Sulphur Butterflies

Even though it is a most common butterfly throughout the State of Ohio, the Clouded Sulphur butterfly is an uncommon find at Blue Jay Barrens.  That is most likely because the Red and White Clovers upon which the Clouded Sulphur caterpillars feed is practically absent on this property.

During my childhood, Clouded Sulphurs were a particular favorite of mine.  No matter where we happened to be living, nearby agricultural fields abounded with Red Clover and with that plant came the butterflies.  My net captured hundreds of this species, which I would inspect closely and then release.

Clouded Sulphurs are common puddlers and will often blanket a small patch of mud.  I used to race through mud holes, raising clouds of butterflies.  It is fortunate that these butterflies are so quick to return to their mud.  As an eight year old, I had little patience for waiting on butterflies to regroup for my next run.

Mud holes are also uncommon in the well drained soils of Blue Jay Barrens.  The pond bottom is about the only decent place for puddling butterflies to gather.

Besides the resident Clouded Sulphur, Blue Jay Barrens has a couple of migrant Sulphurs that show up each summer.  This is the Cloudless Sulphur, a species that regularly shows up here in August.  The largest of the Sulphurs, this butterfly presents a bright lime-green appearance when in flight.  The large spots on the wings identify this individual as a female.  It’s possible that she will deposit eggs on some of the abundant Wild Senna growing in this field, but none of her offspring will survive the winter weather experienced in this area.  Next year’s Cloudless Sulphurs will come here from southern states with milder winters.

Thistle flowers are a favorite of this species.  These butterflies fly much faster than the average person can travel through the field, so chasing one down is problematic.  The easiest place to view them is on thistle flowers.

The Little Sulphur is the smallest of the Sulphurs.  It flies close to the ground and weaves its way through the tall vegetation.  Its small size makes it appear quite moth-like as it moves from one location to the next.

The best time to view this species is early in the morning, before the dew dries and the butterflies warm up.  At that time, disturbed individuals will only move a short distance before settling back down.  This is another migrant that moves in each year from more southern states.  Perhaps one day it will actually be a resident of this area.

Eastern Snout Butterfly and Some Other Puddlers

Dry weather continues and the pond has made its transformation into a mud hole.  Open water is gone, but the area is still attractive to a wide range of wildlife species.  The most noticeable are the butterflies that come to claim water and minerals from the soupy mud.

The Eastern Snout Butterfly, a species uncommonly seen around here, has come to the mud in record numbers.  Normally I only get to see one or two of this species each year.  On this day there were at least a dozen scattered across the mud flat.  This guy has a profile that is unmistakable.  You don’t have to be very close to recognize the squared off back edge of the wings.  It looks like someone snipped them off with pinking sheers.

On the front end is the snout formed by super long labial palps.  If you’ve ever seen one of these butterflies, you’ll never fail to recognize it.

You don’t even have to get close for an accurate identification.  This is the first time I’ve seen this species at the pond, but I’m not surprised they’re here now.

The host plant of the Snout Butterfly larvae is the Hackberry.  This Hackberry growing at the edge of the pond has just gotten large enough to support a colony of Snouts.  I’m going to have to trim this tree back to keep it out of the electric lines, but I hope it will serve for many years as a nursery for Snout Butterflies.

Total butterfly numbers continue to be lower than normal.  I keep wondering if the severe storms and flooding we had earlier are partly responsible.  Even so, several other species joined the Snouts on the mud.  These four Clouded Sulphurs remained as a group as they moved from place to place about the pond bottom.

There were several skippers about, all Wild Indigo Duskywings.  These were all dark, crisply patterned individuals that must have just recently emerged.  As they age, colors fade and scales are lost, making some of the skippers very hard to identify.  It’s nice to see them in such prime condition.

Pearl Crescents were represented by a single individual.  I’ve been seeing them around, but their numbers are much lower than normal.

Eastern Tailed Blues are around in good numbers.  This species is normally very common, but its small size causes it to be overlooked by many people.  Fortunately, it’s tolerant of close approach, so you can slowly work yourself in close for a good look.  I’m hoping that butterflies will become more numerous of summer progresses. 

Butterflies - Early April

Butterflies are certainly out in impressive numbers and a first impression might indicate this to be the beginning of an outstanding butterfly year.  Olive Hairstreaks are certainly making a superb showing.  They showed up weeks earlier than expected and may be the most common butterfly species currently in the air at Blue Jay Barrens.  Every gravel bar in the creek seems to have one or two of the colorful creatures.

Many have staked out territories on their host plant, Eastern Red Cedar.  I’ve seen this butterfly in every prairie opening here.  I’ve probably seen more Olive Hairstreaks this year than I’ve totaled in all of my years prior to this.

