Monarch (et al) update

[Jerry]

Hello fellow butterfly watchers,
I just returned from a brief vacation near Apalachicola, Florida and
thought all-ya'll might find some of my observations interesting.
Butterfly season is still going strong in that part of the world.
Monarchs are migrating through the area in large numbers. One could
probably count hundreds in a day. They seem to follow the Gulf
Coastline; inland just several miles the numbers are far smaller.
Other migratory butterflies are concentrated along the coast too.
Gulf fritillaries are everywhere; they seem to outnumber monarchs by a
factor of 3 or 4. Other very common butterflies currently are common
buckeyes, and long-tailed skippers. I had never heard of this
concentration of butterflies in the area, but must say the Gulf Coast
of Florida's Panhandle in an excellent area for an October vacation
for butterfly watchers (its still in the 80's there)!
Take care,
Jerry McCormick