some thoughts on some NYS butterflies
Tom Fiore
Hi all,
As we move into about the second-half of the butterfly-year, in terms of adults and flight-periods, a few thoughts and observations, and - first noted below - lack of observations, and records of a small number of various species.
First up, what might be the status of the Silvery Checkerspot in N.Y. state, both historically, most-recently, right up to the present, this year? How much do we know of this possibly somewhat under-reported butterfly in this state?
In one site, within one county, there seem to have been no sightings at all of the above species - for Bronx County, which is the one county within N.Y. City which is directly-connected with the N. American mainland. In the rather large city park (which contains old-growth woods and has had many plant species recorded, some being state-listed and very uncommonly-noted plants, some simply uncommon for N.Y. City, and many more plants more-characteristic of rich older woodlands) there has been a long-known and observed population of Silvery Checkerspot, which at times, decades ago, were seen into triple-digits in single day censusus, but have been declining in numbers for more than a decade, and in some years appeared in what seemed very minimal numbers. The species had formerly been known from at least several larger wooded parks in Bronx County, NY and also from some locations in adjacent Westchester County, NY - again, perhaps at least a bit under-surveyed for, and under-reported in the past.
This species also has occurred - and (hopefully) may still, in locations in at least eastern NY state as far north as northern Clinton County, nearly at the New York-Canada border there and in fairly recent years. It may have occurred in the past at (for example) the sandplains regions in such protected areas as the Albany Pine Bush, and perhaps other adjacent and nearby locations, and in some various locations in the Adirondack Park and region. In Bronx County, it seems there were no sightings, not even one, of this species for 2024, and in the state of NY, the Silvery Checkerspot appears to have always had just one flight, typically in either mid-to-late May and early June, or slightly later to perhaps the first week or so of July. The lack of any sightings at all in one known site, where still extant in 2023, Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx County, is worrying - that, with up to ten or more different days in June '24 having had seekers in the prime areas to seek, and with as many as 8-10 people involved in the efforts, yet not one even-a-hint of any sightings of this slightly enigmatic species. In many other U.S. states, and in southern Canada (at least in Ontario), the Silvery Checkerspot is extant and in some locations appears to be doing well, more than holding its own.
One question that could be raised pertaining to the lack of any 2024 sightings for NY state in 2024, of Silvery Checkerspot, is - did some fly in May? Was there an unusually-early emergence, missed by any seekers of this species? (This seems somewhat unlikely...)
Already in 2024, we have seen around many areas of N.Y., the first-appearances, as well as some peak-abundance flights of some butterfly species - and of multiple other types of insects, also - showing up in adult stage days, or even weeks earlier than had been typical. While not-quite in N.Y. state, an extraordinarily-early showing of a (rare to unheard-of in much of N.Y. state) Ocola Skipper was recently photographed in northern New Jersey, not very far south of Rockland County, NY.
In the northern Adirondacks, the rare-but-regular species Jutta Arctic was seen a bit earlier than had been (for the limited data available, on a species that must be sought at just the right sorts of cold northern bog habitats) in any prior year, this past May. Going back to earliest spring of this year, the Falcate Orangetip was noted up to a week earlier, in March, than any prior earliest-ever-date known from N.Y. State, that at a site where the species is annual in Rockland County, NY. In the N.Y. City area, including Long Island and in multiple counties of the city itself, we have had Sachem (skipper), Variegated Fritillary, American Snout, Hackberry Emperor, and Common Buckeye all showing in modest numbers, all slightly-earlier on average than in most years. A very few of Snout butterflies were about as early as ever recorded for the region, and those - as well as all of the other species noted in this paragraph - were also being seen regionally at early, some record-early dates for other states or provinces in the area (or far-from N.Y. City and Long Island, NY locations, for some). Most recently, the emergence of a near-endangered, threatened butterfly that is hyper-local in its multiple-states occurrence in known localities, Northern Metalmark, had come out in the single flight of the species as much as one week earlier than the long-presumed periods for first emergences, or for peak flight dates of that species including the very few sites for it in N.Y. state thus far identified. There are a number of additional examples of early emergences in species of butterflies, skippers - and for many other groups of insects, in the broader region and for N.Y. State. A trend, and not necessarily an altogether new trend yet some of the changes this year look a bit striking, especially to those interested in phenology and related subjects in nature.
Many species of skippers and other butterfly species have seemed to show peak flights rather earlier than the historical averages for those same species and per-locations or at least within specific regions. For some of the skipper and butterfly species the dates may be record-early. These are seeming to come from a number of states, at least in the eastern U.S. and including (some of) New York state. There also may be 'pockets' or regions where flights and emergences are, or were, a bit delayed as compared with the 'early' trends.
Recently in some parts of the nation / continent / hemisphere / etc. some surveys for various insects have had the survey dates or periods moved-forward. It seems likely some surveys and such work will be further changed by the changes being seen in our natural world, as we experience these sorts of things.
As one small addendum to the above, Monarch butterflies were being seen in modest to fairly-good numbers at some sites in southeastern N.Y. in recent weeks, including sightings of the adults, and of females laying on various milkweeds, as-usual most on the Common Milkweed, and of some caterpillars on the various milkweed plants, those plants appearing in wild settings as well as in some sites, encouraged or outright seeded-in or planted, for the benefits those plants offer.
A safe and productive summer to all, and good butterflies and all else in nature,
Tom Fiore
manhattan - and points-north.