CVC Butterfly Blitz 2023's Journal

Our fourth OOTW for 2023 is this Tiger Swallowtail, seen by Cheryl (@trailpixie).

Cheryl seized the opportunity to take a photo of this butterfly when she spotted it. She says: “I had finished some gardening and was sitting on the patio relaxing when the Swallowtail flew overhead. I quickly grabbed my camera and started following it, snapping pics the whole time, hoping to get a good shot (something I learned to do from the Butterfly blitz training).

It quickly settled on the Lilac bush, and I was able to get a really great picture. I have several plants in our garden to attract butterflies, but each year the Lilac tree seems to attract a Swallowtail early in Spring. It is such a treat to get to observe these beautiful creatures up close.

It’s a tricky time for Tiger Swallowtails in much of our area right now. If you post an observation of one of these big, beautiful butterflies, you might notice comments and disagreements about identification. Many observations will get left with an identification of “Tiger Swallowtails and Allies (Subgenus Pterourus)”.

There are two well-known species of Tiger Swallowtail butterflies in Ontario – the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail and the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. The Canadian Tiger is the species found in the north of the province, as well as throughout the rest of Canada–all the way up to the Yukon and Northwest Territories. The Eastern Tiger is found in southern Ontario, as well as throughout the eastern U.S. Guess where their ranges overlap? Right here!

Canadian and Eastern Tigers look very similar, but there are some differences. You can read about them here, and here. A few key traits are their overall size, the width of a black line on the hindwing running beside the body, and the black and yellow lines and spots on the outside edge of the forewing. Canadian Tigers are also only around at the start of the summer, whereas Eastern Tigers have two generations and can be seen at both the start and end of the summer.

To complicate matters, Ontario butterfly researchers suspect that there may be a third species in the province. They are tentatively calling this species the Midsummer Tiger Swallowtail, because its peak flight period is in July. The Midsummer Tiger has characteristics that are a mix of the Canadian and Eastern Tigers, but researchers don’t think they are truly hybrids. You can read more about that here.

So, what should you do if you observe a Tiger Swallowtail in the Credit River Watershed in May and June? If it’s in Mississauga, you can be pretty sure it’s an Eastern Tiger. If it’s somewhere around Georgetown or further north, take lots of photos from different angles and do your best to work out it by using the resources above. And don’t worry if someone disagrees with you! Experts on iNaturalist are usually good at sharing their reasons for identification suggestions, like they did on Cheryl’s observation.

Lastly, if you’re wondering if it is even worth adding the observation if you can’t identify it, the answer is yes! Your photos may add important pieces to the ongoing story of Tiger Swallowtails in southern Ontario.

Image: A recent Tiger Swallowtail observation of mine, where I wasn’t sure of the ID at first but did my best.

Our fifth OOTW for 2023 is this Common Ringlet, seen by Emily (@indianajane) and her daughter at our Butterfly Blitz kick-off event on June 3 at Terra Cotta CA.

I love how, even though this photo is taken through a jar, you can clearly see the fuzzy face of the butterfly and that it only has four visible legs. Common Ringlets are in the family of butterflies known as brushfoots. Brushfoots look like they only have four legs, because their first pair of legs is much smaller, fuzzier, and tucked up against their body – something we talked about a bit on our hike. No one really knows why brushfoots only use four legs, but you can read some good suggestions here.

This was just one of many great butterfly observations made by the group at our event. It was the best kind of day for a butterfly hike–the weather was clear and sunny, not too hot, and not too cold. An occasional breeze kept us comfortable, but it wasn’t too windy for the butterflies.

I don’t know how much the wonderful weather had to do with it, but our group also had lots of spirit and enthusiasm throughout the day. We greeted each new successfully spotted or netted butterfly with cheers and congratulations. Participants of all ages passed their butterfly jars around and shared information on the species inside–including how to pronounce tricky names like the Hobomok Skipper. We also stopped for some unplanned bird and turtle watching, and shared excitement about the insects we saw that weren’t butterflies.

Left: My kid also thinks catching butterflies is fun! Right: This pair were caught in the act! Observation by @hannah_mcca

At the start of the day, I let everyone know that only ten species of butterflies had been previously recorded from Terra Cotta during May and June. I challenged the group to beat that number. We got very close – seeing nine species throughout our two-hour walk. I was very happy with that total, and even more so when I realized that one of the butterflies we’d seen hadn’t been recorded from Terra Cotta before – this Tawny-edged Skipper.

There were some small personal wins, too. For instance, Emily had never uploaded an observation to iNaturalist before despite having had the app on her phone for a long time. Once we walked through her first observation together, she was unstoppable!

