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The Rochester Butterfly Club is an independent club formed to promote the study of butterflies in Western New York. We focus on habitat, environment, life cycles, education, and reporting our findings.
Save the date
Monday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Annual Meeting 2012
The Auditorium at Brighton Town Hall, 2300 Elmwood Avenue, just west of Twelve Corners in Brighton.
Identifying Skippers
+
Butterflies Behaving Badly
By Carol Southby
Have you ever wondered about the smaller, less showy members of our local butterflies? Perhaps you always thought those small orange or brown daytime visitors to your butterfly bush or local milkweed patch are moths. If you look carefully you will probably find that these are from the group within the butterflies known as Skippers. They can be quite a challenge to identify, but with patience and persistence it is possible to learn their unique markings.
One third of our local butterflies are in this group of Skippers and this is your chance to know them better. As a fun finale to our ID efforts, we will also show the much requested “Butterflies Behaving Badly.” These will be all new images and rather than spoil the surprise we will just say that at the end we will take a vote to see which picture wins the title of “Grossest in Show.”
Refreshments will be provided. The talk is free and open to non-members, so bring a friend along. For more information, contact: 385-3907.
The Rochester Butterfly Club is an independent club formed to promote the study of butterflies in Western New York. We focus on butterfly watching, habitat, environment, life cycles, education, and reporting our findings.
Field Trips
One of the best ways to learn about butterflies and where to find them is to go on a field trip with experienced leaders who will share their knowledge with you. Each year the Rochester Butterfly Club organizes at least 15 guided field trips to prime butterfly spots in the local area, including some members’ gardens. These trips take place on both weekdays and weekends. The trips are listed in our annual schedule sent out to members in the spring. We are always pleased to welcome non-members on our trips. You need only to show up at our butterfly walks as announced in the printed schedule. If you have them, bring a pair of binoculars and a butterfly identification book. (If you don’t have a book of your own, try your local library.)
Newsletter
Members receive our newsletter “Butterly News,” which is published 3 times a year. It includes a variety of articles and topical information about our local butterflies.
If you would like to become a member of the Rochester Butterfly Club, an application can be found here.
Club Officers:
President: Carol Southby Vice President / Secretary: Shirley Shaw Treasurer: Lucretia Grosshans Statistics: Bill McCleary Editor Norma Platt For information about the Rochester Butterfly Club, contact Lucretia Crosshans.
ROCHESTER BUTTERFLY
CLUB
2012 FIELD TRIPS and
ACTIVITIES
www.rochesterbutterflyclub.org
Our field trips will take place rain or shine, but not during thunder storms. On cloudy or showery days, we will have a general nature walk, and look for caterpillars, hiding butterflies and plants that butterflies use. With luck the sun will come out and with it, the butterflies.
Most of our field trips last about 2 hours. Some continue into the afternoon, especially those that are further away, shown by the driving time from Rochester. Bring a cold drink and for the longer trips, your lunch.
***** Long pants and appropriate footgear are strongly recommended, as there is often poison ivy *****
We have provided contact numbers in case you would like more information about a field trip. For most of our field trips, just come along to the meeting place listed. Also for most of our field trips, an alternative meeting place may usually be arranged, if needed, via one of the contact numbers. A few field trips do require pre-registration, as noted.
Please bring close focusing binoculars, a field guide and your camera, but leave your butterfly nets at home, because they can injure wings, legs and antennae.
Non-members are welcome to join our activities. All field trips are by Rochester Butterfly Club except as noted.
