Appleton Farms report

[Howard Hoople]

Yesterday’s field trip (9/24/2022) at Appleton Farms was anticipated (by this reporter at least) with some skepticism. Temp at 10 am was in the high 50s with enthusiastic winds of about 15-20 mph. But 14 or so butterfliers appeared, and off we went.

After the first hundred yards or so, we found 2 Monarch caterpillars, properly feeding on milkweed.  Mr. Hopping declared that in spite of their immaturity, these definitely counted as butterflies. By the end of the trip, enthusiastic group enterprise paid off, and we found:

2 Monarch caterpillars

4 Cabbage Whites

20+ Clouded Sulphurs

10+ Pearl Crescents

4 Orange Sulphurs

6 Eastern Tailed-Blues

1 Peck’s Skipper

2 American Coppers

1 Painted Lady caterpillar

2 Fiery Skippers

4 Monarch adults

1 Black Swallowtail

Areas offering some protection from the wind were the most productive. Notably absent were Silver-bordered Fritillaries and Bronze Coppers. I didn’t have much luck photographing butterflies, but was able to do a little better photographing the butterfliers ( https://flic.kr/p/2nNWKfk ). Please note that he smiles are NOT frozen in place… we were all actually having a great time!

Howard

Howard Hoople

Andover MA

[billb55]

Nice to see new faces!  Thanks Howard!

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone