ALBERTA LEPIDOPTERISTS` GUILD NEWSLETTER – FALL 2011

ALBERTA LEPIDOPTERISTS’ GUILD
NEWSLETTER – FALL 2011
Welcome to the ALG newsletter, a compendium of news, reports, and items of interest related to lepidopterans and
lepidopterists in Alberta. The newsletter will be produced twice per year, in spring and late fall.
Yes, Virginia,
there are jobs
for taxonomists!
g
j
Contents:
C t t
Cornell Job...........1
Social Events.........2
Dry Island Count.3-4
Adventures........5-7
Boloria................7
New Moths.......8-11
Last Butterfly..12-14
Congratulations to Dr. Jason Dombroskie, recent Ph.D. from Felix
Sperling’s lab at the U of Alberta, who has landed a dream job at
Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Jason’s new position is as
manager of the Cornell University Insect Collection. The moth
collection there makes up about 40% of the drawers and according to
th CUIC website
the
b it hhas bbeen without
ith t a th
the attention
tt ti off a dedicated
d di t d
curator for about 30 years.* Should be a lot of taxonomic updating to
keep Jason busy. His human-interaction skills will also be well
exercised at Cornell, as Jason will be serving as coordinator of the
Insect Diagnostic Laboratory, which provides identifications for the
Cooperative Extension Service.
Jason will be headed to Ithaca early in the new year. Not only will he
have the impressive Cornell collection to look forward to, but there is
the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Finger Lakes wine-growing
region to keep him busy when he needs a change from arthropods.
p://cu c.e o o ogy.co e .edu/ ews/cu c we co es j so
*http://cuic.entomology.cornell.edu/news/cuic-welcomes-jasondombroskie.html
Jason Dombroskie, Marla
Schwarzfeld, and their supervisor
Felix Sperling. Marla, we expect
you to get a job at Harvard now.
Cornell University is located in the beautiful
Finger Lakes region of New York state
(http://fingerlakeswebsiteservices.com/finger-lakes-websitedesigner-professional-web-design/)
Newsletter compiled and arranged by Heather Proctor
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 1
Upcoming Social Events for Fall and Winter
Thanks to John Acorn for information about the first two events.
Event 1: 2011 Tortricidae workshop
Take advantage of Jason Dombroskie‘s expertise and of the growing tortricid reference collection
at the U of A. Feel free to bring specimens, together with fine scissors and forceps so that Jason
can show off his dissection skills (actually, he didn’t promise to dissect your specimens, but it’s
worth a try).
E H.
H Strickland Entomological Museum,
Museum U of Alberta
218 Earth Sciences Building
Place: E.
Alberta, Room 218,
Time: Doors open at 9:30, workshop to follow soon thereafter
Event 2: 2011 ALG AGM and potluck
The 2011 ALG Annual General Meeting will be held from 2:00 - 4:30 pm on Saturday 3 Dec at
Gerry & Carol Hilchie’s home (10629-64 Ave., Edmonton, phone 780-434-9068). Those not
involved in the AGM are welcome to arrive at 4:30 for a p
potluck dinner and social.
Event 3: 2012 Feralia
The ancient Roman celebration of the spirits of the dead fell on the 21st of February, and we do our
best to celebrate moths at approximately the same time. This coming year, 21 Feb falls on a
Tuesday, so our Feralia will likely be on the preceding or subsequent Saturday. More details will be
distributed via the ALG listserv in early 2012.
Event 4: 2012 Strickland Memorial Entomology Lecture and Supper – 23 March 2012
I'm happy to report that Dr. Adam Chippindale from Queen's University in Ontario will be our
Strickland speaker for next year. Adam works on the evolution of sexual conflict using Drosophila
as a model, looking at genetic, physiological and morphological characters (see
http://www.queensu.ca/biology/people/faculty/chippindale.html for some of his recent papers).
Adam was
as at the U of A as an undergrad,
ndergrad when
hen he did some projects with
ith Rich Palmer and Curt
C rt
Strobeck. I think that given his current research area, he will be a big draw for geneticists and the
more theory-oriented biologists at the U of A, in addition to us arthropod-oriented people.
A full list of previous Strickland speakers is at
http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/facilities/strickland/?Page=6583
EDGAR HAROLD
STRICKLAND, born in
1889, died in 1962,
founder of the Department
of Entomology at the
University of Alberta.