Tick Alert During March 2012 we received several reports of deer ticks that people picked up in local areas. Because of this, we recommend you wear long pants tucked into socks, and use insect repellent.
| APRIL 30, 2012 | INDOOR TALK Skipper Identification + Butterflies Behaving Badly |
| Monday, 7:30 pm |
By Carol Southby |
|
Auditorium at Brighton Town Hall |
2300 Elmwood Avenue, just west of Twelve Corners in Brighton. The Auditorium is at the front of the building, on the first floor. Rochester Butterfly Club president Carol Southby will lead us through details of how to make sense of those tricky little skippers. She will then show us some highlights of our local butterflies, when they are behaving badly. The meeting is free and open to the public. |
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| MAY 10 thru 14 | CHAUMONT BARRENS near Watertown with optional Fort Drum |
Date to be decided |
This trip will take place in fair weather only. We will keep a watch on the weather and go whichever of those dates look warm and sunny. It is a full day trip, about 2-3 hours drive from Rochester, or overnight in Watertown if you also visit Fort Drum. Access to Fort Drum requires a permit–see below. Allow two weeks in advance if ordering the permit by mail. Fort Drum Recreation Access Pass Application forms are available at http://www.fortdrum.isportsman.net/ “access, permits and regulations” |
| MAY 19 | GENESEE LAND TRUST NATIVE PLANT SALE |
| Saturday 8:30 am to 2:00pm | At the Brighton Town Hall located at 2300 Elmwood Ave., Rochester 14618 Arrive early for best selection. For more information, www.geneseelandtrust.org or e-mail Margaret Potter at info@geneseelandtrust.org or call (585) 256-2130. |
| JUNE 9 | ADIRONDACK MOUNTAIN CLUB OUTDOOR EXPO MENDON PONDS PARK |
| Saturday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. | See the Web site for more info: http://www.adk-gvc.org/expo. |
| JUNE 12 | SHERWOOD FIELDS PARK, PENFIELD for Wildflowers, butterflies and birds |
| Tues. 10:00 a.m. | Joint trip with Burroughs Audubon Nature Club. Explore Penfield's newest park. Meet in Penfield near light post #23 in the Wegman’s parking lot on Route 441, just west of Route 250. Post #23 is close to Route 441 and across from Wegman’s Pharmacy. |
| JUNE 16 | WESLEY HILL PRESERVE, Anna Brown Tract |
| Sat. 9:00 a.m. | Meet at the Park and Ride parking lot by the Bushnell’s Basin Exit of Route I-490. |
| JUNE 23 | ROCHESTER AREA “4th OF JULY” COUNT (Rain Date, Sunday June 24) |
| Sat. from 10 a.m. | Several different locations, including Mendon Ponds Park, Powder Mills Park, High Acres Nature Area and Thousand Acre Swamp. |
| JUNE 23 | BACK YARD HABITAT TOUR, sponsored by Genesee Land Trust (GLT) |
| Sat. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Visit gardens planted to attract butterflies and wildlife. Tickets go on sale in May with member discounts from the Land Trust office. Tickets will also be available at all Wegmans. For more information call Margaret Potter at GLT, 256-2130, or www.geneseelandtrust.org . |
| JUNE 26 | MENDON PONDS PARK |
| Tues. 10am | Meet in the “Visitors Center” parking lot on Pond Road just off Clover St. (Rt. 65). We will start by exploring the butterfly garden and then may car pool to explore other areas. Optionally, bring lunch. |
| JUNE 30 and JULY 1 | ITHACA area for McCLEAN BOG and JAM POND BOG |
| Sat + Sun. | It is a full day trip for each of the days, or you can stay overnight for both locations. |
Space is limited to 10 people; priority will be given to members and their guests. |
|
| JULY 7 | LETCHWORTH STATE PARK 4th OF JULY COUNT (Rain Date, Sunday July 8) |
| Sat. from 10 a.m. | Several different locations and possible car pooling from Rochester. If you would like to participate, contact Douglas Bassett, Park Naturalist at 493-3625. |
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| JULY 7 | THOUSAND ACRE SWAMP |
| Sat. 9:30 a.m. | Joint trip with Burroughs Audubon Nature Club. We will meet in the Thousand Acre Swamp parking lot then carpool from there. Come prepared for poison ivy, mosquitoes, and possibly muddy trails. The long driveway to the parking lot off Jackson Rd. in Penfield, is north of Atlantic Ave. and south of Plank Rd. |
