CVC Butterfly Blitz 2020's Journal

Welcome to our first Observation of the Week (OOTW) post for 2020! It was a wonderful weekend for butterflying, which was reflected in the big jump in observations added to the project in the last few days.

Our first OOTW for 2020 is this lovely shot of two Silvery Blue butterflies from @markwhitcombe. The photo caught our eye because of the combination of the blue upper sides of the wings of the butterfly in flight and the grey under sides of the butterfly on the plant.

Mark was out taking pictures of Mallards, using a Moment telephoto add-on lens to his smartphone, when he noticed the two butterflies. “I quickly took off the 2x telephoto lens, and tapped the 1x normal lens and took the first set of photos very quickly. The butterfly is very fast and restless! […] The male was making advances on the female, but she wasn’t receptive, and so after about 10 seconds flew off. Cathy spotted where they landed behind me, and I quickly turned around and bent over to take the other photos.”

Silvery Blue populations generally peak in Ontario around now, which explains why they are the most observed species in our project at the moment. They are currently distributed throughout most of the province, although they used to be found only further north. They have expanded their range southward over the past six decades, benefiting from the spread of non-native plants on which their caterpillars have adapted to feed. You can read summary of this expansion here.

The caterpillars of Silvery Blue butterflies eat plants in the legume family (Fabaceae), including vetch and clover. They can be different colours – from pink to green – depending on what they’re feeding on. And, like many caterpillars from the same family, Silvery Blue caterpillars can often be found with ants. They have an interdependent relationship, where the ants protect the caterpillars from enemies and the caterpillars provide a sweet honeydew liquid for the ants to eat.

Mark is the Chair of the local naturalist club Headwaters Nature and wrote about his observation for both their Facebook and Instagram pages. Mark says: “Later today, I’m heading back out to photograph vetch flowers using the macro lens. I’ll be paying attention to any eggs I see near the flowers!”
Happy butterflying!

Happy Monday Butterfly Blitzers! We jumped from 17 to 29 species observed over the past week. It is so nice to see many of you have been out observing butterflies and taking pictures. The wonderful weather this weekend was helpful, too!

Our second observation of the week is this Arctic Skipper from user @sassarella1979.

Kristie (aka @sassarella1979) and her daughter Taya, 6, went for a hike on the Elora Cataract Trail on Friday. “It was Friday afternoon and it had been cold in the morning and warmed up by the afternoon. Wow, I felt like we were in a secret garden! The butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies were everywhere! The Arctic Skipper was relaxed.”

Kristie and Taya were not the only ones observing Arctic Skippers in the watershed this weekend. There were six observations of this species added to the Blitz over the past few days. This is a noticeable increase to the two observations submitted during the 2019 CVC Butterfly Blitz.

Arctic Skipper is a widespread species in North America, Europe and Asia, associated with the boreal and mixed deciduous forest ecozones that stretch across these areas. Despite its common name, Arctic Skipper is not actually found in the Arctic. It is known as the Chequered Skipper in Europe, a name which is both nicely descriptive of this butterfly’s appearance and less confusing geographically.

We often hear about species that are common in the U.S. and rare in Canada because they are at the edge of their range here. Arctic Skipper is one of the species where the opposite is true. Arctic Skipper is not found often south of the Waterloo area in Ontario, and it is considered a vulnerable species in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Arctic Skipper became more common in the northeastern U.S. in recent decades as it expanded its range to the south. However, it has recently become less common again in those areas, likely due to climate change.

Taya may be our youngest Butterfly Blitz participant ever. According to her mom, “Taya is at her best in nature. She is quiet, patient and engaged.”. The two of them have been enjoying their outings to find and take pictures of butterflies: “Butterflying has given us a chance to slow down and be present in nature. I’m even aware of the little things in nature I NEVER would’ve noticed before!”.

I hope that you all get a chance to slow down this week and spend some time with butterflies.

This week’s Observation of the Week is this Little Wood Satyr from user @robeh. I especially like the second picture in her observation, where the sun is shining through the butterfly’s wings and you can see all the fuzzy hairs on its head.

While some butterflies can be difficult to get photos of, Robin (aka @robeh) says that “It was actually one of the easiest butterflies to observe and photograph and ultimately identify because it sat so still for such a (relatively) long time.” In addition, “It was the first, and I think so far only, tan/brown coloured butterfly that I have seen … Every other tan coloured insect that I pursued turned out to be a moth, so this is a nice change”.

Robin got some good luck with her Little Wood Satyr. These butterflies are known for their slow and bouncy flight, and their tendency to fly away into the trees quickly if you want to get close to them! They do occasionally stop to rest on leaves, which is how they are usually photographed. Little Wood Satyrs are seldomly observed on flowers – the adults rarely feed on nectar, and instead prefer tree sap, rotting fruit, and even aphid honeydew.

Little Wood Satyrs are one species in a group of butterflies in Ontario with prominent eyespots on their wings. These eyespots are thought to deter predators by making the butterfly look like a larger animal. It may be these big ‘eyes’, preference for wooded areas, and tendency to bounce around and drink sap that gives Little Wood Satyrs and other Satyr species their name – after the mythical beasts of Greek folklore.

Robin has been busy Butterfly Blitzing and says that the Little Wood Satyr “seems like about a hundred butterflies ago!”. I wish you all a week of a hundred butterflies!

Our fourth OOTW is this Northern Pearly Eye taking a drink, observed by user @geraldm.

Gerald first saw the Northern Pearly Eye resting in the shade, but it flew away before he got a photo. Soon after, he “found it sipping from a ceramic platter which had filled with rainwater”.

It may not have been intentional, but the ceramic dish in Gerald’s yard provided a great butterfly drinking station. Many butterflies drink water now and then – at mud puddles, or near the edges of streams and lakes. This behaviour helps them collect minerals and nutrients from the mud, and the waters can help cool and hydrate them on hot dry days.

If you’re interested in creating a butterfly drinking station in your yard, check out this great video from the University of Georgia.

Gerald is new to butterflying this year but is currently in second place on our leaderboard for the total number of species seen. Even more amazing is that all his observations have been made within five minutes of his home, on a property where he has planted various native trees and other plants over the years.

This year, Gerald is carrying his camera at the ready while working outside. He says: “I often see the butterflies and other insects flying about but like most people I had no idea what they are called. This blitz provided a great learning opportunity and a means of identifying and cataloguing what’s on the property.”

How many species can you find within five minutes of your house? The weather is looking great for Canada Day – I challenge you to get outside and see what you can find!