Appleton Farms Field Trip 09-24-2016

[Howard Hoople]

On Saturday, 12 butterfliers convened at Appleton Farms in Ipswich, MA for the penultimate scheduled field trip of the 2016 season. Some were experienced members of the butterfly club, and some were welcomed who were on their first butterfly field trip ( https://flic.kr/p/LEEhBV ). Skies were clear, there was a light breeze, and the temp when we began was in the low 60’s. There were lots of sources of nectar, particularly golden rod and asters ( https://flic.kr/p/LEEhJD ).

We were greeted by a sea of Clouded Sulphurs, Cabbage Whites, and Orange Sulphurs. But none of us were capable of counting much higher than about 30 on Saturday:

36+ Clouded Sulphurs
31+ Cabbage Whites
11+ Orange Sulphurs
2 Monarchs (1 adult, 1 caterpillar)
1 Smeared Dagger Moth - Smartweed Caterpillar ( https://flic.kr/p/MuEGJH ) - ID’d by Marj Watson
29 Pearl Crescents
11 Silver-bordered Fritillaries ( https://flic.kr/p/MuEGVp )
3 Common Buckeyes
5 Great Spangled Fritillaries
3 Black Swallowtails
4 Eastern Tailed Blues
4 Peck’s Skippers
1 Fiery Skipper
2 American Coppers
1 Bronze Copper ( https://flic.kr/p/LEEhF2 )

The Bronze Copper took a little persistence. We had explored their predicted location three times on Saturday - when we first got there, in the middle of the day, and at the end of the day, all without success. We began heading back to the parking lot, and Mike Newton (https://flic.kr/p/MuEGPx ) took one last look… and there it was! A delightful conclusion to the day!

Howard Hoople
Andover, MA