Cloudless Sulphur, Schuyler Co. (Finger Lakes area)

[Jay McGowan]

This afternoon, Ryan Zucker found a CLOUDLESS SULPHUR on Rock Cabin Road in Watkins Glen, Schuyler County, at the south end of Seneca Lake. I was able to refind it a little while later, feeding on soapwort and then taking off and cruising up and down the road, reappearing every 15 minutes or so headed in the opposite direction. I don't know much about their historical occurrence upstate, but they are certainly rare, though presumably not unprecedented in irruption years. I'll be curious to see if this ends up being a good year for them in the coastal areas as well. Some photos of this individual here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/229169496

This road, once famous for butterflies, has been only moderately productive in the last decade, after substantial culvert work rendered its once puddle-strewn length now dry and dusty. Still, both Hackberry and Tawny Emperors are common in season, including today.

Otherwise, the summer has been a bit slow for butterflies in our area. Most notably, hairstreaks have been all but absent so far this summer. I still have yet to see even a Banded—and this comes after several consecutive years of above average Banded numbers, along with high but more typical numbers of Striped, Hickory, and the occasional Acadian.

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Jay McGowan
Ithaca, NY
jw...@cornell.edu