Last Sunday's 60 Minutes program featured a report by Anderson Cooper on the Monarch migration. If you missed it, it is a great, informative piece, and you can watch it here:
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Join us for a virtual happy hour to celebrate the vital role of insect pollinators in our ecosystems with Kathleen L. Prudic!
Friday, March 28th @ 5pm MST
Katy is an influential ecologist and entomologist focused on improving habitats for pollinators. As an associate professor at the University of Arizona, she contributes to biodiversity community science and conservation strategies. Her work in butterfly ecology led to the creation of eButtterfly, a citizen science platform that encourages public engagement in conservation. Katy's dedication to education and environmental preservation makes her a prominent figure in her field, inspiring others to protect our natural world.
Unwind, connect, and learn about the contributions of butterflies and other pollinators to biodiversity. We'll discuss initiatives like eButterfly, which promotes community science through butterfly photography and data collection. Share your experiences and ideas on conservation efforts while enjoying a relaxed atmosphere. For (free) registration, please copy-and-paste the link below into your browser:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/pOHLGfEzSCiDCGfDuqaQvw#/registration
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First, here is the cautiously good news. The number of Monarchs at this winter’s aggregations in Mexico is higher than last winter: https://monarchjointventure.org/blog/eastern-monarch-population-2024-2025
However, the same cannot be said for aggregations on the west coast of North America: https://xerces.org/press/western-monarch-butterfly-population-declines-to-near-record-low
And the really bad news is that a recently published analysis of results from butterfly monitoring programs in North America suggests dramatic and disturbing declines in butterfly populations in the last two decades: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/06/declining-butterfly-populations?CMP=share_btn_url
Butterfly enthusiasts need to ramp up effort to create good butterfly habitats and gardens, to contribute to programs studying butterflies (like butterfly counts), to post observations on eButterfly and iNaturalist, and get people informed and excited about butterflies!
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Experience the enchantment of the Monarch butterfly migration in
the serene mountains of Michoacán, Mexico. Amidst the tranquility
of the forested landscape, witness the graceful dance of millions of
monarch butterflies as they flutter through the air. While the terrain
may pose challenges for some, we have a solution that ensures
everyone can enjoy this natural wonder. For those seeking a more
leisurely exploration, we offer the option to glide through the trails on
horseback. Our friendly guides will lead you on a gentle ride, allowing
you to savor every moment of the journey. 8 Days, 7 Nights.
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Eight butterfliers participated in the 2024 annual fall count at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum on Saturday, 14 September. This fall count began in 2007, so this was the 18th. Three teams tallied butterflies seen at six areas: Grounds of BTA, Picketpost Trailhead, Queen Creek near the airport, in the town of Superior, Upper Devil’s Canyon, and Oak Flat. In total 820 individuals were tallied in 27 identified species. This was more than expected given how little monsoon rain there has been this year, although 662 of the individuals counted were on the grounds of the Arboretum. The wilder desert areas were another story. Many thanks to the counters! Here are the count tallies by species.
Pipevine Swallowtail 52, Giant Swallowtail 1, Two-tailed Swallowtail 2, Checkered White 3, Orange Sulphur 1, S. Dogface 4, Cloudless Sulphur 55, Mexican Yellow 1, Sleepy Orange 109, Dainty Sulphur 7 (pictured), Gray Hairstreak 4, Western Pygmy-Blue 4, Marine Blue 6, Ceraunus Blue 18, Mormon Metalmark 2, American Snout 162, Gulf Fritillary 1, Common Buckeye 1, Viceroy 1, Empress Leilia 18, Queen 347, Northern Cloudywing 1, Golden-headed Scallopwing 1, Arizona Powdered-Skipper 3, Funereal Duskywing 5, Common/White Checkered-Skipper 1, Erichson's White-Skipper 1. Unidentified: Sulphur sp. 3, Blue sp. 3, Butterfly sp. 2, Duskywing sp. 1.
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On Saturday, August 17, Pivot Rock Canyon on the Mogollon Rim provided a welcome respite from the high of 110 degrees in the Phoenix area. The weather was sunny but cool given it had clearly rained the night before. Six butterfliers visited the area starting at 9AM until 1PM when clouds started to form and block the sun. Highlights of the trip included a visit to the Pivot Rock on its impressive pedestal, and the decaying remains of a deer or elk that Arizona Sisters found attractive as a food source. We identified at least 13 species, which was twice as many as we saw on last year’s visit to this lush canyon. Here is the list: Two-tailed Swallowtail, Western Tiger Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur, Southern Dogface, Marine Blue, Spring Azure, Northwestern Fritillary, Mylitta Crescent, Field Crescent, Painted Lady, Arizona Sister, Common/white Checkered Skipper, Taxiles Skipper (pictured).
