White Admirals anyone?
amy highstrom
Williamson, Craig
Not seeing any White Admirals yet here in Sutton..? Anyone seeing any anywhere yet?Amy Highstrom
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George DeWolf
I haven’t seen any yet up here in the SW WMNF region, although I have to admit that I’ve been somewhat distracted from butterflies this season.
I’m not sure what to make of it, but it does seem unusual that no White Admirals have been observed in New Hampshire thus far. They’ve certainly been recorded in early June before:
White Admiral observations, June 1–5 (all years)
And even a few in May:
White Admiral observations in May
Considering that the New Hampshire butterfly community has been posting observations at a significantly higher rate in recent years (more than 4,000 observations annually since 2022, and perhaps approaching 10,000 per year before long), I would have expected at least one White Admiral observation in the state by now.
White Admiral observations through June 5:
- 2022: 5
- 2023: 4
- 2024: 16
- 2025: 1
- 2026: 0
It may ultimately prove to be nothing more than a statistical oddity, but it’s an interesting absence nonetheless.
George
Steve Mirick
In general, our butterfly observations have been scarce, but we've only got a few years into this and I'm trying to understand year-to-year variability and timing.
Some comments:
* Hobomoks are in good supply at Odiorne. At least I think they are mostly Hobomoks and not Zabs.
* Only a couple of Spring Zabulons. But one was a female laying eggs at Odiorne.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/368467582
* Common RInglets are in good numbers in a few fields.
* Several Long Dash's are out
* Only one or two Peck's so far.
* Not many Wild Indigo Duskywings so far
* No Viceroys or Monarchs yet this year
* Saw our first Wood Satyrs yesterday. Perhaps 3 or 4 in Chester.
* Random Tiger Swallowtails flying around. I think we had one I photographed as Canadian at Odiorne.
* A couple of Dusted Skippers.
* We had our 3rd Harvester of the year yesterday (2 photographed).
I've heard from folks in Massachusetts that butterflies may be running late (Mike Newton, Steve Moore). Let's hope that's the case and that the drought hasn't impacted the numbers for us this summer!
Steve & Jane Mirick
Bradford, MA
Not seeing any White Admirals yet here in Sutton..? Anyone seeing any anywhere yet?
Amy Highstrom
George DeWolf
For what it’s worth, here are the numbers for all New Hampshire butterfly observations on iNaturalist from January 1 through June 5. Keep in mind that some observations from this period—particularly for 2026—may not yet have been posted,› so the totals could increase slightly.
iNaturalist Butterfly Observations (January 1–June 5)
A note of caution: these numbers should be interpreted carefully. While they provide a useful year-to-year comparison, they are influenced by several factors that have changed over time, including observer effort, the number of active participants, geographic coverage, the timing and frequency of field activity, reporting practices, and the fluctuating popularity of iNaturalist. As a result, changes in the number of observations or species recorded do not necessarily reflect equivalent changes in butterfly abundance or diversity.
That said, one thing we can say with confidence is that the number of iNaturalist users posting butterfly observations in New Hampshire during the early part of the butterfly season (through June 5) is down substantially from its 2024 peak. Through June 5, 198 observers had posted butterfly observations in 2026, compared with 366 during the same period in 2024—a decline of 45.9%.