| JULY 10 | HI TOR AREA, near Naples |
| Tues. 9 a.m. | Meet at the Park and Ride parking lot by the Bushnell’s Basin Exit of Route I-490. |
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| JULY 14 | GANARGUA CREEK MEADOW PRESERVE: Celebrating 10 years of field trips at this preserve |
| Sat. 10 a.m. | This is a joint trip with Genesee Land Trust. Meet at the Creekside entrance near the intersection of Wilkinson and Victor Rd. in Wayne County, about 40 minutes from Rochester. Directions: From Route 31 in Macedon, turn south onto Route 306 (Wayneport Road). Turn east onto Wilkinson Road and drive to the parking lot on the right, just before a T intersection with Victor Road. |
| JULY 19 | OATKA CREEK PARK |
| Thurs. 10 a.m. | Meet at the parking lot inside the park entrance at the junction of Quaker Rd. and Union St. just west of Scottsville. Take Rt. I-390 south to Rush, exit 11. At the exit ramp turn right onto Rt. 251, Rush-Scottsville Road. Continue straight along here, it will become Quaker Road. At Union Street, go straight across into the parking lot. It is about 30-40 minutes drive from Rochester. Bring lunch. |
| JULY 29 | CHRISTINE SEVILLA WETLANDS PRESERVE ***NEW*** |
| Sun. 10 a.m. | This is a joint trip with Genesee Valley Audubon Society |
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| JULY 31 | RUSH OAK OPENINGS. Chigger precautions needed for this walk |
| Tues. 10 a.m. | Meet in the parking lot for "Quinn Oak Openings" on the south side of Honeoye Falls-Five Points Road, just west of Five Points Road. Take I-390 south to Rush exit 11, left at the exit, then south on Rt. 15 for about 3 miles. Take a left onto Honeoye Falls-Five Points Road (look for Sunshine Camp sign). The parking lot is just past The Nature Conservancy –Rush Oak Openings field (look for their sign in the field). It is about 30 minutes drive from Rochester. Bring lunch. |
| AUGUST 4 | MONARCHS: FINDING EGGS, RAISING CATERPILLARS |
| Sat. 10 a.m. | Join us at a private garden in Brighton. We will hunt for butterfly eggs and caterpillars. Learn various methods for raising Monarch caterpillars and we will look for eggs, caterpillars and butterflies of Monarchs and other species in this backyard habitat garden. |
| AUGUST 20-21 | FORT DRUM AND AREAS NEAR WATERTOWN |
| Mon. Tues. | Likely areas include Fort Drum, Chaumont Barrens and Thousand Islands area. Access to Fort Drum requires permit – see below. Allow two weeks in advance if ordering permit by mail. Two day trip, about 3 hours drive from Rochester. Space is limited; priority will be given to members and their guests. For more information and to register, contact us by Tuesday August 14 |
Fort Drum Recreation Access Pass Application forms are available at http://www.fortdrum.isportsman.net/ “access, permits and regulations” |
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| AUG 28 | BURGER PARK |
| Tues.. 10 a.m. | Meet in the parking lot at Braddock Bay Park, near the lodge. Directions: Take Lake Ontario Parkway west and exit at East Manitou Road. Go north to the park entrance, then follow the park road to the north. About 30 minutes drive from Rochester. We will car pool from here. Bring lunch. |
| AUG. 1 thru OCT. 15 | MONARCH COUNT |
Keep a count list and send it to us |
**** Please remember to send all your butterfly sightings ****
Whenever you go out butterflying or are just sitting on your back porch, keep a list of the butterflies you see and how many of each. Be sure to record the location and date of each sighting and the observers. If the town and county of the sightings are not well known, record those also. Finally, if you see any other interesting things such as caterpillars (if you can identify them) or a female butterfly laying eggs, see if you can also identify the plant and send this information along as well.
You can send your records to Bill either as you make them or at the end of the season. Send them on our standard checklist record sheets or in any other form that you prefer.
Lots of information about the Monarch Butterfly
North American Butterfly Association
Greg Lasley Nature Photography
North American Insects and Spiders
Robert Michael Pyle's account of his butterfly big year in Orion Magazine.