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On 20 July 2024, thirteen butterfly lovers attended the CAZBA Aspen Corner Butterfly outing on Snowbowl Road in Flagstaff. It was a beautiful day starting with a very cool morning. Blues were the predominant species and Purple Loco Weed was a favorite nectar flower. There were lots of puddling going on by the pond which is always fun to watch. As previous years, we also saw other arthropods including two species of Tachinid Fly, giant Bumble Bees, Wasps and everyone’s favorite day-flying moth, the Police-car Moth (pictured). Butterflies were far between but with sharp eyes, 20 species were seen with a couple seen that we could not determine with certainty.
Our butterfly list: Western Tiger Swallowtail, Two-tailed Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur, Dainty Sulphur, Spring Azure, Boisduval’s Blue, Silvery Blue, Greenish Blue, Reakirt’s Blue, Melissa Blue, Ceraunus Blue, Lupine Blue, Northwestern Fritillary, Painted Lady, Mourning Cloak, Hoary Comma, Taxiles Skipper, Garita Skipperling, Northern Cloudywing, Funereal Duskywing.
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A NABA butterfly count in Verde Valley is scheduled for Friday, August 23rd, time TBA based on the team leader and location.
If it rains that day, we will do the count on Friday, 8/30.
Those interested should contact Denise Gibbs. Her contact information is:
Denise Gibbs
monarchtagger at gmail.com
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Dear SEABA Members and Butterfly Friends, our local summer NABA sponsored butterfly counts will be starting a month from now. Last year because of the late start for the monsoon rains (July 17) and record setting high temperatures in July, many of these counts recorded less than average numbers of species and individuals. This year the monsoon rains have already started in the last few days. Sabino Canyon recorded more than 2.5" of rain in less than 2 hours on June 22! Will this translate to copious butterflies on this year's counts? Join one or more these upcoming counts to find out. The counts are open to all. Please contact the listed compilers for further details. (Tawny Emperor pictured)
Santa Rita Mountains Summer
Friday July 26, 2024
Compiler: Greg Greene (greenecycle at hotmail.com)
The Count Circle includes Montosa, Madera, Florida, Box and Gardner Canyons and surrounding areas in the Santa Rita Mountains. Santa Rita Mountains counts are held twice, one in the summer and one in the fall. Last year this count recorded 69 species.
Ramsey Canyon
Sunday July 28, 2024
Compiler: Doug Danforth (dougofbis at gmail.com)
This count circle includes the area from the Huachuca Mountains to the San Pedro River and Ramsey Canyon to the Mexican Border. The Ramsey Canyon count, which has been run for 44 years, is usually in the top 5 for species nationally.
Sabino Canyon Summer
Tuesday July 30, 2024
Compiler: Greg Greene (greenecycle at hotmail.com)
The count circle includes Sabino Canyon proper as well as all the areas along the Catalina Highway up to Mount Lemmon itself. There are two Sabino Canyon counts, one in the spring and one in the summer. The spring count which has already been run this year, finds most of its species in the lower parts of the circle, while this summer count does much better in the higher and cooler elevations. A White-striped Longtail was among the better butterflies found last year.
Portal
Friday, August 2, 2024
Compiler: Lori Conrad (lconrad6853 at gmail.com)
The count circle includes the Chiricahua Mountains from Portal to Rustler and Barfoot Parks and the SW Research Station. In 2023 the Portal count recorded 83 species which was the highest count in Arizona and may well be the highest in the nation.
Patagonia
Sunday, August 4, 2024
Compiler: Rich Bailowitz (rbailowitz at gmail.com)
The count circle includes Patagonia, AZ and vicinity with an excellent variety of habitats. This is why the Patagonia count is usually one of the top three species-wise in the nation.
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The trip on Saturday was more productive (20 species) and better attended (11 participants) than I thought it might be, which was good.
Pipevine Swallowtail (1), Checkered White (6), Sleepy Orange (8), Mexican Yellow (1), Large Orange Sulphur (1), Dainty Sulphur (4), Southern Dogface (2), Marine Blue (60), Ceraunus Blue (1), Western Pygmy-Blue (1), Gray Hairstreak (4), American Snout (2), Common Buckeye (1), Empress Leilia (5), Queen (20), Funereal Duskywing (4), Common/White Checkered-Skipper (3), AZ Powdered-Skipper (1), Northern White-Skipper (3), Fiery Skipper (1)
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