After a long winter and five months of lep withdrawal it sure was nice to kick off the 2017 season with a great selection (18 species) of butterflies on a beautiful day. Barry and I met up with lep friends from Maryland at Green Ridge State Forest (MD) and searched for Olympia Marble and whatever else we could find. We were rewarded with great views of a couple of those rarities plus some bonus butterflies like Sleepy Orange. The next week promises to get things moving in earnest. I’ll be on the lookout for Elfins in the next couple of days. First of year (FOY) for me included Pipevine Swallowtail, Zebra Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Olympia Marble, Sleepy Orange, Eastern Pine Elfin, and American Lady.
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