) 715-8697 (work) e-mail: harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov ----------------------------------------------------- Notice: E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and therefore may be disclosed to third parties. ________________________________________ From: Ali Iyoob [Aliiyoob AT nc.rr.com] Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 9:01 PM To: 'Carolinaleps' Subject: Wake County Today in Downtown Raleigh, I found a Checkered Skipper. Although they are supposed to be "common", this was only my 2nd ever. I must be looking for them in the wrong spots. Also, on yesterday's Bald Head Island post, I forgot to add Painted Lady and American Lady to my list. They were both on the same goldenrod stalk, and it was a great opportunity to learn how to tell them apart. Is it true that Painted Ladies hold the tops of their wings straight (like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/longspur/4027297087/), while Americans in a "V" as illustrated in this picture (like this Red Admiral: http://www.flickr.com/photos/longspur/3793217671/)? Ali Iyoob North Raleigh, NC www.flickr.com/photos/longspur http://birdingjournal.blogspot.com Subject: Wake County From: "Ali Iyoob" <Aliiyoob AT nc.rr.com> Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:01:40 -0400 Today in Downtown Raleigh, I found a Checkered Skipper. Although they are supposed to be "common", this was only my 2nd ever. I must be looking for them in the wrong spots. Also, on yesterday's Bald Head Island post, I forgot to add Painted Lady and American Lady to my list. They were both on the same goldenrod stalk, and it was a great opportunity to learn how to tell them apart. Is it true that Painted Ladies hold the tops of their wings straight (like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/longspur/4027297087/), while Americans in a "V" as illustrated in this picture (like this Red Admiral: http://www.flickr.com/photos/longspur/3793217671/)? Ali Iyoob North Raleigh, NC www.flickr.com/photos/longspur http://birdingjournal.blogspot.com Subject: Pitt County, October 19 From: Salman Abdulali <abdulalis AT ecu.edu> Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:05:43 -0400 Butterflies seen today (2009-10-19) at the Pitt County Arboretum. It was sunny but cold (about 60F). Monarch - 2 American Lady - 1 Painted Lady - 1 Red Admiral - 1, a triple Vanessa day Fiery Skipper - 2 Sachem - 1 Salman Abdulali Greenville, NC