Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from Carolina Leps > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Tuesday, January 31 at 06:17 PM EST The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Varied Thrush,©David Sibley

31 Jan FOY in SC [] 31 Jan FOY ["Loretta" ] 30 Jan Re: My first lep of 2012 [Will Cook ] 29 Jan Re: My first lep of 2012 [ROBERT CAVANAUGH ] 29 Jan My first lep of 2012 [Mike Turner ] 25 Jan Mt. Pleasant, SC leps 24 January 2012 [Dennis Forsythe ] 24 Jan Re: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End ["Abdulali, Salman" ] 23 Jan American Lady [John Ennis ] 23 Jan Re: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End [ROBERT CAVANAUGH ] 23 Jan Re: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End [jspippen ] 22 Jan Re: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End [ROBERT CAVANAUGH ] 22 Jan Painted Lady at Oak Island West End [John Ennis ] 20 Jan Carteret County, Jan 20 [ROBERT CAVANAUGH ] 20 Jan Charleston Co., SC Monarchs [Dennis Forsythe ] 20 Jan OBX Leps [nottke1 ] 16 Jan Ted Wilcox's NCWings site [Will Cook ] 15 Jan Carteret County, Jan 15 [ROBERT CAVANAUGH ] 9 Jan Cypress Gardens (Moncks Corner, SC) butterflies ["drinsecto tds.net" ] 9 Jan Dragonfles and Damselfies of the East -- new book ["Legrand, Harry" ] 8 Jan FOY western Forsyth County [nottke1 ] 8 Jan CBS events for 2012 ["Charles Cameron" ] 8 Jan Carteret County, Jan 7 [ROBERT CAVANAUGH ] 8 Jan Re: Digest for carolinaleps - Sun, 08 Jan 2012 ["Loretta" ] 8 Jan Carolina Beach SP leps ["Helms, J" ] 7 Jan Richland County Sat 01/06/12 ["Jules" ] 7 Jan James Is, SC leps. [Dennis Forsythe ] 5 Jan RE: Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America ["Legrand, Harry" ] 5 Jan Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America ["J. Merrill Lynch" ] 5 Jan RE: Local Big "Lep" Year Attempt ["Legrand, Harry" ] 4 Jan Local Big "Lep" Year Attempt [Lori Owenby ] 4 Jan Jasper Co., SC leps 2 January 2011 [Dennis Forsythe ] 3 Jan Fw: butterfly ["Jules" ] 2 Jan Re: End of Year NC Butterflies 2011 ["Loretta" ] 2 Jan FOY Bird & Lep [John Ennis ] 2 Jan FOY Bird & Lep [John Ennis ] 01 Jan First butterfly of 2012 [Will Cook ] 1 Jan Common Buckeye Chatham Cty, NC 1/1/12 [Patrick Coin ] 1 Jan My first butterfly of 2012 ["Legrand, Harry" ] 01 Jan End of Year NC Butterflies 2011 - Erratum [Dennis Burnette ] 01 Jan End of Year NC Butterflies 2011 [Dennis Burnette ] 1 Jan black swallowtail ["Loretta" ] 31 Dec Leps on Wilmington CBC [] 31 Dec Wilmington CBC Leps Today [John Ennis ] 30 Dec test ["Tom Krakauer" ] 26 Dec FW: Horace's Duskywing on December 23! ["Legrand, Harry" ] 25 Dec Long-tailed Skipper on James Is, Sc for Christmas [Dennis Forsythe ] 24 Dec Sleepy O in west Forsyth County [nottke1 ] 24 Dec Re: EASTERN BUCKMOTHS - Cedar Island, SC [Nathan Dias ] 23 Dec Cloudless Sulphur today, 12/23/11 Cherokee County, SC [Doug Allen ] 23 Dec Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail RFI [Dennis Burnette ] 23 Dec Orangeburg Co., SC leps 22 Dec 2011 [Dennis Forsythe ] 22 Dec RE: EASTERN BUCKMOTHS - Cedar Island, SC ["Helms, J" ] 22 Dec Carteret County, Dec 22 [ROBERT CAVANAUGH ] 22 Dec Re: EASTERN BUCKMOTHS - Cedar Island, SC [ROBERT CAVANAUGH ] 22 Dec field trip idea [Van Burnette ] 16 Dec Carteret County Dec 16 [ROBERT CAVANAUGH ] 16 Dec 12/15 Butterfly(ies)? [nottke1 ] 16 Dec 12/15 butterflies on Windmill Hill, Spartanburg County, SC [Doug Allen ] 16 Dec EASTERN BUCKMOTHS - Cedar Island, SC [Nathan Dias ] 16 Dec Georgetown, SC leps 15 Dec 2011 [Dennis Forsythe ] 15 Dec Calling all 2011 butterfly records for NC ["Legrand, Harry" ] 06 Dec 'Tis The Season to Renew CBS Memberships [Dennis Burnette ] 06 Dec J. Merrill Lynch shared an album with you. ["J. Merrill Lynch" ] 5 Dec Pitt County, December 5 ["Abdulali, Salman" ] 5 Dec FW: Text and photos on differentiation of Pink-spot Sulphur from other sulphurs ["Legrand, Harry" ] 5 Dec Soliciting info on separation of Pink-spot Sulphur ["Legrand, Harry" ] 4 Dec Carteret County, Dec 4 [ROBERT CAVANAUGH ] 4 Dec James Is, SC leps 12/4/2011 [Dennis Forsythe ] 2 Dec Pink-spot Sulphur (Aphrissa neleis) in the news in FL ["Legrand, Harry" ] 27 Nov butterflies 11/25, 11/26 [] 27 Nov QUEEN, Pink-spotted Hawk-Moth, etc. - Charleston, SC [Nathan Dias ] 26 Nov Saturday butterflies ["Loretta" ] 26 Nov Monarchs Before Turkey in Lexington Co., SC [Dennis Burnette ] 26 Nov New lifers and late records- Windmill Hill, SC [Doug Allen ] 25 Nov Jeff Pippen to appear in Wilmington [nottke1 ] 25 Nov NCSU Arboretum 11/23/11 [Will Cook ] Subject: FOY in SC From: KASTNERS AT aol.com Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:07:50 -0500 (EST) Today I had my FOY in SC. It was a very small Variegated Fritillary on the playground at the school where I teach in Blythewood. Dave and I have seen four other butterflies this year. They were all in FL - 1 Monarch and 1 Mangrove Buckeye (lifer) in the Bradenton area and 1 Cloudless Sulphur and 1 Pearl Crescent at the Payne's Prairie Preserve - all in mid January. Marty Marty & Dave Kastner Blythewood, SC Richland County Subject: FOY From: "Loretta" <butterflies_bg AT triad.rr.com> Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:15:46 -0500 Today, I saw a Comma or Question Mark fly up and over the house. Also saw an American lady on creeping phlox - small but fresh. Loretta Lutman Asheboro, NC Subject: Re: My first lep of 2012 From: Will Cook <cwcook AT duke.edu> Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:01:44 -0500 Almost forgot to mention that I saw an Orange Sulphur on 1/25/12 at the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh. -- Will Cook - Durham, NC http://www.carolinanature.com Subject: Re: My first lep of 2012 From: ROBERT CAVANAUGH <papilio28570 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:26:54 -0800 (PST) Had 2 male Orange Sulphers and an American Lady in my yard in Newport, Carteret County, NC yesterday. Bob --- On Sun, 1/29/12, Mike Turner wrote: From: Mike Turner Subject: My first lep of 2012 To: "Carolinaleps" Date: Sunday, January 29, 2012, 9:07 PM This afternoon at Lake Crabtree Co. Park I saw my first butterfly of 2012, a lone Clouded Sulphur or Orange Sulphur. I got a good long look at the individual but couldn't get a feel for which species it might have been. It was all yellow and I got a good look at the black spots on the forewing below but couldn't tell where the black edge of the forewing began or ended. Oh well. Looking forward to more butterflies this year. Mike Turner Raleigh, NC Subject: My first lep of 2012 From: Mike Turner <wmike.turner AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:07:32 -0500 This afternoon at Lake Crabtree Co. Park I saw my first butterfly of 2012, a lone Clouded Sulphur or Orange Sulphur. I got a good long look at the individual but couldn't get a feel for which species it might have been. It was all yellow and I got a good look at the black spots on the forewing below but couldn't tell where the black edge of the forewing began or ended. Oh well. Looking forward to more butterflies this year. Mike Turner Raleigh, NC Subject: Mt. Pleasant, SC leps 24 January 2012 From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:49:25 -0500 Hi All, Donna and I spent from 3-4Pm yesterday near the Pitt St. causeway in Mt. Pleasant, SC. It was clear, calm and 71f. We saw 1 Monarch, 1 Gulf Fritillary and 2 Red Admirals. 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: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End From: "Abdulali, Salman" <ABDULALIS AT ecu.edu> Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:39:42 +0000 Fascinating discussion! Will Cook has a photo on his web site of a Painted Lady which does have the white spot, so that is clearly an unreliable character, in both directions. http://www.carolinanature.com/butterflies/paintedlady.html An additional subtle character mentioned by Klots deals with the row of spots on the *upper* hindwing. In the Painted Lady, these spots are roughly the same size. In American Lady the two middle spots in the row are smaller. To complicate matters further, I believe that Harry Pavulaan has recorded the West Coast Lady from Virginia. Salman On Jan 23, 2012, at 3:00 AM, ROBERT CAVANAUGH wrote: The clincher for me, in addition to the wing shape and overall color, was the black postmedian marking on the submarginal forewing that beginning in cell Cu2 completely crosses cell Cu1. In typical V. virginiensis, a white spot is present in subterminal cell Cu1, or outboard of the black marking. Also, interior of the black marking is an oval orange spot. In V. cardui specimens, this black marking only partially crosses cell Cu1 and there is never a white subterminal spot in cell Cu1. In my experience, lack of the white spot is most frequent in females or it is greatly reduced, but this was never a good species indicator. The same is true of the subapical bar. It is always white in V. cardui but varies from white to orange in virginiensis. I have never heard of these two species cross breeding. Bob --- On Mon, 1/23/12, jspippen wrote: From: jspippen Subject: Re: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End To: "ROBERT CAVANAUGH" Cc: "carolinaleps AT duke.edu" , "John Ennis" Date: Monday, January 23, 2012, 12:39 AM Wow, interesting. I didn't look that carefully at it at first, but Bob is correct (of course). The wing shape is clearly that of American Lady, although it lacks the white dot below the forewing apex (as a few American Ladys do), and the black markings along the median area of the forewing are heavier than many American Ladys. American Ladys usually don't show a "closed semi-circle" of black arching over the orange oval just above the trailing (inner) edge of the forewing, as this one does, if that makes sense....but the wing shape, overall color (no pinkish tones), and connected row of submarginal lines in the upper hindwing (among other, more subtle marks) clearly indicate this is Vanessa virginiensis (American Lady). Nice photo and find, John. 