Welcome
To the Central Arizona Butterfly Association Website
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Announcements
Meetings are held mostly in the winter, and outdoor fieldtrips during the rest
of the year. Depending on the temperatures, we will go to higher elevation areas
to stay comfortable. Check our events schedule for details
Butterflying Locations
Click here for information on where to look for butterflies in Central Arizona
Recent news
Monarch Joint Venture partnering across the U.S. to conserve the monarch migration. Looking to attract Monarch and other butterflies to your home garden? Check out this pdf for more information on planting Milkweed!
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Our 2014 calendar turned out great! You will be able to buy them at our upcoming September and subsequent clubmeetings at the Papago Buttes Church of the Brethren, and at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior. They are $10 each (shipping not included). For mail orders please contact Laura Miller at lmiller133@cox.net
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Starting with cloudy skies and even a light drizzle, we knew we had a challenging count ahead! The first hour, we didn’t find more than 4 species of butterflies (the bigger ones, braving the weather), but the number of individuals were good. It stayed cloudy the whole day, but whenever the sun would peek through, butterflies would come scurrying out from deep in the vegetation to warm up and sip some nectar. We ended up with 33 species, including the much sought after XAMI HAIRSTREAK (3!) and a new one for the BTA-list: Nysa Roadside-skipper (1, pictured)! Not a bad day at all! I would like to thank BTA for their support, Lucy for preparing an incredible lunch, and my helpers: tireless and sharp eyed! - Marceline V.
Total list of species: Black Swallowtail (2); Pipevine Swallowtail (43); Checkered White (2); Sleepy Orange (9); Orange Sulphur (3); Cloudless Sulphur (11); Southern Dogface (2); Mexican Yellow (2); Xami Hairstreak (3); Reakirt’s Blue (3); Marine Blue (2); Spring Azure (2); Western Pygmy-Blue (2); Fatal Metalmark (2); Variegated Fritillary (2); Gulf Fritillary (1); Elada Checkerspot (1); Painted Lady (2); Empress Leilia (9); Hackberry Emperor (1); Common Buckeye (2); Monarch (2); Queen (65); Funereal Duskywing (2); Acacia Skipper (1); Golden-headed Scallopwing (8); Common Sootywing (1); White/Common Checkered Skipper (2); Orange Skipperling (2); Sheep Skipper (1); Fiery Skipper (1); Eufala Skipper (2); Nysa Roadside-skipper (1).
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MEXICO CITY -- A new study of the Monarch butterflies' winter nesting grounds in central Mexico says small-scale logging is worse than previously thought and may be contributing to threats facing the Monarch's singular migration pattern.
The pine and fir forests in the reserve just west of Mexico City serve as a sort of blanket for the millions of butterflies that migrate there each year from the U.S. and Canada, protecting them from rain and freezing temperatures as they cluster in huge clumps on tree boughs.
The Monarch migration is under serious threat. A report in March said the number of butterflies making it to Mexico this year had dropped 59 percent, the lowest level since comparable record-keeping began 20 years ago.
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Nice variety at the Arboretum today: 23 species, including a few good species like Large Orange Sulphur (pictured), Giant Swallowtail and Ericson's White-Skipper. Other butterflies observed: Common Checkered-Skipper, Marine Blue, American Snout, Sleepy Orange, Pipevine Swallowtail, Queen, Southern Dogface, Ceraunus Blue, Gray Hairstreak, Funereal Duskywing, Empress Leilia, Arizona Powdered-Skipper, Northern White-Skipper, Texan Crescent, Reakirt's Blue, Fatal Metalmark, Spring Azure, Orange Skipperling, Acacia Skipper, and Mexican Yellow. NOTE: Marceline and Dave will return on Saturday July 27 to guide another butterfly walk .
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