I went on the first Regal Fritillary tour offer by the Fort Indiantown Gap Wildlife Office Regal Fritillary Tours 2013. Dozens of Regal’s were seen.
The Regal Fritillary is considered a Pennsylvania responsibility species of immediate conservation concern and is the symbol of the PA Natural Heritage Program. Fort Indiantown Gap is home to 85 species of butterflies and 243 species of moths. The installation also features 1,000 acres of scrub oak and pitch pine barrens and 3,000 acres of native grassland habitat – the largest in the state.
I would estimate 125+ people on the trip today. Sunny, warm going to hot by 1pm but at least there was a cooling breeze. I saw more lifers along the way. (Coral Hairstreak, Regal Fritillary, Aphrodite Fritillary, Crossline Skipper). I ran into Rick Borchelt and Beth Johnson from the Washington DC area. Rick has a blog you may want to check out: MD LepLog Blog
22 species today with some of the highlights shown here. Click on image for a larger size.
