Westport and Allens Pond

[Lauren Miller-Donnelly]

Hello everyone, I spent the majority of my day down at the coast yesterday (9/23/17). I want to make sure these emigrating butterflies are recorded. I am so interested in this!

The morning started with a Painted Lady flying with the migrating birds at Gooseberry at dawn.  We saw several Monarchs flying against the wicked north winds also and one Red Admiral, also. 

Later in the day I conducted my Monarch tagging program and we had loads of Monarchs!  The grassland was littered with them I estimate to be over 100.  Later there were painted ladies coming off the water ALL DAY!   Some Monarchs also.  We encountered 2 Zabulon Skippers and 1 Red-banded skipper on the trail.  There were at least 20 Painted Ladies along the way and we tagged 20 Monarchs (5 reared).  We also collected several 5th instar cats. I am doing a tiny experiment and I am keeping caterpillars raised from egg stage separate from caterpillars found at stage 4 or 5 instar to compare success rates (I have already had a Monarch in 4th star i found in the wild that just withered and died right away).  I am finding some egg-collected cats even have parasites, I have had two failed chyrsalis as the evil larva eats the chrysalis from the inside.  One chrysalis had one larva the other had 2.  I think they were flies, & I squished them.    

 I was at Horseneck State Preservation from 3PM to 4:30 and over 10 Painted Ladies landed on shor while i was walking. 2 Monarchs off the water at least 5 flying west to east along the coast.  

Lasty two years ago when the common checkered skipper was seen in Northhampton I saw the same species in the Community Garden in Dartmouth on the same day, so keep your eyes pealed. I am headed there today.  

Lauren Miller-Donnelly

Westport, MA