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 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ On Sun, 22 Jan 2012, ROBERT CAVANAUGH wrote: > That is the American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis). It looks to be remarkably fresh. It must have emerged from chrysalis just before cold weather sent it into hibernation. > > Bob > > --- On Sun, 1/22/12, John Ennis wrote: > > From: John Ennis > Subject: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End > To: "carolinaleps AT duke.edu" > Date: Sunday, January 22, 2012, 11:14 PM > > http://thebusinessbirder.com/CoastalCarolinaLeps/PaintedLady3.pdf Taken on 1/16/12 It flew a short distance and landed in the sunny path just ahead of me...believe it was still under 50 degrees... John Ennis Leland, NC Subject: American Lady From: John Ennis <jxennis AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:00:44 -0500 Thanx to all for the correction...and education... I ID'ed based on the missing white dot...my FOY Lep misidentification! John Ennis Leland, NC Sent from my iPad Subject: Re: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End From: ROBERT CAVANAUGH <papilio28570 AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:55 -0800 (PST) The clincher for me, in addition to the wing shape and overall color, was the black postmedian marking on the submarginal forewing that beginning in cell Cu2 completely crosses cell Cu1.  In typical V. virginiensis, a white spot is present in subterminal cell Cu1, or outboard of the black marking.  Also, interior of the black marking is an oval orange spot.   In V. cardui specimens, this black marking only partially crosses cell Cu1 and there is never a white subterminal spot in cell Cu1.  In my experience, lack of the white spot is most frequent in females or it is greatly reduced, but this was never a good species indicator.  The same is true of the subapical bar.  It is always white in V. cardui but varies from white to orange in virginiensis.  I have never heard of these two species cross breeding. Bob --- On Mon, 1/23/12, jspippen wrote: From: jspippen Subject: Re: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End To: "ROBERT CAVANAUGH" Cc: "carolinaleps AT duke.edu" , "John Ennis" Date: Monday, January 23, 2012, 12:39 AM Wow, interesting.  I didn't look that carefully at it at first, but Bob is correct (of course).  The wing shape is clearly that of American Lady, although it lacks the white dot below the forewing apex (as a few American Ladys do), and the black markings along the median area of the forewing are heavier than many American Ladys.  American Ladys usually don't show a "closed semi-circle" of black arching over the orange oval just above the trailing (inner) edge of the forewing, as this one does, if that makes sense....but the wing shape, overall color (no pinkish tones), and connected row of submarginal lines in the upper hindwing (among other, more subtle marks) clearly indicate this is Vanessa virginiensis (American Lady). Nice photo and find, John. 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 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ On Sun, 22 Jan 2012, ROBERT CAVANAUGH wrote: > That is the American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis).  It looks to be remarkably fresh.  It must have emerged from chrysalis just before cold weather sent it into hibernation. > > Bob > > --- On Sun, 1/22/12, John Ennis wrote: > > From: John Ennis > Subject: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End > To: "carolinaleps AT duke.edu" > Date: Sunday, January 22, 2012, 11:14 PM > > http://thebusinessbirder.com/CoastalCarolinaLeps/PaintedLady3.pdf   Taken on 1/16/12   It flew a short distance and landed in the sunny path just ahead of me...believe it was still under 50 degrees...   John Ennis Leland, NC Subject: Re: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End From: jspippen <jspippen AT duke.edu> Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:39:53 -0500 (EST) Wow, interesting. I didn't look that carefully at it at first, but Bob is correct (of course). The wing shape is clearly that of American Lady, although it lacks the white dot below the forewing apex (as a few American Ladys do), and the black markings along the median area of the forewing are heavier than many American Ladys. American Ladys usually don't show a "closed semi-circle" of black arching over the orange oval just above the trailing (inner) edge of the forewing, as this one does, if that makes sense....but the wing shape, overall color (no pinkish tones), and connected row of submarginal lines in the upper hindwing (among other, more subtle marks) clearly indicate this is Vanessa virginiensis (American Lady). Nice photo and find, John. 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 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ On Sun, 22 Jan 2012, ROBERT CAVANAUGH wrote: > That is the American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis).  It looks to be remarkably fresh.  It must have emerged from chrysalis just before cold weather sent it into hibernation. > > Bob > > --- On Sun, 1/22/12, John Ennis wrote: > > From: John Ennis > Subject: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End > To: "carolinaleps AT duke.edu" > Date: Sunday, January 22, 2012, 11:14 PM > > http://thebusinessbirder.com/CoastalCarolinaLeps/PaintedLady3.pdf   Taken on 1/16/12   It flew a short distance and landed in the sunny path just ahead of me...believe it was still under 50 degrees...   John Ennis Leland, NC Subject: Re: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End From: ROBERT CAVANAUGH <papilio28570 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:09:44 -0800 (PST) That is the American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis).  It looks to be remarkably fresh.  It must have emerged from chrysalis just before cold weather sent it into hibernation. Bob --- On Sun, 1/22/12, John Ennis wrote: From: John Ennis Subject: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End To: "carolinaleps AT duke.edu" Date: Sunday, January 22, 2012, 11:14 PM http://thebusinessbirder.com/CoastalCarolinaLeps/PaintedLady3.pdf   Taken on 1/16/12   It flew a short distance and landed in the sunny path just ahead of me...believe it was still under 50 degrees...   John Ennis Leland, NC   Subject: Painted Lady at Oak Island West End From: John Ennis <jxennis AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:14:30 -0500 http://thebusinessbirder.com/CoastalCarolinaLeps/PaintedLady3.pdf Taken on 1/16/12 It flew a short distance and landed in the sunny path just ahead of me...believe it was still under 50 degrees... John Ennis Leland, NC Subject: Carteret County, Jan 20 From: ROBERT CAVANAUGH <papilio28570 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:34:07 -0800 (PST) With temps in low 60s this morning, observed:  one Monarch  one Sleeping Orange (fresh)  one Red Admiral Bob Subject: Charleston Co., SC Monarchs From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:23:31 -0500 Hi All, Today (1/20/12) I passed through Patriot's Point around noon and saw t Monarchs feeding on dandelions. I did not see any tags. At the same time Donna had a Monarch in our neighborhood on James Is while she was walking dogs. 