The Zabulon Skipper invasion into NH in 2022!

[Steve Mirick]

2022 saw the first significant range expansion into New Hampshire for
the Zabulon Skipper.  The Zabulon Skipper is a small species of
butterfly found in the southeastern United States that ranged
historically as far north as southern New England.  It has 2 broods and
somewhat resembles the Hobomok Skipper (which only has 1 brood).  The
species has shown a steady range expansion north and east along the
eastern seaboard of the United States, possibly associated with climate
change.  According to Sharon Stichter's web page
(http://www.butterfliesofmassachusetts.net), the first documented record
for Massachusetts came from Longmeadow in 1988. For the next 20 years,
most of the records were from this (south-central) section of the State,
but Zabulons began expanding again during the years of 2012, 2013, and
2014 reaching as far as Essex County, MA.  Since then, it appears to
have increased at a slower rate, but still following specific regions of
MA.  A recent examination of records for Zabulon Skipper in iNaturalist
shows an interesting correlation with the Hudson and Connecticut River
Valleys as well as the coastline:

https://flic.kr/p/2nDQKr1

Although there may be other records, the first and only record that I
know of from New Hampshire prior to 2022 was on August 30, 2020 when
Jason Lambert found 2 (a male and female) in the Seabrook Forest area of
South Hampton near the Massachusetts border.  There are no earlier
records found on eButterfly or iNaturalist.  No Zabulons were found at
this or nearby locations during 2021 and I can't find any other records
from last year.

Things changed during 2022!  During 2022, there were a minimum of 34
Zabulon Skippers reported from 17 locations across 11 towns and 3
counties in New Hampshire.  The reports were were primarily from
Rockingham County; however, there was one report from nearby in
Hillsborough County (Hollis) and one record from nearby southern
Strafford County (Durham).   Surprisingly, none were reported in
iNaturalist from southern Maine; however, it seems likely that they were
present from border towns in Maine at least, since there were numerous
records from Portsmouth and Rye in NH.  Most of the reports of Zabulon
Skipper came from early to late August with dwindling numbers reported
in September.  Many of the locations below hosted regular sightings of
Zabulon Skippers and the actual number of individual butterflies is
likely much higher.

Anecdotally, Tom Murray reports that 2022 was a big year for Zabulon
Skippers in Worcester and Middlesex Counties in Massachusetts and Mark
Faherty reports their continued expansion onto Cape Cod this year. 
Seems like 2022 was a big year for them.

Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA


SUMMARY OF 2022 SIGHTINGS IN NH - Gathered through iNaturalist,
eButterfly, Flickr, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total individuals from maximum counts at any given time at all sites - 34
Total towns where reported - 11
Total counties where reported - 3
First (and only) spring sighting - 1 in Derry, May 29, 2022.
First sighting of fall - August 1, 2022 in Hollis
Last sighting of fall - September 11, 2022 in Exeter (as of 9/22. We'll
see if any later reports come in.)

Hillsborough County
----------------------------
Hollis (BBA Great Meadows) - 1

Rockingham County
---------------------------
Derry (Walnut Hill Road) - 1
Derry (Robert Frost Farm) - 1
Derry (Goodhue Road) - 1
Derry (Broadview Farm) - 2
Exeter (Paul's Garden) - 3
Merrimack - 2 (Bob's yard)
Newmarket - 1 (Johnson Drive)
Plaistow - 2 (Sweet Hill Farm)
Portsmouth (Jim's Garden) - 1
Portsmouth (Prescott Park) - 1
Portsmouth (Urban Forestry Center) - 1
Rye (Goss Farm) - 7 (Highest count of 7 on 8/29)
Rye (Odiorne) - 4
Salem (Kyle's yard) - 1
South Hampton (Seabrook Forest) - 4

Strafford County
-----------------------
Durham (Wagon Hill Garden) - 1

Thanks to Chis McPherson, Laurie Sheppard, Paul Lacourse, Bob Janules,
Jim Sparrell, T. Cullinane, Mike Thomas, and Kyle Wilmarth for these
reports.  Apologies if I missed a few butterflies or people!