‘Appalachian’ Grizzled Skipper

Took a trip to southeast West Virginia and nearby Virginia in search of the ‘Appalachian’ Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus centaureae wyandot). As many of you know this butterfly is an Appalachian Mountain habitat specialist that requires shale barren habitats with abundant exposed crumbly rock or soil. Over the past thirty years the population has crashed and is endangered in many of the eastern mountain states where is was once thriving. Canada Cinquefoil (Potentilla canadensis) is its primary larval host plant. Spraying for Gypsy Moth in the mountains during the late 1980’s and into the 1990’s caused this butterfly to disappear in many locations. Fortunately for us the state of Virginia has made and is continuing efforts to help this butterfly bounce back by mitigating the use of spraying and maximizing its habitat within some sensitive shale barren regions of the state. Until my good friend Mike Smith invited me an a few others to a known population location a couple of years ago I really didn’t think I’d ever have a chance to see this butterfly. My hope now is that other eastern mountain states are following suit.

Other FOYs for the day were: Meadow Fritillary, Silver-spotted Skipper, Pearl Crescent and Eastern Tailed-Blue.

'App' Grizzled Skippe
'App' Grizzled Skippe

Posted in Brush-footed, Butterfly ID, Duskywings, Remote Trip, Skippers | Leave a comment

Elfins, American Copper – Sleepy Creek WMA

Stunning weather with temps in the lower 80’s highlighted a couple of hikes within the northern areas of Sleepy Creek WMA in Berkeley/Morgan counties. My favorite group of butterflies is the Gossamer-wings and today marked FOY sightings of Brown Elfin and Henry’s Elfin. The elevation of the Brown Elfins was 1,000 ft and the Henry’s was spotted at 1,475 ft. Also of note in the same area of the Henry’s was a fresh American Copper. The Copper sighting was by far my earliest of the species as other seasonal first sightings have all previously been in mid-May. I only had my smart phone on the second hike so the image isn’t the best but it shows enough detail to confirm the identification. Thus far the season is progressing above my expectations and hopefully we can sneak in some much needed rain in the coming weeks to continue the trend.

American Copper
Brown Elfin

Posted in Duskywings, Gossamer-winged, Swallowtails | Leave a comment

Olympia Marble, Sleepy Orange

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.

(Click on the image for full size)
Olympia Marble
Eastern Pine Elfin

Posted in Blues, Brush-footed, Duskywings, Gossamer-winged, Remote Trip, Swallowtails, Whites and Sulphurs | Leave a comment

Silvery Blues – Green Ridge State Forest

I needed a break from the yard work and went out to Green Ridge State Forest for a couple of hours in partly sunny skies and temps in the lower 60’s. Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) and Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) gave color to the still awakening winter landscape. I saw my first spring brood Summer Azures, Sleepy Duskywings, Falcate Orangetips and the stunning Silvery Blue. To my eye the Silvery Blue is on average a tad larger than the Celastrina’s flying about and has a more fluttery flight. I was a nice start to the 2017 campaign.
Click on any image below to enlarge

Slivery Blue Slivery Blue
Posted in Blues, Skippers, Whites and Sulphurs | Leave a comment

First WV butterflies of 2017

This consistent February warmth has brought out Wood Frogs and now my first leps in WV for the year. While hiking in Sleepy Creek WMA in Berkeley county I saw my first Eastern Comma and Mourning Cloak. A great way to start off the season!

Posted in Brush-footed | Leave a comment