hello everyone
I have a few to post west central Ill
black swallow tail - 4-22
whites - 4-20
painted lady - 4-20
little blue of some kind - 4-20

I have all you posts plotted, I was a little behind but this rainy day was a purfect time to catch up.
thank you for all the posts I just love to hear about all your sitings
michelle

More firsts from Camelot in SW VA

Orange sulfur 4/23

tattered Monarch 4/25 the first one I've ever recorded this early.

mike

Sandy, I've been seeing the Silver Spotted Skipper here, too, just forgot to report them. Do you grow a host plant for them? I need to check my neighbor's wisteria, since that is listed as one of their hosts - no way would I grow wisteria! I can barely keep up with the plants I CAN reach, without dealing with that monster. LOL!

Susan

It's not on your list, but I was very excited to see a Milbert's Tortoiseshell today around the Denver area! This is my first sighting this year, and my second sighting total. I really need to find some nettles...
-Jmcat

Hello, I have not read or posted in a long time. I do keep track of when I see butterflies. Baton Rouge has some complicated weather.Some butterflies we have all year. they come out and fly whenever there is a warm day. I had gulf fritillaries in January and Giants in February. The Tigers came with the Azaleas in March.I found a Carolina Satry chrysalis when I was clearing leaves in February. it eclosed around the 25th. Next were the Question marks. I have found my list for the specific dates in April.
4-1 Giant Swallowtail- eggs on Lime.
4-5 watched Satyr lay egg on grass
4-10 Tiger swallowtail nectaring on weedy Honeysuckle ( Japonica)
4-11- Monarchs on Curasavica (only) at Nursery ( next to other milkweeds)- I bought the plants with eggs and baby cats
4-12 Red spotted purple laid egg on cherry
Silver spotted skipper nectaring on phlox and sunning on wisteria
4-13 Viceroy loving some rotting pear. question marks( 2) sunning and jockying for position on that rotting pear.
4-18 Red spotted purple on rotting pear. eggs on all 3 cherries. Giant swallowtail eggs on Hop tree and Mandarin.
2nd instar cats.
Misc. sulphurs.
4-25 SSskipper eggs on wisteria, beans and hop tree hatched- cats in their leaf houses
4-26 found cats on Hackberry- too tiny for positive id but acting like american snouts and correct body type and color for snouts. (Excited because these are new for me)
sometime in March or April had pearl crescent and pipevine nectaring on homestead purple verbena.
there were some eggs on the willow-possibly viceroy, coneflower leaves being munched- maybe pearl crescent.
Mustard being munched, butterfly style-( moths destroy it, butterflies nibble) never found cats. getting worried because my tall verbena is in full bloom and typically had butterflies all day on it last year. now only the silver spotted skipper has been around.( wisteria is next to one verbena) it is not because it has been too cool. Good to hear there are better populations elsewhere.
happy sighting to all.

Spotted today:

Texas Crescent
Orange Sulphur

Susan

Susan,

Texas Crescent? Wow! This is early for them, isn't it? We are in for another phenomenal year. I had a Cloudless, a PL, and a Goatweed in my yard today. I was only out a brief time, so who knows what else is blowing through.

Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping in the BFs.....

Sandy

I saw my first Zebra Longwing on Monday, April 28th. It was a female and she laid eggs on my Passiflora Careula. she came back on Tuesday but I haven't seen her today.

Sandy,

April 30 SW VA( in Camelot-my one-acre butterfly sanctuary)

Pearl crescent

mike

Mary, the ZLWs layed eggs on your P. ceurulea? That's not common is it? I've always heard they used P. incarnata and hybrids, and P. lutea, but never ceurulea. I know the VFs are not supposed to use P. ceurulea either and I've never found one on either the 'Lavendar Lady' (probably because of the "other" parent) or P. ceurulea so far.

Congrats on the ZLWs - they are gorgeous!

Sandy, the red-banded hairstreaks are hanging around like crazy. Must have overwintered in leaf mulch around the yard somewhere. I also have that stupid red wasp hanging around again - just one, but I'd like to wap him with a flyswatter if I can catch him. He flies low around the plants just waiting for a vulnerable caterpillar!

Susan

I'm in Rockville, MD, a few miles north of Washington DC. I saw my first Tiger Swallowtail last Friday (4/25) and my first BST today (5/1) -- she was laying eggs on my parsley! Hooray!

Amy

Susan,
Seems like I had a few on my Careula last year but I immediatley put them on my Incarnata to feed. I haven't checked today but they hadn't hatched yesterday afternoon. I bought the vine from Butterfly World Conservatory and they said ZLWs and Gulf Frits use it. There were lots on GFs on their vines at that time.

I've raised a few rounds of Monarchs already this year... but that is it!

Somebody please send the Gulf Frits my way, before my passionvine engulfs everything else trying to grow in that bed (I'd hate to cut it back, I was always OUT of food last season for the gulf frits). And the frogfruit, oh it's going wild... and the Parsley and fennel is just going yellow and needing to be trimmed, instead of being chewed down to stems.

The trees have not even leafed out yet here. Bummer...

Had a Polyphemus Moth almost the size of my hand!
I think it was around 4-21!
It was stunning :)
Mostly sulfers in my garden now.
EG

Yesterday while Sandy was here - a Painted Lady butterfly!

Susan

Today:

Mama BST laying eggs on fennel and Rue!

On May 4 I saw Spicebush Swallowtail, Pearl Crescent, Eastern tailed-Blue and Sleepy Duskywing for the first time this year in SW Pennsylvania.