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: OBX Leps From: nottke1 <nottke1 AT earthlink.net> Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:51:33 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Yesterday about noon (60 degrees) I saw an American Lady at the base of the Hatteras lighthouse - not real fresh, but in good condition. About 11am this morning (50 degrees) at the Wright Memorial we saw two sulphurs, both well worn, no trace of orange, just a worn lemon-yellow color. Jim Nottke Subject: Ted Wilcox's NCWings site From: Will Cook <cwcook AT duke.edu> Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:06:20 -0500 I noticed that Ted Wilcox's NCWings site, formerly at ncwings.com, had disappeared and I didn't want to see this wonderful photo archive to be lost, so offered to host it on my site. Ted uploaded his entire site this morning. Here's the new URL: http://ncwings.carolinanature.com/ I think the most recent addition is this excellent series of shots of Green Comma taken on 8/8/09 in Yancey County, N.C.: http://ncwings.carolinanature.com/butterflies/brushfoots/green-comma.html Enjoy! -- Will Cook - Durham, NC http://www.carolinanature.com Subject: Carteret County, Jan 15 From: ROBERT CAVANAUGH <papilio28570 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:33:37 -0800 (PST) Surprisingly saw two male Colias eurytheme in my neighborhood flying today in sunny, low 50s temps. Bob Subject: Cypress Gardens (Moncks Corner, SC) butterflies From: "drinsecto tds.net" <drinsecto AT tds.net> Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 20:12:21 -0500 On our 2 mile count route today (low 70's, partly cloudy) we saw: 5 cloudless sulphurs, 1 clouded skipper and 1 silver-spotted skipper. Dwight Williams Subject: Dragonfles and Damselfies of the East -- new book From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 15:24:10 +0000 Slightly off subject, but many of us also look at/photograph/study odonates while we are out butterflying or mothing. And, the "definitive" book of the subject for the Eastern US/Canada has just been released. It is "Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East", by Dennis Paulson. It is 538 pages, paper cover but slick pages, with several color photos, a color range map, and plenty of text, for each of the 336 species in the East (NC has about 184 species). It retails for a bargain price of $29.95 (for slick paper, maybe 700 color photos, and range maps). Now is the time to get the book - it is off-season for insect watching and photography, so that you can study up on them! Paulson has already published a similar book on odonates of the West. Harry LeGrand, Vertebrate Zoologist North Carolina Natural Heritage Program NCDENR Office of Conservation, Planning, & Community Affairs 1601 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1601 Office: (919) 707-8603 NOTE: This is a new phone number, starting Nov. 7, 2011 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. Subject: FOY western Forsyth County From: nottke1 <nottke1 AT earthlink.net> Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 21:13:23 -0500 (GMT-05:00) My first butterfly find of the year was a Variegated Fritillary bobbing along the ground in the yard this afternoon. Jim Nottke Subject: CBS events for 2012 From: "Charles Cameron" <ccamer AT triad.rr.com> Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 19:46:13 -0500 Happy New Butterfly Year, The Carolina Butterfly Society will hold its annual meeting on January 21st at the Reedy Creek Natrure Center in Charlotte, NC. At that meeting field trips for the year will be discussed. Last year's field trips were successful providing opportunities to see Green Comma, Baltimore Checkerspot and Goatweed Leafwing butterflies. What would you like to see for 2012 and who would be willing to lead a field trip? Please plan to bring your suggestions to the meeting and/or reply to me so your ideas can be included in the discussion. The goal will be to have field trips in both NC and SC, probably two each. Also, please get to me any count dates as soon as you know them so I can get them on the calendar in a timely manner. Thank you, Charles Cameron Greensboro, NC c-cameron AT triad.rr.com ccamer AT triad.rr.com Subject: Carteret County, Jan 7 From: ROBERT CAVANAUGH <papilio28570 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 12:27:17 -0800 (PST) In my yard, Newport, today: 2 Cloudless Sulphurs, male & female 1 Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme) female, white form 1 American Lady 2 Red Admirals. Happy New Year, Bob Subject: Re: Digest for carolinaleps - Sun, 08 Jan 2012 From: "Loretta" <butterflies_bg AT triad.rr.com> Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 10:23:42 -0500 Late posting for Sunday, Jan 8th Yesterday a male Cloudless Sulphur very sporadically visited the garden. The only nectar source now is a few creeping phlox blooms, as our first killing frost came Tuesday night. Loretta Lutman Asheboro, NC Subject: Carolina Beach SP leps From: "Helms, J" <j.chris.helms AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 03:58:34 +0000 My daughters and I today observed a CLOUDLESS SULPHUR in the marina parking area and along the Sugarloaf Trail a RED ADMIRAL imbibing sap from recently opened sapsucker wells, w/ the bird only a few feet away. Warm, beautiful day! Chris Helms Carolina Beach, NC Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone Subject: Richland County Sat 01/06/12 From: "Jules" <jlfray AT ix.netcom.com> Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 15:00:20 -0500 Exiting off I-20E onto Hwy 21 in Columbia,SC,I saw one Cloudless Sulphur flying around the afterbloomed Dandelions on the median. Temps in the high 60's or low 70's, sunny Jules Fraytet Charlotte,NC Subject: James Is, SC leps. From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2012 12:55:38 -0500 Hi All, Yesterday about 1PM Donna saw a dark swallowtail go across Harborview Rd on James Is, SC. And around 12 today I had a Monarch at our house on James Is., SC. 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: Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 20:28:08 +0000 Just as I was reading THIS, a major work - Steve Hall came into my office and handed me a 5-pound hardbound book, by two of the same authors - Dale Schweitzer and David Wagner, along with Mark Minno - entitled: "Rare, Declining, and Poorly Known Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) of Forests and Woodlands in the Eastern United States". Sadly, it is not available for purchase. I doubt such an expensive-looking book (glossy pages, many color photos, and over 500 pages) - is available free either, but hopefully is available online as a pdf. But, I am not sure. It is a collaboration of 4-5 groups - USDA, including its US Forest Service, NatureServe, and the University of Connecticut. Though it says "For reprints of this publication, contact ..." several folks, I prefer holding up on that right now, in terms of giving out e-mail addresses to a mass of folks on a listserve. I tried looking at booksellers, googled it - there is a mention of it in a reference list - but I think this book will be hard to get/find. But, starting from the front - species included (full species accounts) are Golden Banded-Skipper, Florida Duskywing, Mottled Duskywing, Persius Duskywing, etc. So, it looks fairly complete for the rare things in the East. And, I see "LeGrand and Howard Butterflies of North Carolina website" mentioned often! Harry LeGrand Raleigh, NC From: J. Merrill Lynch [mailto:jmerrilllynch AT gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 1:54 PM To: ncsc-moths AT freelists.org; tn-moths; carolinaleps Subject: Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America Lep'ers, My copy arrived today and I'm very impressed with the book's layout, photography, and the tremendous amount of information contained in the 576pp. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you get a copy--it's an impressive guide and one sure to become a classic. One of the co-authors is our own Bo Sullivan who lives in Beaufort (NC) and one of the most knowledgeable lepidopterists in the Southeast. And very reasonably priced I might add. Merrill Lynch Boone, NC Subject: Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America From: "J. Merrill Lynch" <jmerrilllynch AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 10:53:31 -0800 Lep'ers, My copy arrived today and I'm very impressed with the book's layout, photography, and the tremendous amount of information contained in the 576pp. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you get a copy--it's an impressive guide and one sure to become a classic. One of the co-authors is our own Bo Sullivan who lives in Beaufort (NC) and one of the most knowledgeable lepidopterists in the Southeast. And very reasonably priced I might add. Merrill Lynch Boone, NC Subject: RE: Local Big "Lep" Year Attempt From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 01:40:48 +0000 You can't do much better than driving as many of the dirt USFS roads that you can during the year in the northern half of Caldwell County. You will need to get a USGS map of Pisgah NF, as the DeLorme atlas has all roads as solid red lines, and thus you cannot tell which are dirt and which are paved. This is a major distinction, as you know! Butterflies love dirt roads, especially in spring, for basking and getting mud and minerals. So -- drive as many roads as you can in the Boone Fork campground, Mortimer, Globe, Edgemont, etc. areas, several times a year. Poking around that campground has yielded some good results for me. Harry LeGrand Raleigh -----Original Message----- From: Lori Owenby [mailto:loriowenby AT gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 6:29 PM To: Carolinaleps Subject: Local Big "Lep" Year Attempt Some of you may already know that I have committed to helping out with the Catawba Valley Crazy Big Year ( www.catawbavalleycrazybigyear.blogspot.com ). Six of us are participating and will each focus on a separate genera. We will be counting birds, leps, mammals, herps, spiders, and wildflowers. We probably will also do trees and beetles and maybe dragonflies as a group. But we limited ourselves to the Catawba Valley area which includes Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba counties--all in the western foothills of NC. I set my goal at 500 species which I should easily reach--especially when I combine both diurnal and nocturnal leps. My question to the more knowledgeable "lep-ers" out there is what are some places that I absolutely must go? I've looked at all of the records from all four counties and it seems like the Mingo Tract is great in Caldwell, and South Mountains, Linville Falls and Camp Creek (although I have no idea where this is) are the hot spots for Burke. I work at one of the best spots in Catawba for butterflies---so I know I've got that covered too. Alexander has the fewest records but some of the best butterflies in the state--and I know WHERE to get them--I've just never had any luck! I saw a Prickly Pear Mountain mentioned in a Natural Heritage report but I can't seem to find any other information about it. Does anyone here know where I can find out where it is? I'm kind of excited about moth-ing at some of these different habitats! I've already been in contact with Bob Cherry from the Parkway to see about doing some on the Tanawha Trail and at Linville Falls. I hope to also get into Lake James and South Mountains and Rocky Face with the blacklight although I haven't yet secured permissions from these locations. I think there has been very little studying done on the moths of this area and I can't wait to see what all we find! Please feel free to offer any advice on species I should look for or places I should visit in the coming season. -- ----- Lori Owenby St. Stephens/Riverbend Park Ranger Catawba County Parks Conover, NC "The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness.  You have to catch it yourself."  ~Benjamin Franklin Subject: Local Big "Lep" Year Attempt From: Lori Owenby <loriowenby AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 18:29:24 -0500 Some of you may already know that I have committed to helping out with the Catawba Valley Crazy Big Year ( www.catawbavalleycrazybigyear.blogspot.com ). Six of us are participating and will each focus on a separate genera. We will be counting birds, leps, mammals, herps, spiders, and wildflowers. We probably will also do trees and beetles and maybe dragonflies as a group. But we limited ourselves to the Catawba Valley area which includes Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba counties--all in the western foothills of NC. I set my goal at 500 species which I should easily reach--especially when I combine both diurnal and nocturnal leps. My question to the more knowledgeable "lep-ers" out there is what are some places that I absolutely must go? I've looked at all of the records from all four counties and it seems like the Mingo Tract is great in Caldwell, and South Mountains, Linville Falls and Camp Creek (although I have no idea where this is) are the hot spots for Burke. I work at one of the best spots in Catawba for butterflies---so I know I've got that covered too. Alexander has the fewest records but some of the best butterflies in the state--and I know WHERE to get them--I've just never had any luck! I saw a Prickly Pear Mountain mentioned in a Natural Heritage report but I can't seem to find any other information about it. Does anyone here know where I can find out where it is? I'm kind of excited about moth-ing at some of these different habitats! I've already been in contact with Bob Cherry from the Parkway to see about doing some on the Tanawha Trail and at Linville Falls. I hope to also get into Lake James and South Mountains and Rocky Face with the blacklight although I haven't yet secured permissions from these locations. I think there has been very little studying done on the moths of this area and I can't wait to see what all we find! Please feel free to offer any advice on species I should look for or places I should visit in the coming season. -- ----- Lori Owenby St. Stephens/Riverbend Park Ranger Catawba County Parks Conover, NC "The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness.  You have to catch it yourself."  ~Benjamin Franklin Subject: Jasper Co., SC leps 2 January 2011 From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 08:04:48 -0500 Hi All, Despite temperatures in the 40's and Beaufort 4 winds, Ellie Covington and I managed to see a fresh Red Admiral and several Common Buckeyes at the Savannah Spoil Site during the Savannah, CBC. Happy New Year. 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: Fw: butterfly From: "Jules" <jlfray AT ix.netcom.com> Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 06:31:34 -0500 A sighting on Mecklenburg Audubon Bird listserver. ----- Original Message ----- From: "C Talkington" To: Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 12:25 PM Subject: butterfly > Out fishing with some friends saturday out of Ramsey Creek on southern > Lake Norman and had a Buckeye fly over the boat . I think that is the > latest butterfly I have seen in NC. Well it was on the 31st I guess > you cant get any later than that. Relayed by Jules Fraytet Charlotte Subject: Re: End of Year NC Butterflies 2011 From: "Loretta" <butterflies_bg AT triad.rr.com> Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 18:44:52 -0500 It's quite possible the American Lady was a natural occurrence. I believe most butterflies raised for science projects are usually done in spring, some projects timed so butterflies can be released at Easter. Loretta Lutman Asheboro, NC Subject: FOY Bird & Lep From: John Ennis <jxennis AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 07:21:40 -0500 Yesterday, on the Southport/Oak Island/Bald Head Christmas count, my FOY bird was Great Horned Owl & FOY butterfly was a Monarch... Good omens for a productive 2012! John Ennis Leland, NC Sent from my iPad Subject: FOY Bird & Lep From: John Ennis <jxennis AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 07:21:40 -0500 Yesterday, on the Southport/Oak Island/Bald Head Christmas count, my FOY bird was Great Horned Owl & FOY butterfly was a Monarch... Good omens for a productive 2012! John Ennis Leland, NC Sent from my iPad Subject: First butterfly of 2012 From: Will Cook <cwcook AT duke.edu> Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:25:21 -0500 At Harris Lake in Wake Co., NC today on the Jordan Lake Christmas Bird Count: 3 American Ladies, one of which seemed to be ovipositing. Will Cook - Durham, NC Subject: Common Buckeye Chatham Cty, NC 1/1/12 From: Patrick Coin <patrickcoin1 AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 22:04:43 -0500 Had one Common Buckeye (worn, I think) in the dove field off of Martha's Chapel Road, east of NC 751, Chatham Cty, NC today (1 January 2012) on the Jordan Lake Christmas Bird Count. I can't recall seeing one in January previously, or even in December. -- Patrick Coin Durham, NC patrickcoin1 AT gmail.com Subject: My first butterfly of 2012 From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 19:08:31 +0000 Well - It only took me 10 ˝ hours into 2012 to see my first butterfly of the year! At the Rollingview beach at Falls Lake, Durham Co., NC, a Common Buckeye flew across a lawn this morning. It was sunny and close to 60 degrees at the time. Harry LeGrand Harry LeGrand, Vertebrate Zoologist North Carolina Natural Heritage Program NCDENR Office of Conservation, Planning, & Community Affairs 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) Subject: End of Year NC Butterflies 2011 - Erratum From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:15:15 -0500 Being of unsound mind