Butterfly Surveys

From Michelle Toshack:
Happy August, fellow lepidopterists!
I wanted to give a mid-season update on what's been happening at our butterfly monitoring sites...and it's pretty exciting! July was an incredibly sunny month, with many of the monitoring sites snow-free sooner than we've seen in the last couple of years.
17 surveys have been completed, compared to 5 completed in July 2012.19 butterfly species have been detected, compared to 6 species in July 2012.16 citizen scientists have volunteered with the project (Thank you!), compared to 5 in July 2012.and...942 individual butterflies have been detected while conducting surveys. In July 2012, 71 individuals had been detected. I think that's pretty impressive! The butterflies that we have seen include the following:
* Clodius Parnassian
* Anise Swallowtail
* Margined White
* Western White
* Sara's Orangetip
* Silvery Blue
* Anna's Blue
* Boisduval's Blue
* Arctic Blue
* Purplish Copper
* Mariposa Copper
* Moss' Elfin
* Western Meadow Fritillary
* Arctic Fritillary
* Mormon Fritillary
* Edith's Checkerspot
* Anicia Checkerspot
* Milbert's Tortoiseshell
* Vidler's Alpine
Keep up the good work!
Next week we will be conducting butterfly surveys at both Mount Rainier National Park and the North Cascades National Park. Let me know if you are interested in volunteering!
Mount Rainier schedule: James Heintz and Tanner Humphries
August 12-Naches Peak (Tipsoo Lake trailhead)
August 13-Berkeley Park (Sunrise trailhead)
August 14-Mazama Ridge (4th Crossing trailhead, near Paradise)
August 15-Spray Park (Mowich Lake trailhead)
North Cascades schedule: Michelle Toshack
August 12-Cascade Pass
August 13-Sauk Mountain
August 14-Skyline Divide