Floreat Entomologia!
Adam Chippindale and some of his charges.
(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061024010155.htm)
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 2
2011 Dry Island Butterfly Count
by Charley Bird
10 July 2011 Dry Island Butterfly Count
Location: Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, Red Deer River Valley, east of Huxley.
At 10 AM, when the Count started at the Upper Viewpoint/Parking Lot, it was overcast with a
picnic area at 10:15. There
moderate NW wind. No butterflies were seen. We drove down to the p
was less wind below. The overcast gradually lightened and by 2.30 PM it was mainly sunny with
the temperature reaching 20 C. The overcast meant that fewer than normal butterflies were
observed. Most butterflies were seen during the sunny periods. Wildflowers were in abundance.
Mosquitoes were not a problem. Kilometres on foot estimated to be 6.
The participants (32) were Elizabeth & Kurt Bagdan, Gerry Bennett, Charley Bird (Compiler),
Adam Blake, Tony Blake, Lori Brohman, Claudia Cameron, Bruce & Helen Christensen, Dorothy
Dickson, Bernie & Leslie Diebolt, Pat Edgerton-McGhan, Richard Gaffney, Sylvia Glass, Bernice
Hafner, Gail Hughes, Debbie Morrissey, Ashley Patterson (Conservation Officer), Elizabeth Paul,
Henk Paul, Leendert Paul, Rick Varjassy, Dragomir & Ksenija Vujnovic, Jelena & Milica Vujnovic,
Meegan Wall, Brittney & Kory Wall and Frank Weber.
Participants in the 2011 Dry Island Butterfly Count – very happy to be
outside
t id iin one off th
the rare mosquito-free
it f
habitats
h bit t in
i Alb
Alberta
t thi
this pastt JJuly.
l
Dry Island continued on next page
* note to professors other than Felix Sperling – why aren’t your students here?
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 3
Dry Island cont...
SPECIES OBSERVED
Oarisma
O
i
garita
it (Garita
(G it Skipperling)
Ski
li ) – 9
Polites mystic (Long Dash Skipper) – 1?
Pyrgus communis (Common Checkered Skipper) – 11
Thorybes pylades (Northern Cloudywing Skipper) – 1
Papilio machaon dodi (Dod’s Old World Swallowtail - 1
Pieris rapae (Cabbage Butterfly) – 4
Colias philodice (Clouded Sulphur) - 6
Everes amyntula (Western Tailed Blue) – 4
Glaucopsyche lygdamus couperi ( Silvery Blue) – 1
Lycaeides melissa (Melissa Blue) – 2
Icaricia shasta (Shasta Blue) – 1
Plebejus saepiolus (Greenish Blue) – 9
Undetermined blues - 16
Speyeria atlantis lais (Northwestern Fritillary) – 4
Undetermined Fritillaries - 6
Phyciodes cocyta (Northern Crescent) – 8
Undetermined Crescents - 4
Coenonympha inornata (Ringlet) – 7
General Comments: An excellent turnout considering the weather, exceeding that of the 30 who took part in
2009 and the highest number of participants ever for the count. Fifteen species of skippers and butterflies
and 93 individuals were seen. In 2009, when the weather was better, 16 species and 165 individuals were
seen. Many had nets. As usual, this was catch, identify and release. Even though the weather was
counterproductive, everyone had a great time and all agreed that the Park is one of the most beautiful in
Alberta. Lots of scenery and flower photos were taken.
Some of the taxa observed by Dry Island participants (from left to right): Coenonympha inornata (Ringlet),
p
coccinea ((Scarlet Globemallow),
), Linum rigidum
g
((Yellow Flax),
), Gaura coccinea ((Scarlet
Sphaeralcea
Butterfly-weed) (photos by H. Proctor).
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 4
Adventures with Anweiler!
Spring and summer 2011 were decidedly not conducive to lepping, being very cool and wet.
Ne ertheless Gary
Nevertheless,
Gar Anweiler
An eiler and his st
sturdy
rd colleag
colleagues
es (incl
(including
ding his wife
ife Judy)
J d ) made several
se eral trips in
search of moths – some successful, others not. Here are a couple of his adventures, in his own (slightly
edited) words.
