I recently returned from a week of business in the Salt Lake City area. I managed to shake free for several hours over two different days to seek out buttflies of the high elevations within the nearby Wasatch range. The areas visited were Guardsman Pass which in the summer months takes you past fields of wildflowers, flanked by evergreens, aspen trees and other lush mountain foliage. The other area visited was in one of the world reknown ski resorts, Alta. Wildflowers were everywhere at these higher elevations displaying a resplendent carpet of color. Even if there were no butterflies to be found it was easy to be distracted by the majestic spires surrounding you and the profusion of flowers.
It takes a while for the highest elevations to warm sufficiently for leps to start their daily chores. I arrived at Guardsman Pass at 10:00am and it was 57 degrees (it was around 80 in the valley below). As crept between the flowers on sunlit hillsides slowy but surely more and more butterflies were seen on the wing or basking. By far gossamer wings ruled the day with Coppers and Blues in good numbers. Saw my first Mormon Fritillaries not long afterwards. They are among the smallest of the Greater Fritillaries but their wing shape gives them away when compared to Lesser Fritillaries (like Meadow or Silver-boardered in our local region). I spent the better balance of the day within a few miles east or west of the pass between 7,000 and 10,000 feet with a brief drop down to Heber City to grab some lunch.
My second outing was only for a couple of hours late in the afternoon at the Alta Ski Resort. This is located near the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Most notable here was Clodius Parnassian, one of five Parnassians found in North America (no, not Kardashians). I definitely plan to return to the Utah mountains and valleys next year during our yearly business kickoff meetings.
7-21/23 Salt Lake and Summit counties, UT Lifers 5 Clodius Parnassian 1 Garita Skipperling 2 Edith's Copper 11 Blue Copper 2 Greenish Blue 15 Mormon Fritillary 1 West Coast Lady 2 Weidemeyer's Admiral 5 Small Wood-Nymph 1 Taxiles Skipper Non-lifers 1 Checkered White 1 Ruddy Copper 2 Purplish Copper 1 Arctic Blue 1 Painted Lady 4 Common Ringlet 2 Acmon Blue 2 Melissa Blue
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