Pinnacles Butterfly Count - My 10th Year

I actually told my friend Paul Johnson a decade ago that he should start a count there with all the cool things flying there. When I first met Paul he was the on-site herpetologist working on Red-legged Frog reintroduction, and to say he was "getting into butterflies" was an understatement: he'd talked the National Monument into it's first moth inventory and he's actually discovered a new sphingid-to-science ( DNA still being worked out). Ten years later, he is THE wildlife biologist for the place and it's a National Park now. It's always VERY HOT in this zeric place, but worth it.
iNat made it difficult to just focus on butterflies, but Pinnacles always kicks off the count season ( 4 weeks prior/after 4th of July ).
Driving towards the campsite, I watched a magnificent Bobcat saunter across road: a treat to gaze on such an illusive creature.
Walked with my friend Bill Shepard and an intern working on the Condors there, Nathan Peeling. Butterflies my group saw this day -
SOUTH WILDERNESS TRAIL 9am - 2:30pm ( only got to 95 degrees...)
1) Western Tiger ( P. rutulus )
2) Checkered White ( P. protodice )
3) Orange Sulfur ( C. eurytheme )
4) California Sister ( A. californicus )
5) Lorquin's Admiral ( L. limentis )
6) Variable Checkerspot ( E. chalcedona ) - only six/ crazy low #
7) Mylitta Crescent ( P. mylitta )
8) Common Buckeye ( J. coenia )
9) Callippe Fritillary ( S. callippe ssp.maracria )
It really was a day for the Lycaenids ...
10) Hedgerow Hairstreak ( S. saepium ) - a bizillion
11) California Hairstreak ( S. californica )
12) Brown Elfin ( I. augustinus )
13) Great Gray Copper ( L. xanthoides ) - a bizillion
14) Tailed Copper ( L. arota )
15) Gorgon Copper ( L. gorgon)
16) Echo Blue ( C. ladon)
17) Acmon Blue ( P. acmon )
18) San Bernadino Blue ( E. battoides bernadino ) - a bizillion
19) California Ringlet ( C. tullia )
20) Great Basin Wood Nymph ( C. sthenele ) - two/ very cool
21) Rural Skipper ( O. agricola )
22) Large White Skipper ( H. ericetorum) Bug-of-the-Day by far. Not in number but just seeing this rare bushmallow obligate.

Posted on June 4, 2013 12:05 AM by robberfly