Swan Song

[fsm...@aol.com]

Greetings,

After spending the first 12 years of my retirement in Massachusetts, I have now spent the next 12 in Southern California, where it's much warmer in the winter. I suffered a stroke in June 2025 during/after an aortic valve replacement procedure. This has limited my mobility but I'm still trying, especially wildflowers, which don't fly away. I also post my older photos as Facebook memories, so many of you still hear from me. But it's not  the same.

I would like to use this note to tie up a loose end. On June 29, 2013, I was at Broad Meadowbrook in Worcester and saw a really tiny duskywing - easily the smallest one I have ever seen. It was also rather dark. It was likely just an aberrent Wild Indigo DW but I can't rule out Columbine DW, whose host plant, Wild Columbine, grows in Massachusetts. According to the field guides, Columbine DW would be only slightly out of range in Worcester county, but not by much, its eastern limit being the Hudson River Valley. And  trust me - it was very dark and very, very small.

I got one decent photo before the butterfly disappeared into the woods. It's attached. I'd appreciate any and all opinions. I recognize that field marks take one only so far. IDs based on a single photo are invariably tenuous.

Cheers,

Frank Model