Gary and the Ghost Moths
Judy and I went out to the Twin Lakes Regional Park, just sw of Pigeon Lake, for a couple of days break
from the city.
city It was loverly...warm,
loverly warm quiet
quiet, and peaceful [Editors note: this was in August]
August]. Needless to
say, I dragged a couple of moth traps along.. but only two...so it would not turn into work. My
expectations moth wise were very low...but as a wise (or drug‐addled?) compatriot once said to me,
“faith goes to market with an empty basket”..or in this case, moth trap.
Thomas S[imonsen] recently got in touch with me to confess that in his move to Britain he had lost the
specimens
p
of gghost moths I had pickled
p
for him a couple
p of yyears ago..
g two species
p
of our Gazoryctra,
y
,
and to renew his request for specimens of these two species for a larger study of the Family Hepialidae
that he is working on. I had none of this in mind when me and the missus set out for the countryside.
Ghostmoths were the furthest thing from my mind.
I put the two traps out in our campsite to see what I could see. In the AM I was very surprised to find 5
specimens of two species of ghost moths...G. hyperboreus and G. novigannus...the first a
boreal‐foothills species and the other primarily a parkland‐grassland species. The second morning, one
of each. I have never taken these species together before*, and was very surprised to do so! I think God
must be fond of Thomas to be so prompt in replacing his lost samples! And I was surprised and pleased
to come up with some needed specimens with such a low‐key effort!
The two p
pale and lightly
g y ppatterned specimens
p
on the left
are novigannus; the darker more patterned
species on the right are hyperboreus. Note that on the
Virtual Museum site, these names are spelled
noviganna and hyperborea.... This is another story that
should be told, with old farts arguing with young
upstarts, and Latin names and gender congruency rules
being bent, broken and stapled. All I can add is that I use
the names as they appear in the printed Alberta Checklist
and not as used on the on‐line Virtual Museum site, and
will be doing my best to get the names updated so we
only have to search on one name, and not two.
Adventures continued next page
*Gary says: “It does turn out that several others (Ted Pike and Charley Bird) have both collected the two species
together. I guess I don’t trap enough in the area where the prairies and the foothills meet to see both these together!”
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 5
Adventures cont…
Chris & Dave & and Gary....and Jason's... Pretty Big Adventure
Many years ago...when ALG was still in it's gestation phase...Chris Schmidt, Dave Lawrie and I would get
together on weekends to go aa-mothing...to
mothing...to the mountains or the grasslands but most often just for an evening
in the Redwater dunes. More ambitious trips to the mountains were frequently frustrating; after spending
hours driving to get there the weather so often failed to co-operate ...And I, who was by now past my "best
before" date, found that those years of sucking down smoke of one kind or another made a hike into the
alpine a rather daunting challenge, and keeping up with Schmidt on his gazelle-legs impossible. I spent most
of my time in the subalpine gazing longingly up to where Schmidt roamed and where I knew the really
really good things were flying. Thus was born a dream.
"Would it not be great to someday get a helicopter to fly us up there take us up there and drop us off...so we
could have a whole day up there to hunt and collect....“. Over the ensuing years we often dreamed about it,
but never did anything about it. Being the one with the clock ticking the loudest, I began to put the money I
made doing the various moth contracts that came my way into a separate account for such an adventure
...someday. In the ensuing years, Chris moved to Ottawa while I got older, and the mountains and especially
the
h alpine
l i receded
d d farther
f h andd farther
f h away.
This summer, the COSEWIC Arthropod Committee meeting was held in Calgary...and Chris, also a member
like myself , would be coming out for the meeting .. it appeared that this might be the last good chance we
would have to make it happen. A sort of early "bucket trip" for the old guy. Enough money had accrued in
the moth account...and so I proposed to Chris that we do it. Dave was contacted and said he could make it,
Chris chartered a 6-seat
6 seat helicopter out of Canmore,
Canmore and it was a go
go. With an extra empty seat available,
available we
called Jason [Dombroskie] and invited him along as well.