More firsts from Camelot in SW VA

May 6

Question mark

Hairstreak (sp.)

mike

Saw my 1st Monarch in the yard yesterday, May 6th.

BTW, everything seems to love my Phlomis tuberosa, which bloomed for the first time this year. It has pink blooms and really is a lovely plant. The silver-spotted skipper loves it, too.

Susan

A surprise first from Camelot in SW VA.

Last fall, I carefully? cleaned the cage that is used to raise cats. I even used Clorox to clean all the mesh and plastic parts. I've yet to find a cat/chrysalis to put in the cage this year. Yesterday morning I noticed something fluttering in my butterfly cage and found a beautiful Black swallowtail. My wife released it into our butterfly sanctuary.

mike

Michelle,

I got my first Variegated Fritillary yesterday, May 9th, in Broken Arrow, OK, NE Oklahoma. She was looking for a place to lay eggs, and my P incarnata is up. I also saw my first American Snout for the year on May 8th.

Sandy Schwinn

Yippee, Sandy!!! Hoorah!!!!! I will have that little A. purpurescens for you next weekend, too!

I should give you 2 and keep one, cuz I'm sure you have more room for it in your garden. Mine is rapidly filling up!

I saw Question Marks on the feeder I put up yesterday. Was beginning to wonder if I was going to see any at all. And, that little Texas Crescent is still hanging around.

Susan

I went hiking today, and saw several species for both my first time and my first time this year. I know not all of these species are in your listing, but I saw:
Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon)
Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
Sheridan's Hairstreak (Callophrys sheridanii)
California Tortoishell (Nymphalis californica)
Comma of some kind.
This was at Mount Falcon Park.
-Jmcat

My first Pipevine Swallowtail was on May 9, 2008 and a Dreamy Duskywing and Silver-spotted Skipper on May 10. In western PA.

I saw a Funereal Duskywing two days ago (Erynnis funeralis).

Susan

1st Zabulon Skipper today May 13, 2008 in western PA.

1st Hayhurst Scallopwing today!

Susan

Napa Ca. saw my first Painted Lady - in perfect condition so probably just emerged.

Penny

I saw my first male Giant Swallowtail on Sunday, May 11th
in lakeland, Fl.

Susan,

Good find!

Have you checked to see if the Hayhurst Scallopwing has been reported for OK County? You can check by going to Tulsa Audubon Society web page and clicking on butterflies. You will find the species' data sheets. If it hasn't been reported and you have a photo, submit it to John Fisher. I don't think there is anyone actively reporting sightings in OK county.

Sandy

The first Question Mark, American Copper, Hobomok Skipper and Indian Skipper were seen today in southern PA.

first cabbage bf and painted lady!!!!

1st Tawney-Edged Skipper (Polites themistocles). It's early! (Unfortunately, no photo proof -- but I'm confident in the ID for what it's worth)

Jeff

I saw my first Two-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata) today in the Denver metro area. It then flew across the street from where it had been, and looked like it was fluttering around with another one.
-Jmcat

More firsts from Camelot in SW, VA.

Tawny emperor( two weeks earlier than 2007)

mike

Saturday, 05/17/08, I saw an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (yellow) going crazy on my azalea, and a Painted Lady.

A LIFETIME first in Camelot in SW VA.

5/20 Cobweb skipper ( They're rather nondescript and hard to ID. I've probably just missed them in past years.)

mike

I haven't posted here BUT last weekend (May 17th) I spotted:

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antopia)
West Coast Lady (Vanessa annabella)
Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)

The West Coast Lady and Gulf Fritillary were both ovipositing. :)

Yesterday saw the first Black Swallowtail nectaring on some Lilacs. What a beauty! - Metrowest Boston

First black swallowtail in Madison Wisconsin 05/20/08

Michelle,

Congrats on a great thread. It is very rare to have a thread attain 100 responses and you clearly will go way over that.

Another first for Camelot in SW VA

Fritillary (sp.) I couldn't get close enough to determine what species. BTW, This beats my earliest Fritillary ever by 3 days.

mike

Firsts from Patuxent State Park, Montgomery Co., MD. for 5/24/08:

* Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) -- later in the year than usual, take with caution.
* Silver-Spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)
* Spicebush Swallowtail (Papillio troilus)
* Puddle party!

{{gwi:455309}}

Jeff

Saw the first Sachem (Atalopedes campestris) today, 5/24/08. This is early for this skipper, but it's too lightly marked to be Peck's Skipper (Polites peckius), I think.

{{gwi:455310}}

Jeff

Firsts in Carroll Co., MD on 5/25/08:

* Zabulon skipper (Poanes zabulon)
* Red-Banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops)
* Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

Think we should start a "Part II" thread since this one is getting kind of long? I don't know what the limit is for replies, but I know it used to be 100 when Spike was running it.

*Dun Skipper
*Fiery Skipper

Susan

I think the limit is 150 posts on a thread.

I saw the first Eastern Tiger Swallowtail today in the yard, metro-west Boston area.

Here is a link that might be useful: air cleaner

Hi randy. I'm replying to your photo's you posted. I wanted to tell you how bueatiful they are. I'm in the city & I haven't seen any beauties yet, but do love the butterfly & haven enjoyed your pics.
Cheers ... Linda

Jeff,

Great photos.

More 2008 firsts in our one-acre butterfly sanctuary "Camelot."(SW VA)

Red-spotted purple 5/26

Great spangled fritillary 5/26

mike

More "firsts" from Camelot in SW VA.

5/30

Giant Swallowtail Last year was the first time I'd ever seen a Giant swwallowtail in Camelot and it was during a garden party on July 7.

Hackberry emperor

Sachem

Coral hairstreak

mike