Pine White Butterfly - Current Wildlife Spectacle

There seems to be a boom right now in the Pine White (Neophasia menapia) Bitterroot Valley population. I got a second hand report of clouds of white butterflies floating about the crown of Ponderosa Pine at the Bass Creek NRA campground. I saw many on a weekend hike at Blodgett Canyon Overlook. According to Pyle (2002), this species of White (Pieridae family) is unusual for its preference of conifer as larval host and the population booms (outside of this, common most years).

Who hasn't watched the nature specials on television highlighting the wildebeest migration in Africa. Or read of the extinct Passenger Pigeon migration numbers. Though this event is not on equal footing, it is surreal, poetic and memorable. We wildlife watchers wish to be there for these displays of life. They are special to see and be part of. Check your flower garden, maybe your plantings have contributed to an increased number of locally common butterfly...that is just as exciting!

Below is a photo from August 2011 at Bass Creek NRA illustrating the incredible spectacle of white butterflies there that year:

Below are close-ups of a female (creamy with reddish coloring on trailing wing edges) and a male (white with thin black lines):

Female Pine White

Male Pine White

Photographic Endeavors Do Not All End in Success

Sometimes certain plants, animals and weather do not cooperate with your photographic efforts. That was partially true today; had great backdrop of temperatures in the mid 60's with lots of sunshine. I went to one of my favorite places, Bass Creek National Recreation Area. It is great for a host of wildlife (birds, butterflies, fungi,wildflowers and lichen). Primary focus today was on early season butterflies with a backup plan of birds and wildflowers. Butterfly action was good, plenty to see and cooperative. First of year Western Pine Elfin recorded along with several Spring Azure, Green Comma, Hoary Comma and Mourning Cloak.

Ah yes, then the photo nemesis, the darting/never landing Sara Orangetip (Anthocharis sara); it blasted by me until the third encounter. I ran after it (on gravel road as opposed to the uphill scramble of last week...still breathing hard :-) and it landed on one of the two Prairie Star (Lithophragma sp.) wildflower species. The slightest breeze and this diminutive plant sways. I stopped a distance away and shot a multitude of photos prioritized on shutter speed. From the "best four" I created an animated GIF for your viewing enjoyment:

Sara Orangetip (Anthocharis sara)

Yep, they are all out-of-focus :-) No worries I have a couple of shots from a couple years ago to show you how stunning these critters are (below). Now, you can understand how easy it is to chase after this species...it is just very cool looking!

Nectaring for a brief period

Butterfly Watching...Pick the Right Habitat for the Season

Bass Creek National Recreation Area (mature Ponderosa Pine habitat) is a premier butterfly watching late winter, spring and summer. Not so much late summer, early fall. Found only four species (9-15-14) of seven butterflies. Why? It might be lack of flowers (nectar) and moist soil (for uptake of minerals).

The grassland/Ponderosa Pine habitat immediate to my yard doesn't look like much. But embedded in the brown cured grasses is rabbitbrush (expanded blog treatment - http://goo.gl/IZVhxu), a nectar "well" for many butterfly species. Yesterday (9-14-14), under similar weather conditions as today, found seven species of butterfly comprising 25+ individuals. The photographic opportunity was...excellent (see below).

William Leach (2013) published Butterfly People An American Encounter with the Beauty of the World and summarized the butterfly naturalists of the 1800's: "...began their careers in this way, awash in the heat and smells of the meadows and forest, sensitive to something worth losing oneself in, worth knowing, worth a lifetime of vocational loyalty and reflection." That's how I feel, for sure not with their accomplishments though :-)

Try this activity... you will find it overlaps the many themes of history, culture, biology, ecology, research, exercise, critical thinking and learning to name a few.

Purplish Copper

Hoary Comma

Milbert's Tortoiseshell

Orange Sulphur

Painted Lady

Bird List Grows

Dan Koeppel wrote To See Every Bird on Earth; it was about his father's pursuit to see/identify, i.e. list 7,000 species of birds from around the world, one of only about twelve birders to achieve this feat. The author felt the purpose was: "the desire to find one's place in creation, pursued with a single-mindedness that so far has only evolved in humans. Seeing every bird is a way of seeing everything, of attempting to know everything. Such attempts mark human history, in religion and art as well as in science; they're seductive, and sometimes dangerous." I'm don't jet around the globe as Richard Koeppel,  but I have a great time birding (also dragonfly/butterfly/wildflower/lichen watching) where/when I can. I like the author's purpose, I would add 'living (not vicariously) in the moment'.
Today, I added two birds to my year list: cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedorum) and chestnut-backed chickadee (Poecile rufescens). Moments spent looking and finding were fun, exciting, challenging and produced a large degree of happiness. I'm grateful for...all of it. Here's the beautiful little chickadee in action:

Dragonfly Watching still good, however…

Even up here, road to the Bass Creek Overlook, dragonflies can be found. Variegated meadowhawk is the most likely species to be found up the mountainside; research has found that they migrate via “hilltops”. So if they are migrating, is the dragonfly season winding down? Cool weather in this part of August may portend an early fall. Here is a photo of one 2 days ago:

Joining the many variegated meadowhawk at this altitude was a band-winged meadowhawk. This dragonfly is also very colorful, note the orangish bands on the wings:

Dragonflies are very interesting creatures to study and find; they are unpredictable frequently. Some live only several days as adults; some species have “flight seasons” that are only brief windows of time (sometimes only a month) in which they are out and about recognizable in the adult form. These challenges do lead one to a path of hard work (researching your objective) and employment of detective skills…ultimately one gets a huge sense of accomplishment at the moment of discovery of a new, colorful or rare species. It is great fun. Drop me a note of your field trip successes for these animals.

A visit to Bass Creek Recreation Area, just south of Florence, Montana (foot of the Bitterroot Mountains) provided early spring color in the form of Compton tortoiseshell (Nymphalis vaualbum). This butterfly is a member of the Nymphalidae family (5,000 species worldwide), some of the world’s most eye-catching butterflies. The upper side of the wing is very colorful while the underside is cryptically colored for camouflage. Tortoiseshells, in particular, are known their fast and erratic flight. This species is identified by white spots on both the forewing and hindwing. Adults hibernate over winter in tree crevices or logs. Compton tortoiseshell habitat consists of openings and edges of forest. Aspen, birch and willow are important foodplants for larvae. Range maps indicate this species is somewhat restricted to northwest Montana.
Already (?) second butterfly species of year! Have you seen any yet?