and body, I applied the wrong name to the Buxton Woods butterfly. It clearly was an American Lady, not a painted. ------ Forwarded Message From: Dennis Burnette Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:04:58 -0500 To: Carolinaleps Subject: End of Year NC Butterflies 2011 On a birding trip to the Outer Banks during the last several days, I was happy to see two end-of-year butterflies. On Thursday, 12/29/11, I photographed a Painted Lady at Buxton Woods, Cape Hatteras, Dare County, NC. With this species, one can never be sure if it is naturally occurring or recently released by a school science class. Then yesterday on the last day of 2011, I saw a Cloudless Sulphur next to the headquarters building in Lake Mattamuskeet NWR in Hyde County. It didn't perch long enough for a photo. Happy New Year, everyone! -- Dennis Burnette Greensboro, NC Guilford County deburnette AT triad.rr.com ------ End of Forwarded Message Subject: End of Year NC Butterflies 2011 From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:04:58 -0500 On a birding trip to the Outer Banks during the last several days, I was happy to see two end-of-year butterflies. On Thursday, 12/29/11, I photographed a Painted Lady at Buxton Woods, Cape Hatteras, Dare County, NC. With this species, one can never be sure if it is naturally occurring or recently released by a school science class. Then yesterday on the last day of 2011, I saw a Cloudless Sulphur next to the headquarters building in Lake Mattamuskeet NWR in Hyde County. It didn't perch long enough for a photo. Happy New Year, everyone! -- Dennis Burnette Greensboro, NC Guilford County deburnette AT triad.rr.com Subject: black swallowtail From: "Loretta" <butterflies_bg AT triad.rr.com> Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 12:10:04 -0500 At noon today, I saw a male black swallowtail nectaring on salvia. Still have fuchsia, pineapple sage, another annual sage, and some dianthus in bloom. You might call it cheating on the sighting of the black swallowtail, as it's probably the one that eclosed on Dec. 26, held inside due to all day rain on the 27th, and released on Dec. 28th. Loretta Lutman Asheboro, NC Subject: Leps on Wilmington CBC From: piephofft AT aol.com Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:15:04 -0500 (EST) The most unusual sighting on this Christmas Bird Count for Katherine Higgins and me today, Dec. 31, was a fresh CLOUDED SKIPPER at Eagle Island. Other leps seen today all from Eagle Island: RED ADMIRAL 2 AMERICAN LADY 2 CLOUDLESS SULFUR 2 GULF FRITILLARY 1 Taylor Piephoff Charlotte, NC PiephoffT AT aol.com Subject: Wilmington CBC Leps Today From: John Ennis <jxennis AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:58:10 -0500 A warm, windy Christmas bird count today! Had Monarch, Cloudless Sulphur, Gulf Fritillary, and Pallamedes Swallowtail on Plantation Rd near Brunswick Town... Then 2 Cloudless Sulphurs, Gulf Fritillary, and Sleepy Orange on Lee Buck Road through the pastures and around Daws Creek... John Ennis Leland, NC Sent from my iPad Subject: test From: "Tom Krakauer" <tkrakauer AT mindspring.com> Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:20:10 -0500 Thomas Krakauer 128 White Horse Run Bahama, NC 27503 tkrakauer AT mindspring.com Subject: FW: Horace's Duskywing on December 23! From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2011 21:52:23 +0000 Kevin Metcalf sent his photo to Jeff (Pippen) and me, and indeed it is a female HORACE'S DUSKYWING! Fresh! The previous late NC date was 23 October! Harry LeGrand Raleigh -----Original Message----- From: jspippen AT login5.oit.duke.edu [mailto:jspippen AT login5.oit.duke.edu] On Behalf Of jspippen Sent: Friday, December 23, 2011 6:12 PM To: Kevin Metcalf Cc: Legrand, Harry Subject: Re: Duskywing photo Great photo Kevin. Agree it most likely is a Horace's. Cheers, Jeff On Fri, 23 Dec 2011, Kevin Metcalf wrote: > Taken TODAY at Latta Plantation Nature Preserve, Mecklenburg County, NC. > Looks like either a female Horace's or Juvenal's. On the underside, it does > not have the Juvenal's hindwing spots (not always diagnostic). > > Kevin Metcalf > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 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: Long-tailed Skipper on James Is, Sc for Christmas From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:36:15 -0500 Hi All, Today we had a Long-tailed Skipper nectaring on our Fragrant Tea Olive in our yard on James Is., SC. 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: Sleepy O in west Forsyth County From: nottke1 <nottke1 AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:42:09 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Only got up to 56 degrees here this afternoon, but about 3pm a Sleepy Orange was nectaring on Edgeworthia blossoms. In past years the Edgeworthia started blooming in January. Jim Nottke Subject: Re: EASTERN BUCKMOTHS - Cedar Island, SC From: Nathan Dias <diasn AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:57:59 -0800 (PST) Sorry - I did not pay attention to the Oak species... Will check on my next visit and provide an update. Billy McCord and I hope to go back for multiple surveys next fall. Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC ________________________________ From: ROBERT CAVANAUGH To: Carolinaleps ; Nathan Dias Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2011 11:02 AM Subject: Re: EASTERN BUCKMOTHS - Cedar Island, SC I was wondering if you were able to ID the oak species in the vicinity of this encounter.  I had no idea Buck Moths flew this late in the year.  I has always imagined Octoberish.  Bob --- On Fri, 12/16/11, Nathan Dias wrote: >From: Nathan Dias >Subject: EASTERN BUCKMOTHS - Cedar Island, SC >To: "Carolinaleps" >Date: Friday, December 16, 2011, 12:35 PM > > >While on a Christmas Bird Count on remote Cedar Island, SC (between the mouths of the North and South Santee Rivers), Mark Spinks of SC DNR and I encountered a big emergence flight of Eastern Buckmoths! > >Note: Cedar Island is closed to the public during waterfowl season and a bit beyond. > >At first we could not figure out what all these black and white butterflies were, and why they never landed or nectared at flowers.  As I tried to get a photo of the elusive creatures, Mark noticed that some had red spots on their abdomens. > >After doing some online research, I learned of the very brief flight period and other aspects of these interesting creatures' life history. > >They were in a long narrow grove of oaks and scrub, that was growing on an ancient dune ridge.  This ridge had been turned into a cross dike in between 2 vast impoundments by rice planters long ago. > >I am more gratified by this encounter than by the Black Rail we flushed earlier that morning, or the Barn Owl we found in this same grove. > >Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC   Subject: Cloudless Sulphur today, 12/23/11 Cherokee County, SC From: Doug Allen <dougk4ly AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:16:59 -0500 Some friends and I hiked at Cowpens National Battlefield this afternoon and, while on the fairly open forest nature trail, saw a Cloudless Sulphur. It was sunny, low 60's and breezy. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukkah, and Happy New Year to everyone. Doug Allen Inman, SC Subject: Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail RFI From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:09:13 -0500 Butterfliers, The Triad Chapter of the Carolina Butterfly Society is contemplating a field trip to the mountains to find Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail this coming year. It would be a new species for most of our members, and a great photo opportunity for others. Plus, a day trip to the mountains always is fun for us Piedmonters! We're requesting opinions on the best way to find and photograph the species. We would appreciate any suggestions on the best time to go and some places near enough to the Triad that we could make it a day trip. By the way, all of our field trips are open to the public. Anyone is welcome to join us on this and other trips. We'll announce the details once everything is decided. Regardless what you celebrate this time of year, I hope that your holidays are warm, safe and happy! Dennis -- Dennis Burnette Greensboro, NC Guilford County deburnette AT triad.rr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisburnette/ Subject: Orangeburg Co., SC leps 22 Dec 2011 From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:36:17 -0500 Hi All, Marc Epstein, David Egleston and I had a number of butterflies yesterday while doing the Santee area of the Santee NWR CBC. Our area included agricultural fields around the town of Santee, Orangeburg Co., SC. The 78 F temperature and