On the morning of July 24 we arrived at the Alpine Helicopters base in Canmore, on a cool but sunny
morning. In less than an hour we were dropped off on an alpine ridge near mount Eddy at over 8,000' on
the edge of Kananaskis park. There was a breeze, and it was still very cool, but the sun was shining and
there were lots of alpine flowers in bloom. It was Game On!! Now, as anybody who collected in Alberta this
summer can tell you, this was an unusually cold, wet, late year. As the day kind of warmed up, we awaited
the appearance of all them bugs. And waited...and waited. Chris and Jason had both disappeared in the
distances, while I puttered about enjoying the unusual opportunity to look DOWN at the alpine instead of
up!
Dave Lawrie, Jason Dombroskie,
and Gary Anweiler on a sunny
alpine ridge, sadly almost devoid
of Lepidoptera (photo
presumably taken by the only
adventurer not in the picture,
Chris Schmidt))
Adventures
continued
next
t page
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 6
Adventures cont…
The odd butterflyy appeared...
pp
a Checkered white here,, an Edith's Checkerspot
p there.... and not much else.
No moths, no Parnassians, no Boloria's.. no nothin'. As the day wore on, there was little change. The
anticipated bugs were nowhere to be found!! The highlight of the day was a single arctiid larva Chris
encountered sunning on a rock.
The day wore on even more until we began to regroup on the ridge in anticipation of our ride back home.
Dave returned from a short hike to a nearby ridge peak with some close-up pictures of white-tailed
ptarmigan...one of the most difficult of the North American birds to find for those who "list" such things.
Jason, who is also an avid birder had never seen them, but was by now too beat to even head over to have a
look. Shortly thereafter our ride re-appeared and returned us to Canmore, where we headed to a local eatery
for beer and much needed food. Beat and a bit burnt but back.
As it turned out, this year the season in the alpine (and elsewhere) was really unusually late. I ran into Jens
R l d a couple
Roland
l off weeks
k later
l t who
h informed
i f
d me that
th t the
th Parnassians
P
i
in
i the
th subalpine
b l i att Kananaskis
K
ki were
just starting to fly....the latest ever in his experience. And a couple of weeks later still we heard from Dean
Nicholson that he had just returned from the alpine near Waterton and that things were now at their peak
with Boloria alberta flying and ovipositing*. Rats.
As a wise man once told me, "you pay's your nickel and you takes your chance".... Although few bugs were
injured during this adventure
adventure, I will not be lying on my death-bed someday regretting that we never
managed to make our fantasy come true.
Worth every cent !!!
*On
On August 13
13, 2011 a female Boloria alberta (Alberta Fritillary)
was observed ovipositing on Dryas octopetala (White Mountain
Avens) in an alpine basin at the head of Andy Good Creek in south
eastern BC. The butterfly would alternately sun itself on
neighbouring rocks and then fly to a nearby expense of the host
plant. The butterfly would alight on the plant and was observed
depressing
p
g its abdomen to the plant,
p , apparently
pp
y on the stem below
the leaf and seed level. The butterfly would then move a few feet
away and repeat the procedure. The time at each stop was 10-15
seconds. One of the landing sites was explored but unfortunately
no eggs could be detected. Dryas octopetala was the supposed
larval host plant for Boloria alberta based on laboratory rearing,
but oviposition in the field had hitherto not been confirmed.
Submitted by Dean Nicholson, Cranbrook, B.C.
Alberta Fritillary and Dryas octopetala
(photos by D. Nicholson)
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 7
New Moths for Alberta
Noctuidae: Nola minna (contributed by Gary
Anweiler)) –
Christi Jaeger and Jason Dombroskie collected a
specimen of Nola minna from the Beavermines Lake
area on June 20, 2011. This species IS listed for BC and
the NWT, but didn’t even make it into the “Probable”
list for AB. It is a species of the western mesic
woodlands, and is reported as feeding on alder and
Ceanothus (Rhamnaceae) The dark patch on the costa
near the base is diagnostic (see photo at right).
Tortricidae: Cochylis arthuri (contributed by Jason
D b ki ) –
Dombroskie)
JD7651: CAN: AB: Edmonton: 53.477 -113.527: 25 vii
2010: J. J. Dombroskie: at light: det. C. Tebby, ver. J.
Brown
This one was collected at the light in front of Bryan
Brunet'ss condo after departing from having a few
Brunet
barley-based beverages. The habitat was a parking lot
with a grassy median by the street. This species was
described from Saskatchewan, where it can be a pest of
sunflower, and has also been found in MB. It is
probably pretty widespread.
