After a frustrating day yesterday I went back to Green Ridge State Forest after lunch today and with temps being about four degrees warmer and the Sun breaking through strong every now and again the butterflies were out(: Tallied ten species with the highlights being FOY Olympia Marble, Zebra Swallowtail, a couple of Spring Azures, and the beautiful Silvery Blue. The flowers were not to be outdone with many species that would typically be done by this time of the year still in full bloom. Dutchman Breeches are going strong along with Spring Beauty. Some Yellow Trout Lilly’s still grace creek and stream banks. And, one of my favorites – the bi-color variety of Birdsfoot Violet.
Azures were the most plentiful with a few nicely marked and light ventral “Spring brood – Summer Azure” C. neglecta. Others were tougher but in the lower elevations near the Potomac River near Bond’s Landing a few C. ladon (Spring Azure… at least to my eye) with their brown ventral ground color and violet-blue dorsal color in flight. C. lucia (Northern Azure) is more likely up towards the ridges where their host plant is more prevalent. Sleepy Duskywings were in most locations that I stopped mixed in with a hand full of Juvenal’s Duskywings. One Question Mark and two Eastern Commas said “hello”.
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Nice Trout Lily.