abundant nectar sources gave us the following list. Cloudless Sulfur-20+ Sleepy Orange-1 Gulf Fritillary-1 Variegated Fritillary-1 Common Buckeye-1 Unidentified nymphalids-5 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: EASTERN BUCKMOTHS - Cedar Island, SC From: "Helms, J" <j.chris.helms AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:11:28 +0000 Have seen 2 EASTERN BUCKMOTHS at Carolina Beach State Park over the last couple of days. This is the latest I can remember. It always seemed at Lake Waccamaw and Weymouth Woods that November was my best month to see them. Chris Helms Carolina Beach, NC From: ROBERT CAVANAUGH [mailto:papilio28570 AT yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2011 11:03 AM To: Carolinaleps; Nathan Dias Subject: Re: EASTERN BUCKMOTHS - Cedar Island, SC I was wondering if you were able to ID the oak species in the vicinity of this encounter. I had no idea Buck Moths flew this late in the year. I has always imagined Octoberish. Bob --- On Fri, 12/16/11, Nathan Dias wrote: From: Nathan Dias Subject: EASTERN BUCKMOTHS - Cedar Island, SC To: "Carolinaleps" Date: Friday, December 16, 2011, 12:35 PM While on a Christmas Bird Count on remote Cedar Island, SC (between the mouths of the North and South Santee Rivers), Mark Spinks of SC DNR and I encountered a big emergence flight of Eastern Buckmoths! Note: Cedar Island is closed to the public during waterfowl season and a bit beyond. At first we could not figure out what all these black and white butterflies were, and why they never landed or nectared at flowers. As I tried to get a photo of the elusive creatures, Mark noticed that some had red spots on their abdomens. After doing some online research, I learned of the very brief flight period and other aspects of these interesting creatures' life history. They were in a long narrow grove of oaks and scrub, that was growing on an ancient dune ridge. This ridge had been turned into a cross dike in between 2 vast impoundments by rice planters long ago. I am more gratified by this encounter than by the Black Rail we flushed earlier that morning, or the Barn Owl we found in this same grove. Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC Subject: Carteret County, Dec 22 From: ROBERT CAVANAUGH <papilio28570 AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:59:35 -0800 (PST) Had a low of 28 degrees here last Sunday.  This week, with warm weather, I still see Cloudless Sulphurs, Gulf Frits and Monarchs in ones and twos in my yard.  Today at the Newport Post Office, I saw a fresh, male Red Banded Hairstreak. Merry Christmas to all, Bob Subject: Re: EASTERN BUCKMOTHS - Cedar Island, SC From: ROBERT CAVANAUGH <papilio28570 AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:02:38 -0800 (PST) I was wondering if you were able to ID the oak species in the vicinity of this encounter.  I had no idea Buck Moths flew this late in the year.  I has always imagined Octoberish.  Bob --- On Fri, 12/16/11, Nathan Dias wrote: From: Nathan Dias Subject: EASTERN BUCKMOTHS - Cedar Island, SC To: "Carolinaleps" Date: Friday, December 16, 2011, 12:35 PM While on a Christmas Bird Count on remote Cedar Island, SC (between the mouths of the North and South Santee Rivers), Mark Spinks of SC DNR and I encountered a big emergence flight of Eastern Buckmoths! Note: Cedar Island is closed to the public during waterfowl season and a bit beyond. At first we could not figure out what all these black and white butterflies were, and why they never landed or nectared at flowers. As I tried to get a photo of the elusive creatures, Mark noticed that some had red spots on their abdomens. After doing some online research, I learned of the very brief flight period and other aspects of these interesting creatures' life history. They were in a long narrow grove of oaks and scrub, that was growing on an ancient dune ridge. This ridge had been turned into a cross dike in between 2 vast impoundments by rice planters long ago. I am more gratified by this encounter than by the Black Rail we flushed earlier that morning, or the Barn Owl we found in this same grove. Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC Subject: field trip idea From: Van Burnette <growingmilkweed AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:22:48 -0800 (PST) The CBS is invited to my farm during the summer of 2012 for a field trip.  We have a butterfly flight house and lots of nectar plants outdoors.  We are also working with the Xerces Society and the NRCS in creating a model farm for pollinator habitats.  We grow hops too!   Van Burnette Hop'n Blueberry Farm 24 Middle Mountain Rd. Black Mountain, NC 28711 www.hopnblueberryfarm.com http://hopnblueberryfarm.blogspot.com/ ________________________________ Subject: Carteret County Dec 16 From: ROBERT CAVANAUGH <papilio28570 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:09:53 -0800 (PST) After two days of beautiful warm weather, today in my neighborhood, in Newport, I saw a dozen Cloudless Sulphurs, 2 Gulf Frits..male and a female 1 Buckeye 1 Red Admiral 1 Monarch Not a dragonfly watcher, but I observed several large d- flies in New Bern today, near the airport.  Only got a good look at one...had a bright blue abdomen with about 3 inch wingspan. Others I saw were about the same size on a different part of the property.  All were flying in open lawn or fields. Still rearing Luna cats from a late September wild female.  Eggs hatched on Oct 11.  Cool nights have really slowed growth.  Going to cocoon now..about 50 cocoons so far and around 40 still to go.  Cage is under thick grove of holly which holds warmth keeps dew off. Interesting post regarding Buck Moths in SC.  First time I had any info regarding flight period in mid-Atlantic seaboard.  Didn't realize they flew this late in the year; and in the past, I have been unable to discern a flight time-frame from others on this list and elsewhere.  Likely too late for NC but I'll check oak woodlands this weekend here on the coast. Merry Christmas to all, Bob Subject: 12/15 Butterfly(ies)? From: nottke1 <nottke1 AT earthlink.net> Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:51:42 -0500 (GMT-05:00) On Thursday, 12/15, I a Sleepy Orange with a nicked forewing fly past down at my barn at 12:15pm. An hour later the same butterfly flew past again at about the same location. After another half hour as I stepped out of the house the same butterfly was perched on a Cardoon. Except for the peculiar nick in the wing I would have counted three butterflies for the day. Then again maybe I have a colony of Sleepy Orange that all have a sharp nick out of the right forewing? Happy Holidays, Jim Nottke Subject: 12/15 butterflies on Windmill Hill, Spartanburg County, SC From: Doug Allen <dougk4ly AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:06:15 -0500 Following the 4 species here on Windmill Hill, Tuesday, Dec.13- previous post- I expected to see butterflies on the 14th because the weather was almost exactly the same, mid 60's, calm and sunny. Unfortuately, I was away all day, but did a 30 minute hike at USC Upstate, 8 miles south of Windmill Hill, around 2 PM, in normally productive habitat. No butterflies and no flowers blooming there. Yesterday, Dec. 15 was still warm, but quite windy and cloudy with the sun breaking through only occasionally. There were two American Ladies, one quite worn and one quite fresh, nectoring here on the hill where our microclimate has alowed over a dozen species of flowers to survive. A 30 minute hike at a nearby county park and grassland produced no flowers or butterflies. There is no hard frost in our 10 day forecast, so perhaps there will be more reports? Does anyone else live or butterfly on hilltops that share this normally warm autumn microclimate? Spring, and any other time when its windy and the air is well mixed, we have us colder conditiions here on the hill than the valleys below. Doug Allen Windmill Hill, SC Subject: EASTERN BUCKMOTHS - Cedar Island, SC From: Nathan Dias <diasn AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:35:01 -0800 (PST) While on a Christmas Bird Count on remote Cedar Island, SC (between the mouths of the North and South Santee Rivers), Mark Spinks of SC DNR and I encountered a big emergence flight of Eastern Buckmoths! Note: Cedar Island is closed to the public during waterfowl season and a bit beyond. At first we could not figure out what all these black and white butterflies were, and why they never landed or nectared at flowers. As I tried to get a photo of the elusive creatures, Mark noticed that some had red spots on their abdomens. After doing some online research, I learned of the very brief flight period and other aspects of these interesting creatures' life history. They were in a long narrow grove of oaks and scrub, that was growing on an ancient dune ridge. This ridge had been turned into a cross dike in between 2 vast impoundments by rice planters long ago. I am more gratified by this encounter than by the Black Rail we flushed earlier that morning, or the Barn Owl we found in this same grove. Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC Subject: Georgetown, SC leps 15 Dec 2011 From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2011 06:21:33 -0500 Hi All, Yesterday David Egleston and I had several butterflies in the Maryville to Belle Isle area of Georgetown, SC. Afternoon temps were in the lower 70's and it was clear and calm. We had: Cloudless Sulfurs-15 Gulf Fritillary-3 Monarch-5 also a number of mosquitoes and a far-off dragonfly. 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: Calling all 2011 butterfly records for NC From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2011 02:30:29 +0000 I have entered all butterfly records for NC that have been posted to carolinaleps listserve, plus made sure that I got the butterfly count data entered, as well. I will send Tom Howard tom.howard AT ncdenr.gov the file in a few days, to incorporate into the huge database (over 125,000 records) to create the 19th approximation of "Butterflies of North Carolina". As usual, we should have the 19th version ready for viewing, at: http://www.ncsparks.net/butterfly/nbnc.html A few folks send us Excel files, or other data sets, at the end of the year - so, if you have butterfly records that have not already been posted on this listserve, or sent in a previous year, send us your records (dataset) before the end of the year. I will still be adding any additional records thru the 31st. Also - I send Tom a file on NEW county records for SC (not all records, just those not already reported in a county for SC, as seen on the above website maps). Let me know if you have such records - I can easily overlook such records, as it is quite time-consuming for me to go thru a long species list that is posted for an SC outing, to see which ones are new to that county. Thanks. Have a great holidays, and let's eagerly look forward to an exciting 2012! Harry LeGrand, Vertebrate Zoologist North Carolina Natural Heritage Program NCDENR Office of Conservation, Planning, & Community Affairs 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) Subject: 'Tis The Season to Renew CBS Memberships From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:40:57 -0500 Carolina Butterfly Society Members: It's time for us to renew our memberships for 2011. For the last two years we have gone green by sending our dues notice via email, and it worked quite well. Help your butterfly club and the environment by mailing in your check now. I'll be preparing the paper dues notices to mail soon. See if you can beat me to it! Send me your renewal (and gift membership) checks right away, and it will save CBS the price of envelopes, printing cost, stamps, and volunteer labor that we'll expend to get the notices out. When you renew, please update any changes in your mailing address, preferred telephone number, and email address. Not a member yet? Go to our website and download an application: http://www.carolinabutterflysociety.org/ The board is holding Family Memberships at the same rate as Individual Memberships, $15.00, again this year. Corporate/Library memberships remain at $25. Consider sending a gift membership for someone you care about. And did you know that you might be able to take a tax deduction for donations to Carolina Butterfly Society? We're a 501(c)(3) non-profit group. We use donations for educational and conservation purposes such as making grants, holding an annual butterfly symposium, and other similar activities. Please send your renewals right now while you're thinking about it to: Carolina Butterfly Society PO Box 18771 Greensboro, NC 27419 Thanks! Dennis -- Dennis Burnette CBS Membership Chair Greensboro, NC deburnette AT triad.rr.com Subject: J. Merrill Lynch shared an album with you. From: "J. Merrill Lynch" <jmerrilllynch AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:47:40 +0000 Carolinaleps, For those of you who may be interested, you're invited to check out my web album of moths of the Serra Bonita Reserve located in the State of Bahia, Brazil. Derb Carter, Will Cook, Kent Fiala and I visited the reserve while on a birding trip to northeastern Brazil in October. We only spent two nights there but were blown away by the diversity of moths that were attracted to several mercury vapor lamps and sheets set up at the reserve's research station. Enjoy! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=108130407760189961725&target=ALBUM&id=5682702821557392641&authkey=Gv1sRgCKjrtMb07NDbxwE&invite=COT-gM0J&feat=email Subject: Pitt County, December 5 From: "Abdulali, Salman" <ABDULALIS AT ecu.edu> Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2011 19:05:25 +0000 Warm and cloudy today, 2011-12-05. I briefly visited the Pitt County Arboretum and saw one butterfly: Fiery Skipper, 1 male, first December record for Pitt. Salman Abdulali Greenville, NC Subject: FW: Text and photos on differentiation of Pink-spot Sulphur from other sulphurs From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2011 13:59:38 +0000 Andy Warren at the University of Florida directed me to the webpage on Aphrissa neleis at the Butterflies of America website, which he helps to maintain current information, photos, etc. http://butterfliesofamerica.com/aphrissa_neleis.htm Scroll to the bottom of the page, and you will see his paper, co-written with John Calhoun, about how to differentiate Pink-spot Sulphur from Statira Sulphur, as well as Cloudless Sulphur. Thus, I hope that this material, already available on-line, will suffice to answer questions on my previous post. Harry LeGrand, Vertebrate Zoologist North Carolina Natural Heritage Program NCDENR Office of Conservation, Planning, & Community Affairs 1601 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1601 Office: (919) 707-8603 NOTE: This is a new phone number, starting Nov. 7, 2011 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. Subject: Soliciting info on separation of Pink-spot Sulphur From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2011 13:00:36 +0000 Folks: Someone on NABA-CHAT asked me to look at his photos of Cloudless Sulphur, some of which have pink spots at the bases of the wings, and wondered how one now differentiates Clouldess Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) from a butterfly in a different genus (Aphrissa). It is actually a question that needs answering by a taxonomist. The second butterfly (behind in the photo) in Frank Model's photograph arguably looks like a Cloudless Sulphur. Before everyone goes down to FL and start snapping photos of any pale yellow butterfly with pink spots at the base of the wings and starts calling them Pink-spot Sulphurs (Aphrissa neleis) (named as Neleis Sulphur in the Butterflies of America website), can some expert/taxonomist give us field marks separating Cloudless Sulphur, Statira Sulphur, and Pink-spot Sulphur? Sure, MOST Cloudless Sulphurs have extra spots on the underside of the wings (even toward the apex), but this spotting is variable -- as one can see from Googling photos of Cloudless Sulphur. How many underwing spots (pink, clear, etc.) can a Pink-spot show (a la the back butterfly in Frank's photo)? Are there other marks on Pink-spot (head, body, etc.) that need to be discussed as field marks? I wonder if the only true, confirming field marks are on the upper surface of the wings, not visible in the field. Thanks. Harry LeGrand Raleigh, NC -----Original Message----- From: North American Butterfly Association List [mailto:NABA-CHAT AT PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM] On Behalf Of Frank Model Sent: Sunday, December 04, 2011 10:00 PM To: NABA-CHAT AT PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM Subject: [NABA-CHAT] Pink-Spot Sulphur Mated Pair!!!! Good Evening, Greetings from South Florida. Sue and I haven't really reached prime butterfly turf yet, having spent Friday-Saturday with my cousin in Ft. Lauderdale and Saturday-Sunday here in Miami Beach. But today I had a major find - a fresh, mated pair of pink-spot sulphur [Aphrissa neleis] at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden around noon today: _http://www.flickr.com/photos/fsmodel/6457005279/sizes/l/in/photostream/_ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fsmodel/6457005279/sizes/l/in/photostream/) Yes, I've sent this picture to Andy Warren and he has confirmed the ID. [He's excited, too.] The female is apparently a first in the extant crop of live photos. But I'm sure more will turn up very soon. This species has got to be pretty common - just