Upcoming events
"The world through the eyes of a butterfly". Like us, butterflies are very visual animals. They use their eyes to gather information used in guiding their flight, choosing mates, identifying appropriate plants for collecting nectar and laying eggs, and detecting their enemies. However, their compound eyes are radically different in construction from our so-called camera eyes. This presentation will review what we know about the structure of the eyes of butterflies and other insects and about how the world looks through such eyes. The key features of butterfly vision will be directly compared with the performance of our eyes and our visual perceptions. These comparisons help us better understand these beautiful animals and teach us not to assume that other animals see the world as we do.
After earning his doctoral degree at Cornell University, Dr. Rutowski joined the faculty in the life sciences at Arizona State University. There he has been engaged for more than 30 years in research on vision, visual signals, and mating systems of animals, especially butterflies and other insects. He has published extensively in this area and is an internationally recognized contributor to this field.
read more »
With a broadening interest in organisms, we will plan a combined field
trip that involves a collaboration of NABA butterfly clubs from Phoenix
and Tucson and the Maricopa Audubon Society. This field trip will
accommodate those with an eye for shorebirds and tiger beetles. Willcox and
the Sulphur Springs Valley are among the best places in Arizona for
fall migrating shorebirds, and with 18 species of tiger beetles, it has
one of the highest diversities of tiger beetle species in North America,
including several endemic species and subspecies- a veritable
paradise!
From Phoenix, the drive is about 3 hours to Willcox (you can
drive down the night before and overnight in Willcox if you prefer) and we will meet
everyone at 8 am in Willcox Saturday morning at the lake of the Twin Lakes
Golf Course. Turn s.e. (right) onto Hi. #186 at the stop light on S.
Haskell Ave, go over the train tracks and in a 1/4 mile turn south (right) at the Twin Lakes Golf Course sign. Drive past the golf course restaurant and pro shop and enter the parking area at the entrance to Lake Circle Drive and wait there.
read more »
My presentation: "CJ's Desert Dwellers" is about Butterflies, Insects & Life of the Sonoran Desert. Featured will be a lot of the butterfly photos seen through my Desert Dweller mailing, as well as many others never sent to anyone. Also my favorite insect shots, flora, etc will be included. Pictures will be displayed on a large LCD projector and opened up for discussion. This all will be in a pretty informal setting for an audience ranging from simple enthusiasts to world experts. I'll answer any questions I can about how I got the shot, processing techniques, etc. Knowing that TRUE experts will be there, I expect to learn a lot, as well!
My statement as an artist:
Our natural world is beautiful. Nature creates my color and life palette…my camera simply paints the scene for me.
My goal: make you pause, see, and experience the art of nature. I want you to say ”wow!!!”
read more »
Joint fieldtrip with SEABA. Trip leader Hank Brodkins. Details t.b.d.
read more »
Recent events
On Saturday June 14th we will hike a part of the AZ/Highline trail in pursuit of colorful butterflies. As the temperature rises, the flowers start to bloom higher and higher in elevation. Butterflies follow this nectar flow “up the trail” and June is the perfect time to check them out. An abundant plant along the trail: Bergamot (lilac flowers) attracts the pretty Fritillaries. Orange milkweed and thistle are also popular amongst the nectaring butterflies. Other butterflies (like Blues) are more interested in mudpuddling at one of the three springs we will pass. Yet another group of butterflies like California Sister and Weidemeyer’s Admiral are mostly found on trees.
Please wear sturdy shoes and a hat, bring water, snacks and a sacklunch. A pair of close focusing binoculars will be handy too. The trail is moderately steep in places, but we will take our time. Trip leader: Marceline VandeWater. Meeting place is Denny’s on Shea Blvd in Fountain Hills at 6:30am or at the trailhead at 8am.
Details to get to the trailhead: Drive to Payson, go straight at the hwy 260 intersection. After 3/4 mile turn right onto Houston Mesa Road. Cross all 3 "water crossings", and after about 8 miles turn left at the stop sign. The road now turns into a dirt road. After about 1 miles turn right towards Shadow Rim Camp and Washington Park Trailhead. Follow this road up for about 5.5 miles until the right turn-off to the Washington Park Trailhead (marked). After a bit turn left (signs again) and you will find the trailhead well marked.
We ask for a $5 donation per person.
read more »
Presentation by Dr. Lola B. White on the Two-tailed Swallowtail and Adriane Grimaldi on "The Lifecycle of the Butterfly" and "How to Attract Them to your Garden".
Adriane will share her photos from numerous butterfly travels and photos from her backyard in a spectacular PowerPoint presentation. Handouts will be available as well as a special butterfly gift. She will show you how to attract butterflies to your yard with nectar plants and caterpillar hostplants.
Many of Adriane’s photos have been published in newspapers and magazines and she has published her own Butterfly Photo Book and Calendar. She has written articles on Butterfly Gardening and has been a volunteer at Boyce Thompson Arboretum for 4 years leading Butterfly Walks. She has been trained on how to tag Monarchs and heads down twice a year to Southern Arizona to photograph and tag butterflies. Her own garden in south Scottsdale is listed as a National Wildlife Habitat thru National Wildlife Federation. She has attracted 25 different species of butterflies to her backyard. She also has built butterfly gardens for schools and community and gives talks to garden clubs and civic organizations on the amazing wonder of butterflies.
read more »
Meet at 7:30 A.M. at the southeast corner of the junction of the Cavecreek Road and the road turning off to Bartlett Dam (about 8 miles East of Carefree). Bring a lunch, water, and close focus binoculars. On a butterfly trip to this area in the same month last year, we recorded 24 species of butterflies. There was also a stunning display of wildflowers in the area which we will hope for again this year.
Janet Witzeman has been observing and learning about Arizona butterflies since 1982 when she began going on the southeast Arizona butterfly counts with Richard Bailowitz and Doug Danforth. After learning more about butterflies in Maricopa County from Killian Roever, she has been leading butterfly field trips for the Maricopa Audubon Society since 1994.
We ask for a $5 donation.
read more »
We will stop at the Ballantine Trail and Log Corral Canyon off of the Beeline Highway (hwy 87) in Maricopa County to look for early season butterflies. If the weather has been warm the conditions will be good. A few of the specialties we will look for are Sara and Desert Orangetips; Pima Orangetip; Pearly Marble; Brown Elfin; Fulvia Checkerspot; Common Streaky-Skipper; Arizona Powdered Skipper; Erickson's White Skipper, Spring White, Meridian and Funereal Duskywings, and Desert Black Swallowtail. Log Corral Canyon is just a couple of miles beyond the Ballantine Trail Trail head. $5 donation per person suggested.
Meet at the Denny's on Shea Blvd in Fountain Hills at 7:30am.
Trip leader Kurt Radamaker.
read more »
Dave Pearson will be our guest speaker with a presentation on the tiger beetle. Arizona is a paradise for tiger beetles, and now we have a field guide to easily identify them and learn where they occur. The presentation will be a beginners guide to identifying these colorful beetles as well as learning how to find them in their various habitats. An overview of tiger beetles from around the world will provide even more information about this delightful group of insects, popular among both amateurs and professional biologists.
---Dave Pearson is a Research Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University and a co-author of seven books, two of which are on tiger beetles. ( "A Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada" and "Tiger Beetles: The Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity of the Cicindelids" ).
read more »