Tortricidae: Cochylis caulocatax arthuri (contributed
by Jason Dombroskie) –
JD7698: CAN: AB: Cypress Hills P. P., Battle Cr.:
49.657 -110.036: 06 viii 2008: J. J. Dombroskie: UV
trap: det. J. Brown
This one is unmistakeable by the distinctive male
genitalia, and as John Brown put it, "it is a long way
from home". It was originally described from
Venezuela, and was later found in Kentucky, Texas,
Mississippi, and Florida. The larva feeds in the flowers
and seeds of gentian. I really don't think that this is
i l b ll d as it was partt off a large
l
series
i off micros
i
mislabelled,
typical of Alberta, and I would not have brought the
trap and bucket to the US with me. Perhaps this thing
is more widespread than we think, who knows?
photo credits Gary Anweiler (top) and
Christi Jaeger (middle & bottom)
New moths continued next page
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 8
New moths cont…
Tortricidae: Phtheochroa riscana[?] (contributed by
J
Jason
D b ki ) –
Dombroskie)
JD6019: CAN: AB: near Bindloss: 50.901 -110.294: 23 vii
2008: J. J. Dombroskie, B. Proshek: UV trap: det. J.
Brown
This species is known from NS to BC, but without records
from the prairie provinces.
provinces Unfortunately it is a female,
female so
the ID is not certain, but one that should be considered
possible for AB. Hopefully someone will catch a male in
the future to confirm it.
photo by Christi Jaeger
Oecophoridae: Depressaria whitmani – a new species for Alberta and for Canada (contributed by
Charles D. Bird & Gregory R. Pohl) On July 11, 2009, Gary Anweiler set out ultraviolet (UV) traps in the Pakowki Lake sand dunes, 6 km
SW of Orion, Alberta. The micromoth bycatch was given to Charles Bird for mounting, labeling,
identification, databasing and eventual deposit in the University of Alberta Strickland Museum.
Included in this lot were three specimens of the above (UASM92763-5). The identification was
confirmed
fi
d by
b genitalic
it li dissections
di
ti
off UASM92763 andd UASM92765,
UASM92765 bboth
th off which
hi h were males,
l bby
Greg Pohl. Two additional specimens were found among unidentified material in the CFS Northern
Forestry Centre Collection as follows: AB, Pinhorn Ranch, 27 June 1997 [DA Macaulay, coll.] (1
female); AB, West bank of Lost River Coulee, 49.10216N 110.58213W, shortgrass prairie, MV light,
27 June 2001, Macaulay, Machney & Pohl, coll. (1 female).
Depressaria whitmani
whitmani, UASM92763,
UASM92763 and male genitalia of specimen UASM92765
New moths continued next page
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 9
New moths cont…
Depressaria cont…
J.F.G. Clarke revised the North American moths of the family Oecophoridae in 1941 [Proc. USNM 90:
33 286] IIncluded
33-286].
l d d were various
i
new genera and
d species,
i among th
the llatter
tt being
b i the
th above
b
species
i off
Depressaria. It differs from the other species of the genus by having the thorax and forewing above
being black, no blackish spots or lines on the ventral side of the abdomen, sclerotized portion of the
ductus bursae strongly curved, and the genital plate being of nearly equal width throughout while
having a triangular ostium. The type locality is Snake River, Whitman Co., Washington, opposite
Clarkston. No other locations are mentioned. The type and paratypes were reared by Clarke from
larvae collected on Lomatium macrocarpum.
macrocarpum This group of moths was treated more recently by
Hodges in 1974 [The Moths of North America North of Mexico, fascicle 6.2. Gelechioidea:
Oecophoridae]. However, that treatment included few genitalia figures, and Clarke (1941) remains
essential for identification of specimens in this genus.
The species is listed for California on the basis of a 15 Aug 1995 collection made by J. Powell at
Cottonwood Creek,, 5 mi SE of Sierraville [[California Moth Species
p
List Essig
g Museum of Entomology
gy
Collections essig.berkeley.edu/calmoth_species_list.html]. Lomatium macrocarpum, a member of the
Prairie Parsley genus and a member of the Umbelliferae, occurs on dry open hillsides throughout
southern Alberta. In North America it is found from southern Manitoba west to British Columbia and
south to Colorado and California.
