Field trip report: Col. Devin Trail by Marceline VandeWater
On June 10th, an eager group of 10 participants hiked the Col. Devin Trail for about 3/4 mile, checking out the butterflies mud puddling at the seeps, and nectar plants like Butterfly Milkweed, Buckbrush, Elk Weed and Arizona Thistle. Together we found 42 species of butterflies, with Orange-headed Roadside-Skipper and Long Dash being the best bugs.
Species list:
Western Tiger Swallowtail, Two-tailed Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur, Southern Dogface, Mexican Yellow, Sleepy Orange, Queen-Alexandra’s Sulphur, Dainty Sulphur, Western Green (Bramble) Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Western Pine Elfin, Marine Blue, Reakirt’s Blue, Spring “Echo” Azure, Acmon Blue, Nais Metalmark (pictured), Zela Metalmark, Variegated Fritillary, Northwestern (Atlantis) Fritillary, Mylitta Crescent, Painted Lady, Common Buckeye, Red-spotted Purple, Weidemeyer’s Admiral, Arizona Sister, Mourning Cloak, Canyonland Satyr, Silver-spotted Skipper, Golden-banded Skipper, Northern Cloudywing, Funereal Duskywing, Meridian Duskywing, Rocky Mountain Duskywing, Afranius Duskywing, Common Checkered-Skipper, Four-spotted Skipperling, Taxiles Skipper, Tawny-edged Skipper, Deva Skipper, Bronze Roadside-Skipper, Orange-headed Roadside-Skipper, Long Dash.
Species we didn’t see last Saturday, but were seen a few days earlier when scouting, were: Thicket Hairstreak, Western Tailed-Blue, Northern Crescent and Satyr Comma.
Thanks everyone for a sharp eye, or a helping hand at the steep places! Marceline VandeWater
|