Observation of the week – May 29 to June 4, 2022

Welcome to the 3rd Observation of the Week (OOTW). This past week our weather went from extreme heat to cooler temperatures during the weekend. The butterflies were out flying despite these extremes, and you have all been making some wonderful observations. We now have over 100 observations of 28 species in our project!

For this OOTW, we have chosen this Dreamy Duskywing observed by Bev (@bevlynn99). Bev has been involved in the Butterfly Blitz for a few years and even won the award for the best photo in 2021. She’s made 14 observations of 11 species this year, and may be on track to win most species in 2022–way to go, Bev!

Skippers are hard to ID, especially duskywings. They aren’t as easy to spot as a Monarch, but there are a few tricks to help with separating the Dreamy from other duskywings. Most other duskywing species have a series of white dots lining the top wing. The Dreamy Duskywing got its name because it doesn’t have this group of dots, suggesting their “eyes” are closed. A Dreamy Duskywing will have one white dot on their top wing, or it will lack them entirely.

See the images below, comparing the Dreamy Duskywing (left) and Wild Indigo Duskywing (right). Can you see the dots on the Wild Indigo Duskywing?

Dreamy Duskywings are found in many environments as they are habitat generalists–they just need to be somewhere near a woodland. This is because their caterpillars feed on poplar, willow, and birch leaves as their host plants.

About this observation, Bev says: “After a slow start to spring it was exciting to finally see so many butterflies emerging this past week. I'm fortunate that I can work from home, which means more free time to get outside! I was out for my usual lunchtime walk when I spotted this beautiful little brown duskywing fluttering about. It landed on the path in front of me and spread its wings for the perfect photo op. After uploading to iNat, I was delighted to find that it was a dreamy duskywing as I hadn't seen one yet. I'm also enjoying everyone else's exciting finds and looking forward to seeing more.”

Fun fact: most observations of the Dreamy Duskywing in the watershed are from Butterfly Blitz participants. Thanks to your efforts, we are learning more about where this species and all the other butterflies in the watershed can be found.

Lastly, we have some exciting news to share!

Please join us on Saturday, June 25th for CVC’s annual one-day butterfly count. During this event, we will identify and count all the butterfly species at a natural area in the upper Credit River Watershed. The data we collect is an official butterfly census and will be submitted to the North American Butterfly Association for publication in their annual report. Please find more details and register here.

Taking part in the butterfly count might give you a good chance to challenge Bev on the leaderboard for most species. 😊

Thanks for reading & happy butterflying!

Written by @lltimms, Senior Specialist in Natural Heritage, CVC and @kristenvalencia, Program Assistant in Community Outreach, CVC

Publicado el junio 7, 2022 01:52 TARDE por lltimms lltimms

Comentarios

Oh and the ones that got away, BUT... pics or it didn't happen. I'm sure everyone can relate to that.

Thanks Laura!

Publicado por bevlynn99 hace casi 2 años

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