They’re the only small butterfly I’ve seen at the Redbuds.  While I’m enjoying the bounty of this uncommon species, I’m wondering about the absence of other species.  Henry’s Elfin, which I mentioned earlier, usually appears a couple of weeks prior to the Olive Hairstreak.  So far this year, I’ve seen no Henry’s Elfins.  I’m wondering why.

Eastern Tailed Blue made its appearance early this year and is also common on the wet gravel along the creek.  A common butterfly that I haven’t seen this year is the Spring Azure.  Spring Azures are usually seen several weeks earlier than Eastern Tailed Blues.  What happened to the Spring Azures this year?  I’m out often enough that I shouldn’t have missed seeing them, no matter how early they emerged.

Clouded Sulphurs are all over the place.  Populations of this species always increase as summer progresses, so this may indeed be a record year for Sulphurs.

The white form of Clouded Sulphur is also abundant, but once again there’s a similar looking butterfly that is conspicuous by its absence.  I counted just a single Falcate Orange-Tip this year.  Falcate Orange-Tips show up about a week before the Clouded Sulphurs and I usually count dozens of them before the sulphurs begin adding their numbers to the mass of white butterflies.  This absence of regularly seen species makes me wonder if the weird winter weather is somehow responsible.  Warm wet winters have been known to cause fungus and disease problems in some overwintering insect species.  I hope that hasn’t happened to these butterflies.

Some species are here on their normal schedule.  Gemmed Satyrs show up early and are never very numerous.  It’s also hard to catch them sitting still, so I don’t have an excess of quality photos.  This is about my average shot for this species.

Swallowtails are around in near normal numbers.  Most stay on the wing and are just seen briefly as they pass.  This Zebra Swallowtail was visiting a damp spot along the creek.  Now that we’re in the season when rain is to be expected, all the rain storms seem to be giving us a miss.  We’re getting the wind, but the water has stayed away.  Most damp spots have turned dry and the creek is the only suitable area for puddling.

Juvenal’s Duskywings have flocked to the creekside.  This is a large skipper that is quite conspicuous in flight.  I saw up to a dozen of these sharing the same gravel bar.  Having them all take wing at once was quite an impressive sight.

This Mournful Thyris is a day flying moth, not a butterfly.  The tiny little thing was feeding on a bird dropping in the gravel along the creek.  If it hadn’t flown in just as I walked up, I would never have noticed it.  It’ll be interesting to see how things develop this year with our typical summer time butterflies.

Late Season Butterflies

Despite the cold, dry weather and the lack of nectar sources, I’m still seeing several butterflies around Blue Jay Barrens. The most abundant is the Buckeye. This is a southern immigrant that won’t survive the winter in Ohio. I can’t remember a year where I’ve seen this many Buckeyes.

The occasional Clouded Sulphur can still be found in the field. This is a common resident that is normally abundant every year.

The Variegated Fritillary is another immigrant. I don’t see this species very often at Blue Jay Barrens. I’ve seen several during the past month.

Meadow Fritillaries have been especially abundant this year. They prefer a moist habitat, so it’s interesting that I’m seeing so many in this super dry year. Maybe the abundant rainfall early in the year set the stage for a population explosion of this species.

Checkered Skippers are still abundant, but they seem to have ceased their egg laying activities. Most of the individuals I see are just resting spread-winged in the sun.

There must be a lot of butterflies around if they’re all trying to squeeze into the same picture. This year has had an extraordinary abundance of butterflies. I hope the butterfly bonanza continues on into next year.

Clouded Sulphur Butterflies

Clouded Sulphurs, Colias philodice, are one of the most common butterflies in Ohio and can be seen in practically any open area. They are also kind of jumpy when approached and I’ve had a lot of trouble getting a descent picture of this species. My luck changed yesterday when I got this shot of a Clouded Sulphur nectaring on Butterfly Weed.

While I was viewing the first photo to see if it was at all in focus, a second individual landed on the same milkweed plant. This is a white color morph of the same species. It’s not uncommon for female Clouded Sulphurs to be very light yellow or completely white. How very fortunate to get identifiable shots of both colors.

Then my luck got even better. Sulphurs rarely open their wings while sitting, so it’s really difficult to get shots of the upper wing. The yellow individual suddenly began a courtship display in front of the female. He hovered and she responded by opening her wings and raising her abdomen. Males of this species have a solid black border along the outside of the wings, while females have a series of spots within the black border of the front wing.

Next came a bouncing display by the male. While hovering, he would rise several inches and then drop suddenly almost on top of the female’s head. The female produced several quivers and wing flaps during this part of the display.

Suddenly, the male shot into the air. The female was quick to follow and they began performing a tight circling maneuver that made them appear as a load of laundry tumbling in the drier. As quickly as it began, it was over and the two broke apart and headed in separate directions.

The male came back to the Butterfly Weed and resumed drinking nectar. I guess something just wasn’t right for the two to mate. Maybe the whole thing was performed just so I could get a few pictures.