Pyralidae: Sosipatra rileyella– a new species for Alberta and for Canada (contributed by Charles D.
Bird & Gregory R. Pohl) –
Included in the Anweiler collection mentioned on the previous page was a single, male specimen
(UASM92766) which was tentatively identified as the above. The identification was later confirmed by
genitalic dissection by Greg Pohl.
Sosipatra rileyella, photo by Vargo in Moth Photographer’s Group website; male genitalia, specimen
UASM92766
New moths continued next page
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 10
New moths cont…
Sosipatra cont…
This species is illustrated on Plate 26 in Jerry Powell and Paul Opler’s 2009 “Moths of Western North
A
America”.
i ” On
O page 197
197, th
they commentt as ffollows.
ll
“Sosipatra
“S i t rileyella
il ll is
i distinctive,
di ti ti having
h i cream
white FW (6.5 mm) with two pairs of black dots in place of the ante- and postmedian lines, and this
species is a specialist associated with Agavaceae. The larvae feed in the debris and dry seed after yucca
moth larvae (Prodoxidae) have abandoned the seed capsules, with several species of Yucca and Nolina
recorded as hosts. Sosipatra rileyella occurs in arid areas of most of the western United States from
Wyoming to Mexico.”
Yucca glauca (Soapweed) is the only member of the Agavaceae found in Alberta and it is known only
from two natural populations in the province; in the Lost River valley and in the Pinhorn Grazing
Reserve. The larger population, in the Lost River Valley, is around 50 km away, while the smaller one
is around 30 km away from the Pakowki Lake collection site. The Pakowki Lake specimen may be a
stray from one of the abovementioned Alberta Yucca colonies or even a wind-blown specimen from
Montana. Yucca gglauca is dependent
p
on Yucca Moth ((Tegeticula
g
yyuccasella)) for ppollination,, while
larvae of the Five-spotted Bogus Yucca Moth (Prodoxus quinquepunctellus) are found in Yucca
flowering stalks. Both species of moth have been found in the Lost River colony.
An alternative explanation for the presence of S. rileyella outside the range of Yucca, is the possibility
that they can utilize other food sources besides Agavaceae debris. Dried plant matter is not as complex
biochemically as living plant tissue, so insects feeding upon it are often not as host-specific as living
tissue feeders. If this species can feed on other dead plant matter, then it may not be a stray after all;
further collection records and biological work would shed light on this question.
.
Heinrich, Carl. 1956. American Moths of the
Subfamily Phycitinae.
Phycitinae U.S.
U S Natl
Natl. Museum
Bull. 207.
Hurlburt, Donna. 2001. Status of soapweed (Yucca
glauca) in Alberta. Alberta Wildlife Status
Report 35, 18 pp.
Powell, Jerry A. & Paul A. Opler. 2009. Moths of
Western North America. Univ. California
Press, 369 pp.
Snell, Rebecca. 2006. COSEWIC Assessment and
Status Report on the Five-spotted Bogus Yucca
Moth Prodoxus quinquepunctellus in Canada.
COSEWIC, 31 pp
Yucca moth Tegeticula yuccasella from
http://www srd alberta ca/FishWildlife/WildSpecies/Invertebrates/ButterfliesMoths/yuccamoth aspx
http://www.srd.alberta.ca/FishWildlife/WildSpecies/Invertebrates/ButterfliesMoths/yuccamoth.aspx
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 11
Flutterings in the Fall: Late Season Leps, ALG-Style
by John Acorn
.
I cling to the butterfly season, each and every year. The first papilionoids of spring bring me
happiness and hope, but the last have a stronger effect on my emotions—“loss aversion” as the
psychologists call it. So let me tell you about my annual quest for the last butterfly of the year, and
the joys of sharing it with others.
When I was a teenage bug nerd, the last good bugs (you know, butterflies and tiger beetles) typically
held on into the second week of October. I was therefore thrilled when I encountered a Clouded
Sulphur at the Wagner Natural Area on October 21, 1997, and wrote in my field notes “the latest
Alberta butterfly I have ever seen.”
