A group of 16 people keen to see and learn about butterflies gathered at the Aspen Corner trailhead near Flagstaff on a sunny Saturday morning, July 11. We were not disappointed. The field of sneeze weed across the road from the trailhead yielded a Thicket Hairstreak and, once we hit the open area above the tank, we had an amazing assortment of blues and skipperlings. The muddy areas around the tank were also productive and yielded two species of swallowtails, a checkerspot, a Queen Alexandra’s Sulphur, and more blues. Here is a list of all 31 species that we saw. A good and butterfly-rich time was had by all.
Western Tiger Swallowtail, Two Tailed Swallowtail, Baird’s Swallowtail, Dainty Sulphur, Queen Alexandra's Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, Southern Dogface, Sleepy Orange, Checkered White, Gray Hairstreak, Thicket Hairstreak, Spring Azure, Acmon Blue, Silvery Blue, Greenish Blue, Boisduval’s Blue, Ceraunus Blue, Marine Blue, Melissa Blue, Lupine Blue, Northwestern Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary, Arachne Checkerspot, Mourning Cloak, California Tortoiseshell, Northern Cloudywing, Mexican Cloudywing, Russet Skipperling, Garita Skipperling, Edward’s Skipperling, Taxiles Skipper
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Just a reminder that five of the SE Arizona butterfly counts will take place over the next month or so and you all are invited. Consider joining one or more of these counts to find out first hand what the prognosis is for our local butterflies. Please contact the compilers for specific party assignments if you wish to participate. Compilation dinners follow most counts where you can find out what was seen by the other parties.
Sabino Canyon, Friday July 24, Compiler: Greg Greene (greenecycle at hotmail.com)- Aside from Sabino Canyon proper and other lowland areas such as Loews Ventana, and Agua Caliente Park, count covers the high country along the Catalina Highway from from Molino Vista to top of Mt. Lemmon.
Ramsey Canyon, Tuesday July 28, Compiler: Doug Danforth (dougofbis at gmail.com)- Covers the east side of the Huachuca Mountains from Ramsey Canyon to the Mexican border and east to the San Pedro River. One of the top counts species-wise in the nation.
Santa Rita Mountains summer Friday July 31, Compiler: Gerry and Vicki Wolfe (seaba_publicity@yahoo.com)- Covers many of the canyons: Gardener, Box, Florida, Madera, and Montosa along with the high country.
Patagonia, Tuesday Aug 4, Compiler: Rich Bailowitz (rbailowitz at gmail.com)- Covers Patagonia and vicinity. This count is consistently in the top three for species in the nation and most years is number one!
Portal, Friday Aug 7, Compiler: Lori Conrad (lconrad6853 at gmail.com)- Chiricahua Mountains from Portal up to Rustler and Barfoot Parks. Had the top species count in 2023 for the U.S.
Check the SEABA website (www.seaba.org/naba-counts) for further info on these counts including meeting and compilation dinner times and locations.
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The weather was very pleasant today but started a little chilly at 58F! 8 participants hiked up the col. Devin Trail from Washington Park Trailhead, taking it slow as the trail seems to get steeper each year (or are we getting older??) 27 species of butterflies were seen, with Weidemeyer’s Admiral and Thicket Hairstreak being the most exciting, but Western Green (Bramble) Hairstreak the favorite photo-op.
Total list: Two-tailed Swallowtail (4), Western Tiger Swallowtail (2), Pipevine Swallowtail (2), Checkered White (1), Dainty Sulphur (3), Orange Sulphur (4), Southern Dogface (3), Mexican Yellow (4), Queen Alexandra’s Sulphur (3), Sleepy Orange (1), Western Green (Bramble) Hairstreak (1), Thicket Hairstreak (1, pictured), Marine Blue (2), Lupine Blue (3), Spring “Echo” Azure (16), Zela Metalmark (4), Mylitta Crescent (3), Gray (formerly Common) Buckeye (7), Red-spotted Purple (2), Variegated Fritillary (1), Weidemeyer’s Admiral (3), Arizona Sister (13), Mourning Cloak (1), Funereal Duskywing (2), Silver-spotted Skipper (14), Northern Cloudywing (2), W/C Checkered Skipper (4).
I want to thank all participants for a great trip! Hope you will come out again soon!
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On Friday, April 10 the Sabino Canyon Spring Butterfly Count was run and compiler Greg Greene reports that 27 people divided into 14 parties recorded a record high count of 68 species! This count covers much of the Santa Catalina Mountains and foothills from Agua Caliente and Sabino Canyon up to Mt Lemmon. The summer version of this count will be run in late July.
This is also a heads-up about the 5 SE Arizona counts which will be run in late July and early August. Counts are open to all. They are fun, but importantly, the data compiled helps to give us an idea of how our butterfly populations in SE AZ are doing, especially with the effects of climate change. Please mark the dates down on your calendars and feel free to contact the compilers if you wish to participate.
