Even though it has a protracted flight as an adult my perception is that the Compton Tortoiseshell seems to have a brief burst in early to mid-July in our region. It reminds me of a supernova. It burns brightly for a short time and then fades away. Thus was the reasoning for making a second trip in as many weeks up to Ricketts Glen State Park in PA. From a historical perspective when we walk some of the dirt roads now used in the park they were once part of the road system of Ricketts, PA, now a Ghost Town. Ricketts is a former lumber town founded in 1890 and abandoned after 1913 when the lumber mill closed (by 1914 the town was down to five families, and the last buildings were demolished in the 1930s). The town pretty much had a supernova life span also.
Compton Tortoiseshell is very rare in our local mountain areas and becomes more common as one heads north (common being a relative term). I was able to locate four individuals in a few hours.
