The Nature of Delaware

A Red-banded Hairstreak basking on a leaf at Coverdale Farm Preserve. Image by Derek Stoner, July 30, 2011.

Way back on July 30(more than three weeks ago now!), the Delaware Nature Society took part in the North American Butterfly Count.  A crew of four citizen scientists helped to survey the butterfly populations at both Ashland Nature Center and Coverdale Farm Preserve.  The results, in butterfly terms, were impressive!

 

In two hours of walking the fields at Ashland, we observed and identified 27 species of butterflies.  A more typical count in previous years has been 15-18 species at Ashland, but this year seemed to be excellent in terms of species diversity.  We tallied 9 species of skippers (those tiny, mostly orange and brown specks with scaly wings) and noted uncommon species like Crossline Skipper, Dun Skipper, and Hobomok Skipper.

 

On the Ashland grounds, we also found beauties like the Appalachain Eyed Brown, Red-spotted Purple, Red-banded Hairstreak, and Great Spangled Fritillary.  The nectar sources (flowers) were widely scattered and so were the butterflies.  Patience, and a quick butterfly net and snap of a digital camera, allowed us to net a good variety of butterflies.

We discovered a great technique for studying and photographing small butterflies.  After I caught butterflies in a net, Jill placed the fragile creatures inside a plastic jar and inserted her digital camera into the opening of the jar.  The photos showed the butterflies’ detail very well, and thus was born the saying “It’s like shooting butterflies in a jar.”  Easy, simple, and effective. 

In the afternoon, we spent three hours touring the gardens, meadows, and forest at Coverdale Farm Preserve.  Joined by Sheila Vincent (Delaware Nature Society’s Butterfly guru), we found a bonanza of butterflies congregating on the flowers in the CSA garden.  Zinnias, sunflowers, and Bachelor’s Button’s attracted 13 species of butterflies with standouts like Gray Hairstreak, American Lady, Variegated Fritillary, and Buckeye grabbing our attention.