-Friday July 24 Sabino Canyon Summer (Santa Catalina Mts and foothills) Compiler Greg Greene (greenecycle at hotmail.com)
-Tuesday July 28 Ramsey Canyon (covers east side of Huachuca Mts and San Pedro River) Compiler Doug Danforth (dougofbis at gmail.com)
-Friday July 31 Santa Rita Mountains Summer (Madera, Box, Florida, Montosa Canyons) Compiler Gerry Wolfe (azgervic at yahoo.com)
-Tuesday August 4 Patagonia Compiler Rich Bailowitz (rbailowitz at gmail.com)
-Friday August 7 Portal (covers east side of Chiricahua Mountains) Compiler Lori Conrad (lconrad6853 at gmail.com)
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CAZBA had a wonderful field trip last Saturday, April 18 to Rackensack Wash and Sears Kay Ruins. Myself and Dr. Ron Rutowski helped lead this fun and engaging hike. We had great weather and almost as many people attended as we saw # of species of butterflies. Great to see so many new faces. 19 people in all attended. We saw 21 species of butterflies. - Adriane Hopkins
Pipevine Swallowtail, Two-tailed Swallowtail, Checkered White, Dainty Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, Southern Dogface, Sleepy Orange, Marine Blue, Gray Hairstreak, Empress Leilia, California Patch, Common Buckeye, Queen, Variable Checkerspot, Variegated Fritillary, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Arizona Sister, American Snout, Funeral Duskywing, Fiery Skipper.
Also, we saw larvae of the Pipevine Swallowtail and the Variable Checkerspot.
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Nine butterfliers headed up the Beeline Highway into the Mazatzal Mountains on Saturday, March 14, 2026. There were a few clouds but it was mostly sunny and warm. We stopped first at Round Valley (RV) and walked around in the mesquite bosque but spent quite a bit of time watching mud puddlers along the banks of Sycamore Creek. We observed 17 species at that location. The group then moved up to Upper Sunflower Valley (USV) walking from the gate down the Old Beeline Highway to the USFS work camp. This higher elevation site produced 11 species several of which were not seen at Round Valley. We identified a total of 21 species on the trip. It was a great day for spring butterflies and to refresh our identification skills for the coming year. Here is a list of what was seen and where.
Pipeline Swallowtail RV USV, Southern Dogface RV, Dainty Sulphur RV USV, Orange Sulphur RV USV, Checkered White RV, Sara Orange Tip USV, Marine Blue RV, Empress Leila RV, American Snout RV, Variegated Fritillary USV, Red Admiral RV, Buckeye RV USV, Sagebrush Checkerspot USV, Variable Checkerspot RV USV, Painted Lady RV USV, California Patch RV (pictured), Weidemeyer’s Admiral USV, Queen RV, Funeral Duskywing RV, Arizona Powdered Skipper RV, Common/White Checkered Skipper RV USV
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Visit Butterfly Wonderland’s Annual Spring Plant Sale March 13 (9am-5pm), March 14 (9am-5pm) and March 15 (9am-2pm)and choose beautiful spring plants to create butterfly, hummingbird, and bee-friendly gardens. Individual plants range from $15-$30. “Grab & Go” Plant Kits available at special pricing featuring 1-gallon host and nectar 4-pack of plants for $55. Butterfly Wonderland Master Gardener Adriane Hopkins will be on hand to answer gardening and butterfly questions. All proceeds from the Spring Plant Sale support the mission and programs of the Butterfly Wonderland Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to conservation-based education and initiatives.
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Several of CAzBA's board members will be leading butterfly walks at Boyce Thompson Arboretum this spring, which are included with admission ($24.95) and free for members. Limit 15.
March 28: Marceline VandeWater
April 11: Gail Morris and Della Killeen
April 25: Adriane Hopkins
May 9: Ron Rutowski
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The Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation published a report earlier this year entitled State of Butterflies in the United States. The report presents an analysis of 20 years of data from community science programs across the USA that monitor butterflies, and it reaches some startling and disturbing conclusions, like this one: “Overall, butterflies across the U.S. are declining at a rate of 1.3% per year – leading to a 22% reduction in combined abundance over the 20-year time period.”
This report is freely available here: https://xerces.org/publications/scientific-reports/state-of-butterflies-in-united-states. It includes specific conclusions about declines in southwestern butterflies (e.g. the Empress Leilia shows one of the highest rates of decline among butterflies in the region) and a lengthy list of positive actions people and organizations can take to help recover butterflies.
Everyone interested in butterflies is strongly encouraged to read this report.
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Fifty years after the startling discovery that monarch butterflies spend winters in the forests of Mexico, photographer and National Geographic Explorer Jaime Rojo reveals this winged wonder of the insect world in new ways with never-before-seen visuals. Tag along with conservationists and citizen scientists who are helping this species avoid catastrophic threats, all through Jaime’s beautiful photos and videos.
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