Observation of the Week September 11th to 17th, 2022
Welcome to the 18th and last Observation of the Week (OOTW) for the 2022 Butterfly Blitz. This week, we’ve chosen a crescent as our OOTW, observed by Madison (@mgard1).
Crescents are difficult to tell apart, so we’re unsure if this crescent is a pearl or a northern crescent by this photo alone. While many butterflies are similar in colour and pattern, the northern and pearl crescent can sometimes be identical, especially so late in the season. So identical in fact, that these species were only recently declared separate species. Read more on these species in a 2021 OOTW journal post.
Our observer, Madison, is new to the butterfly blitz this year and was eager to meet likeminded people through our in-person wrap-up event. Our wrap-up event was held at Terra Cotta Conservation Area on the final day of the blitz (Saturday, September 17th).
Madison says: “… this was my first year participating in Butterfly Blitz and I got involved later in the season compared to some other participants but I love getting out into our local parks and outdoor spaces and figured this was a great opportunity to participate in citizen science, when I went out to the wrap up event I was unsure what to expect but it was great to meet some likeminded people that I only knew through iNaturalist prior to attending an in person event. Definitely looking forward to participating more actively next year.”
We are looking forward to seeing Madison out at our events and viewing more of her observations on iNaturalist next year. And of course, we also hope to see YOU out there too!
During the wrap-up event, we were also lucky to award some great prizes to our outstanding participants. These awards and award winners were:
• Most species: Bev Lynn observed 45 species of butterfly
• Most observations: Julie Power had over 230 observations from her wildflower garden
• Rarest species: As observed by Don Scallen, there are only two previous records of the Dorcas Copper in the watershed, in 1998 and 2016
• Lucky day: Kevin Kerr made 13 observations of 9 species on July 10th
• Best photo: Christine Elliott captured a stellar photo of a Common Wood Nymph.
Each winner was awarded an Annual Conservation Park Membership for access to select CVC and TRCA Conservation Areas and a framed butterfly photo by Robert Noble.
If you missed the wrap-up event and would like to learn more about the 2022 Butterfly Blitz findings, be sure to watch the wrap-up presentation.
Until next year, thank you for your participation in this year’s project & happy hibernating!
Your Butterfly Blitz team,
Laura, Lindsey & Kristen
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