The past 3 days have featured relatively big numbers of Monarchs in
Norwich. I was able to get out today in late afternoon and found
> 150 in the red clover field that has been a reliable spot all
fall. I tagged 36 individuals (18 of each sex), running out of tags
long before I ran out of butterflies. At one point I scanned the
3-4 acre field and counted 55 Monarchs. I'd guess there were twice
that many present, as butterflies nectaring on clover can be tough to see
at a distance. Between 5:45-6:00 pm I noticed several Monarchs
flying towards and into the adjacent hardwoods canopy, probably to spend
the night(?), although many were still nectaring in the field.
If anyone has any extra Monarch tags from the Univ. of Kansas, I would be
glad to buy them. Please send me any that you can spare ASAP to the
address below. I'll reimburse promptly (and get my own next
year). Thanks.
Other than 20+ Clouded Sulphurs and 1 Orange Sulphur today, I also had an
unidentified fritillary that I'm fairly sure was a Variegated. I
know that is not a species to be expected here, and I'll have to
embarrass myself by admitting that I actually netted it and lost it in
the transfer to forceps, so I wasn't able to inspect it closely. It
definitely was not a Speyeria or a crescent, and it didn't fit any
of the Boloria that I know, or plates in Glassberg. What
struck me in my brief view (both in hand and through binocs) was a pale
wedge-shaped patch on the upper costal margin of the forewing, pale
median median band on hindwing, and overall duller orange color
above. I'll never know....
Chris
Chris Rimmer
Vermont Institute of Natural Science
27023 Church Hill Road
Woodstock, VT 05091
802-457-2779 ext. 120
<www.vinsweb.org>