The following year, 1998, the season continued for more than a week past that, and with great selfindulgent quasi-Victorian silliness, I wrote in my notes “With autumnality breathing heavier each
morn’, the dawn brought with it an admixture of sunshine, frost, and dread. Yet there, at the
D
Devonian
i sandbank
db k [a
[ south-facing
h f i hillside
hill id northh off Devon],
D
] 2:30
2 30 p.m., a single
i l ineluctable
i l
bl Colias
C li
plied the air. Groundward, the fauna has dissipated, and only the odd Formica podzolica was
apparent on the psammosubstratum, one hauling the remains of a putatively frost-killed opilione.
Such glory surely cannot last. Bird et al. tell tales of Colias philodice, happily on the wing one
magnificent November 22, but any right-thinking person must assume this to be a veiled reference
to the Bible-slash-Banana Belt, that sub-deserticolous corner of the province we call "the southeast."
(The good Professor Sperling corrects me
me, with the phrase “Bragg
Bragg Creek.
Creek ”)) Contrastingly
Contrastingly, here in
the Edmontonian realm, one feels a palpable sense of neo-historicity. Records are being set, good
colleagues-- surely they are. A November sulphur-- such Heady Dreams, my friends, are almost
within our grasp...”
Such, however, was not to be the case. In 1999 and 2000, I was away during late October, as a
speaker for the Texas Butterfly Festival (an event that was, II’ll
ll admit, further over the top than even
ALG has been able to muster). In 2001 our son Benny was born on October 30, so I stayed close to
home waiting for that event. I then returned to the Texas Butterfly Festival in 2002, spoke at
naturalist gatherings in Florida and West Virginia in 2003, went back to Texas in 2004 and 2005,
after which the Texas event more or less imploded as a consequence of local politics.
My notes give no indication of where I was in the fall of 2006, but on October 14, 2007 my sons and
I enjoyed a lovely 20oC visit to Gull Lake, during which we saw both a Clouded Sulphur and a
Milbert’s Tortoiseshell. On October 23, 2008, in Edmonton, I had “A nice warm day, with a
Compton Tortoiseshell flying around.” The next day was perhaps four degrees cooler, and despite an
afternoon search, I couldn’t find a butterfly on Hallowe’en. However, for the first time ALG
members began reporting nymphs in their hibernation spots. Christie Jaeger found a Milbert’s
Tortoiseshell in a stairwell on the University of Alberta campus, and Laura Stevens reported,
“Compton Tortoiseshell on the inside of our window today, November 5, alive and well. We live in
N hC
North
Cooking
ki Lake.
L k Unfortunately,
U f
l our cat caught
h andd ate it.”
i ” In
I a secondd posting
i she
h added,
dd d
“Does it count that we only saw it inside?” In a hibernating sort of way, I think it does.
Flutterings continued next page
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 12
Flutterings cont…
At this point, I was starting to see some patterns in those last butterfly records. First, they are either
nymphaline hibernators (Mourning Cloaks or tortoiseshells) or soon-to-be-dead Clouded Sulphurs.
Th nymphs
The
h have
h
mostly
tl tucked
t k d in
i for
f the
th winter,
i t but
b t the
th sulphurs
l h have
h
nothing
thi to
t lose
l
staying
t i active
ti
as long as they can (they are continuous breeders and the overwintering generation spends the winter as
pupae).
Their flights are short, and they spend most of their time basking on the ground, not sipping at what
look like withered flowers. My prediction used to be that a November butterfly in Edmonton will
probably be a Clouded Sulphur,
Sulphur and it will probably show up in an open,
open sunny
sunny, disturbed area with a
few flowering weeds—the railway tracks are my idea of perfect habitat. Now I’m not so sure—
perhaps it will be a nymph after all.
I’m pretty sure, though, that an Alberta November butterfly didn’t pop up on the ALG listserve until
November 1, 2008, when Nora Bryan wrote, from Calgary, “Joe saw a Mourning Cloak in the back
alley
y yesterday,”
y
y, and Jonathan Dean posted,
p
, “Hello there from Southern Alberta. I took your
y
challenge
g
o
st
to find November butterflies. On a beautiful (21 C) Nov. 1 I managed to find 3 sulphurs and a Wood
Nymph in the Helen Schuler Wilderness park in the River valley in Lethbridge.” That same day, the
Sperlings, and my sons and I, were out together in Edmonton, at 15 o, but we saw no butterflies.