overlooked until Andy discovered it. Otherwise, this was far too easy. Good night. Cheers, Frank ############################ To unsubscribe from the NABA-CHAT list: write to: mailto:NABA-CHAT-SIGNOFF-REQUEST AT PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM or click the following link: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=NABA-CHAT&A=1 ############################ To unsubscribe from the NABA-CHAT list: write to: mailto:NABA-CHAT-SIGNOFF-REQUEST AT PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM or click the following link: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=NABA-CHAT&A=1 Subject: Carteret County, Dec 4 From: ROBERT CAVANAUGH <papilio28570 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 4 Dec 2011 17:43:43 -0800 (PST) In my yard today in Newport: 5 Cloudless Sulphurs 1 Buckeye 1 Sleepy Orange 1 Gulf Frit 1 Red Admiral feeding on rotting Bradford pears on the ground Subject: James Is, SC leps 12/4/2011 From: Dennis Forsythe <dennis.forsythe AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 4 Dec 2011 15:14:48 -0500 Hi All, Donna and I saw a feel butterflies when we walked from our house to "Sunrise" Park and return today from 12 until 2PM. It was 69F with scattered cluds and a 6mph ENE wind. We had the following: Cloudless Sulfur-1 Gulf Fritillary 4 Common Buckeye-1 very worn Monarch-8 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: Pink-spot Sulphur (Aphrissa neleis) in the news in FL From: "Legrand, Harry" <harry.legrand AT ncdenr.gov> Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2011 03:23:51 +0000 Those of you with an interest in Butterflies of the East, especially Florida, may have already heard this, but a "Cuban/Bahaman" species, that is EASILY overlooked as a Statira Sulphur, has been resident in Florida for a good while now. Check out the two links below. The links don't have photos of Statira Sulphur, so you'll have to google some photos, I suppose, to see the difference (Statira doesn't show the small pink spots at the base of the wings). Harry LeGrand Raleigh -----Original Message----- From: North American Butterfly Association List [mailto:NABA-CHAT AT PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM] On Behalf Of Kim Davis Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2011 9:52 PM To: NABA-CHAT AT PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM Subject: [NABA-CHAT] Pink-spot Sulphur (Aphrissa neleis) in the news Thanks to Andy Warren's research at the McGuire Center and photos from butterfly photographers in South Florida, it's confirmed there is a resident butterfly species that has been in South Florida for many years unknown to everyone until now. Here are links to two articles that will appear in tomorrow morning's edition of the Sun Sentinel paper. The second link is to the most detailed story. http://tinyurl.com/79pyqln http://tinyurl.com/6re2jok Congratulations to Andy and all the photographers who sent in their photos! Life is Good... Kim Davis http://kimandmikeontheroad.com/ http://butterfliesofamerica.com/ ############################ To unsubscribe from the NABA-CHAT list: write to: mailto:NABA-CHAT-SIGNOFF-REQUEST AT PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM or click the following link: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=NABA-CHAT&A=1 Subject: butterflies 11/25, 11/26 From: KASTNERS AT aol.com Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:59:53 -0500 (EST) On Friday, Dave and I took our son to see Congaree NP. We saw 2 Southern Pearly-eye, 2 Gemmed Satyr and 1 Carolina Satyr. Before we left Blythewood we had one very fresh Gulf Fritillary in our yard. 11/26 we saw 1 Cloudless Sulphur in our yard. The season is not over yet! Marty Marty & Dave Kastner Blythewood, SC Richland County Subject: QUEEN, Pink-spotted Hawk-Moth, etc. - Charleston, SC From: Nathan Dias <diasn AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2011 06:19:47 -0800 (PST) Yesterday while preparing to transplant a Viburnum obovatum in my mother's yard (AKA Rancho Dias) in western Charleston, SC - I noticed a late-flying Queen Butterfly amid the 20+ Monarchs.  It was a male Queen - photos here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/offshorebirder/    The Queen's favored nectar sources were some Brazilian Button flowers and some Loquat flowers.  Late that afternoon / early evening, I saw what I think was a Pink-spotted Hawk Moth nectaring at some late-blooming Ginger Lilies.  It could have been a Manduca spp. however; hard to tell in the low light and I did not get any photos. Butterfly list for the afternoon: Long-tailed Skipper Gulf Fritillary     (12+) Cloudless Sulphur (10+) Hackberry Emperor American Lady Common Buckeye (6-7) Monarch (20+) QUEEN (1 male) Carolina Satyr (2) Grass skipper spp. (2) Still no sign of any Cassius Blues - I suppose they have not gotten re-established since the past 2 cold winters wiped them out locally. Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC Subject: Saturday butterflies From: "Loretta" <butterflies_bg AT triad.rr.com> Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:25:08 -0500 Today in the garden, 1 orange sulphur 1 sleepy orange nectaring on pineapple sage 1 cloudless sulphur (?) was bright yellow, with almost a hint of green. Don't know my yellows well, they don't sit still long enough. 1 tiny blue in flight, but couldn't identify Also saw a dragonfly! Very large, dark in color, but it flew into the sun, so also unidentified. Seems late for dragonflies. Loretta Lutman Asheboro, NC Subject: Monarchs Before Turkey in Lexington Co., SC From: Dennis Burnette <deburnette AT triad.rr.com> Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:08:52 -0500 On the day before Thanksgiving, Nov. 23rd, at about 3:00 pm we were in Lexington Co., SC, near Chapin at Lake Murray. I saw two different Monarchs fly by. They were flying strongly approximately southwest along the edge of the lake. It was sunny and the temperature was about 70 degrees. -- Dennis Burnette Greensboro, NC Guilford County deburnette AT triad.rr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisburnette/ Subject: New lifers and late records- Windmill Hill, SC From: Doug Allen <dougk4ly AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 11:57:16 -0500 Yesterday, November 25, was warm- high 67 degrees- and sunny. We had at least 11 species here on Windmill Hill, Spartanburg County, SC, which brings our total for the week to 15 species. New yesterday were- 1 Orange Sulphur 1 Sleepy Orange 1 Great Purple Hairstreak lifer and Carolina late date based on Eighteenth Approximation- PICTURE 1 White M Hairstreak lifer and Carolina late date and new county record based on Eighteeth Approximation- PICTURE 4 Clouded Skipper PICTURE 1 possible Ocola Skipper- PICTURE from above 1 rusty unidentified Skipper- fuzzy PICTURE In addition, yesterday we had- 1 Cloudless Sulphur 5 Buckeye at least 50% difference in size between largest and smallest 3 Am. Lady 1 Red-banded Hairstreak several Sachem several Fiery Skipper Temperatures were 2.2 degrees below normal at the NOAA GSP airport (12 miles away) in October and are averaging about normal so far this November. Most flowers have been killed by frosts below Windmill Hill, but no killing frost on top of hill yet. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I have been too busy to do much butterflying this summer and fall, but it was a great Monarch migration here. This morning it's in the low 60's and mostly cloudy with a few butterflies already observed. I'll report later. Here's the picture link- https://picasaweb.google.com/114446304105523815248/WindmillHillSC?authkey=Gv1sRgCNPG9J3c3OK5MQ # Doug Allen Inman, SC Subject: Jeff Pippen to appear in Wilmington From: nottke1 <nottke1 AT earthlink.net> Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 09:38:11 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Subject: NCSU Arboretum 11/23/11 From: Will Cook <cwcook AT duke.edu> Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:14:51 -0500 I visited the NC State Arboretum in Raleigh, NC on Wednesday. In a half hour I found a couple of mild surprises, including an American Snout nectaring on a flowering Fatsia japonica and a well-worn Gulf Frit: 2 Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) 1 Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme) 1 Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe) 1 Red-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) 1 American Snout (Libytheana carinenta) 1 Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) 1 American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) 3 Common Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus communis) 1 Sachem (Atalopedes campestris) Will Cook - Durham, NC http://www.carolinanature.com/