Emily shared these thoughts about the day: “My involvement with the CVC is inspired by my 8-year-old daughter who is an Earth Ranger and aspiring naturalist! We went on the Butterfly Blitz hike at Terra Cotta, where she spotted this Common Ringlet and caught it in her butterfly net! The wonderful team from CVC helped her to get it into a jar and I took this photo quickly before we released this beauty back into the conservation area. We then used iNaturalist to identify the butterfly and log our findings, something we are continuing to do on our own family hiking adventures! We wholeheartedly support this important work from the CVC and have already signed up for the next Butterfly Blitz event!”

We hope to see you at the next event too. You can find out more and register here. And then we’ll cross our fingers and hope for another perfect butterfly day!

The sixth OOTW for 2023 is this Tawny-edged skipper, which was seen by Patrick (@patrick2008) and his father, Alan, while they were exploring Forks of the Credit Provincial Park on Saturday, June 10.

This butterfly was among the many that Patrick observed during their time at Forks of the Credit. They observed almost 50 butterflies that day! I consider that a very successful day of butterflying.

One of the earliest skippers of the spring, the Tawny-edged skipper can be seen from June until August. They will overwinter in their pupa stage and in Ontario, they produce one brood of offspring per year. In the southern united states, they may produce 2-3 broods per year .

When looking at the underside of the wings, you see mostly brown with the orange edge of the forewing peeking over the top.

Patrick shared these thoughts about his experience:
“We had a great day butterflying on Saturday June 10th at the Forks of the Credit. It was cloudy in the morning but sunny and not too hot in the afternoon. There were tons of butterflies. Mostly Silvery Blues and Little Wood Satyrs… Usually we see Hobomok Skippers so when I caught this Tawny I was glad it was different.”

Exploring our natural spaces is made even better by the presence of a wonderful variety of species. 10 species in one day is quite the accomplishment! Way to go Patrick and Alan!

If you’re looking for new places to explore in search of butterflies and perhaps a different variety of species, consider visiting one of these areas:

• Meadowvale Conservation Area - 1081 Old Derry Rd, Mississauga; be sure to follow the trails beyond the picnic area
• Elora Cataract Trailway – Start anywhere along this trail. The Elora Cataract Trailway runs through Erin Village, Hillsburgh and right up to the Forks of the Credit
• Wilcox Conservation Area – corner of 19th line and Caledon/ East Garafraxa Townline

These areas have unique and unexplored features for the Butterfly Blitz. They’re each located in a different grid square of the watershed that is low in butterfly data.

Let us know if you visit one (or more) of these areas!

Happy butterflying,
Kristen and the Butterfly Blitz team

The seventh OOTW for 2023 are these Little Wood Satyrs, which were seen by Laurie (@betcrooks). Laurie frequently comments on observations and adds information for context. This makes for interesting reading and can also provide important information for anyone studying these species. Here’s what Laurie added to this observation: “First time I saw one succeed in finding a partner by flying from twig to branch to leaf along the edge of the woods. Usually they just find a rival.”

Laurie shared these thoughts about the species: “I notice Little Wood Satyrs the most when they patrol along the edge of a trail weaving up and down and sometimes even through the shrubs a few feet off the ground. If it's cool, they may pause on a leaf and spread their wings to warm up a bit before bopping onwards.

I used to think they laid their eggs on shrubs but The ROM [Field Guide to] Butterflies of Ontario explains the caterpillars eat grasses. So this shrub-searching is to find potential mates.

Reading P. Allen Woodliffe's blog has taught me a lot and I love his descriptions of Little Wood Satyrs "ditsy-doodling flight" and " bouncing around in the shrubby edges of the woods."

I love that Laurie caught this shot! Butterflies have interesting mating behaviours and it may seem confusing to watch. If you pay close attention, you’ll notice butterflies find a mate by using a few different tactics. Males use their coloured or patterned wings to attract a mate and some use acoustic signals or pulses to not only entice a female closer, but also to ward off other males. Both female and male butterflies can also give off scents to attract one another.

When butterflies find a potential match, they dance! During this, the female will decide if they are indeed a match. For some species, only the male will dance as the female watches. Males often get rejected by picky females, and they may need to make a few attempts to sway them. Persistence is key in the butterfly world.

Contest Alert - Stay tuned!
We chose this observation specifically as it is a great example for our Butterfly Blitz Bingo Challenge (i.e. butterflies mating, Little wood satyr or a butterfly with eyespots)! We’re launching the challenge next week, so here's a hint: make sure to complete an observation on July 1st.

Lastly, we hope to see you out at our next in-person event on Saturday, July 15, 2023. Join us for CVC’s annual one-day butterfly count! During this event we will identify and count all the butterfly species found at Warwick Conservation Centre. The data we collect is an official butterfly census and will be submitted to the North American Butterfly Association for publication in their annual report. Register now.

Happy butterflying,
Kristen and the Butterfly Blitz team