The summer of 2008 was warm and dry, and in those days we took for granted that the butterflies
would disappear long before the last moths. On Nov. 2, 2008, Charley Bird reported “lots of Bruce
Spanworm moths 8 km NW of Winfield over the last two days, they were also flying near Arrowwood
shortly before that, and also near out home in Erskine. Little moths of the genus Alucita were also
flying at the Winfield site. No butterflies.” The other late season lep has traditionally been the
inchworm moth Erranis tiliaria, but after the cold snowy winters, and wet, cool summers, of 2010 and
2011 both this and the Bruce Spanworm (Operophtera bruceata) have been more or less absent from at
least the Edmonton area.
Back to the butterflies,, on October 17,, 2009 I made a
note that “at home in the afternoon, I caught a glimpse
of a Mourning Cloak in the back yard, being chased by
a chickadee.” I was, however, in Prince Edward Island
for the end of the month (where I did see a Clouded
Sulphur), and didn’t have a chance to look for leps in
Edmonton. Things were rather cool in 2010, and my
notes from October 25 read “It snowed last night, after
a cloudy and rainy weekend, and I suspect this is the
end of the butterfly year. Once again, no hope for a
November Colias.” But on Oct. 31 Matthias Buck
posted, “I saw a Milbert`s Tortoiseshell in east
Edmonton today. Weather conditions were sunny and
F a long
For
l
time,
ti
I thought
th
ht this
thi was the
th perfect
f t habitat
h bit t
10°C He
10°C.
H seemed
d a littl
little sluggish
l
i h as it was probably
b bl
for the last butterfly of the season, and I’m pleased
barely warm enough.”
to report that this no longer seems to be the case.
Flutterings continued next page
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 13
Flutterings cont…
Having completely forgotten Matthias’ record, imagine my excitement on October 30 of this year,
2011 when
2011,
h according
di to
t my notes,
t “the
“th forecast
f
t high
hi h was 12o, a value
l easily
il achieved
hi d by
b this
thi glorious
l i
autumnal afternoon. With damp ground and iced-over shade puddles, we [my son Jesse and I] came, as
we often do, to the southern bounds of Walker Yard, a location pregnant with possibilities. As the great
engines of the CN line ambled east and west, Sultran gondolas amongst them, so did two pierid
sulphurs, as I had hoped. Colias philodice, in the flesh-- a new personal record breaking my 1998
record by a day. On the ALG listserve, Robin Leech reported a mourning cloak as well.”
Most recently, though, I emailed Jan Scott in Medicine Hat, to check on her November records. Her
response amazed me, and gave a clear idea of just how different things are here at the edge of the
boreal forest, compared to the grasslands of the Deep South, where Jan has recorded no less than eight
species in November! Her list is below.
Jan Scott’s
Scott s list of late season butterflies from
Medicine Hat
2005-November 2
2 Clouded Sulphurs
1 Satyr Anglewing
2007-December 3
Satyr Anglewing (in my garage)
2008-November 28 Milbert’s Tortoiseshell ((in doghouse)
g
)
2009-November 3
Satyr Anglewing
2 Clouded Sulphurs
Cabbage Butterfly
2010-November 4
Western White
Finally, will these records tell us anything about
global warming? Sure, but first we need a couple
of hundred years worth of data, just to compensate
for the variability of fall weather—sounds like a
good ALG project to me. Perhaps we should be
counting numbers of species late in the year, not
just the latest dates? Keep watching for those late
season records,
d andd ttrustt me, when
h you do,
d it is
i
possible to maintain the illusion that summer is
still with us right up until the very moment that
winter comes crashing in to flash freeze our
province.
4 Clouded Sulphurs
p
y
Aphrodite
Fritillary
November 5
Red Admiral
3 Milbert’s Tortoiseshells
4 Clouded Sulphurs
Cabbage Butterfly
November 6
Aphrodite Fritillary
November 7
Checkered Skipper
pp
2 Cabbage Butterflies
5 Clouded Sulphurs
Milberts Tortoiseshell
Aphrodite Fritillary
2011-November 8
1 Clouded Sulphur
A Clouded
Cl d d Sulphur,
S l h but
b t from
f
August
A
t , nott November
N
b
(photo by H. Proctor)
ALG Newsletter Fall 2011 - Page 14