Help preserve the Auburn Trail. Information can be found here.
If you would like to download this list for printing, you can find it here.
If you would like to download this list for printing, you can find it here.
If you would like to download this list for printing, you can find it here.
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Butterfly host plants:
| Butterfly Species | Caterpillar Plants | |||
| Trees and Shrubs | ||||
| Tiger Swallowtail | American hornbeam | ash | tulip tree | wild cherry |
| Spicebush Swallowtail | sassafras | spicebush | ||
| Harvester | woolly aphids on alder | |||
| Coral Hairstreak | black cherry | choke cherry | ||
| Acadian Hairstreak | small willows | |||
| Banded Hairstreak | oaks | |||
| Hickory Hairstreak | hickory | |||
| Striped Hairstreak | American hornbeam | black chokeberry | hawthorn | |
| Spring Azure | flowering dogwood | maple-leaf viburnum | New Jersey tea | shrubby dogwoods |
| Question Mark | elm | (and herbaceous) | ||
| Eastern Comma | elm | (and herbaceous) | ||
| Compton Tortoiseshell | birch | |||
| Mourning Cloak | elm | poplar | willow | |
| White Admiral | American hornbeam | black cherry | cottonwood | oak |
| Red-spotted Purple | American hornbeam | black cherry | cottonwood | oak |
| Viceroy | small poplars | small willows | ||
| Hackberry Emperor | hackberry | |||
| Tawny Emperor | hackberry | |||
| Silver-spotted Skipper | black locust | |||
| Dreamy Duskywing | birch | poplar | ||
| Juvenal's Duskywing | oaks | |||
| Butterfly Species | Caterpillar Plants | |||
| Herbaceous | ||||
| Black Swallowtail | dill | fennel | parsley | Queen Anne's Lace |
| West Virginia White | toothwort | |||
| Cabbage White | cabbage family | |||
| Clouded Sulphur | clovers | |||
| Orange Sulphur | alfalfa | |||
| American Copper | sheep sorrel | |||
| Bronze Copper | swamp dock | |||
| Eastern-tailed Blue | pea family | |||
| Great Spangled Fritillary | violets | |||
| Aphrodite Fritillary | violets | |||
| Atlantis Fritillary | violets | |||
| Silver-bordered Fritillary | violets | |||
| Meadow Fritillary | violets | |||
| Butterfly Species | Caterpillar Plants | |||
| Herbaceous | ||||
| Harris' Checkerspot | flat topped aster | |||
| Pearl Crescent | asters | |||
| Baltimore Checkerspot | English plantain | white turtlehead | ||
| Question Mark | hops | nettle species | ||
| Eastern Comma | nettle species | |||
| Milbert's Tortoiseshell | nettle species | |||
| American Lady | pearly everlasting | sweet everlasting | ||
| Painted Lady | bull thistle | nodding thistle | ||
| Red Admiral | nettle species | |||
| Monarch | common milkweed | swamp milkweed | butterflyweed | |
| Hoary-edge Skipper | tick trefoils (Desmodium) | |||
| Southern Cloudywing | tick trefoils (Desmodium) | |||
| Northern Cloudywing | bush clovers (Lespedeza) | tick trefoils (Desmodium) | ||
| Wild Indigo Duskywing | wild indigo (Baptisia) | |||
| Common Checkered Skipper | mallow family | |||
| Butterfly Species | Caterpillar Plants | |||
| Grasses and Sedges | ||||
| Northern Pearly Eye | grasses | |||
| Eyed Brown | sedges (Carex) | |||
| Appalachian Brown | sedges (Carex) | |||
| Little Wood Satyr | grasses | |||
| Common Ringlet | grasses | |||
| Common Wood Nymph | grasses | |||
| Arctic Skipper | grasses | |||
| Least Skipper | grasses | |||
| European Skipper | Timothy grass | |||
| Leonard's Skipper | grasses | |||
| Peck's Skipper | grasses | |||
| Tawny-edged Skipper | grasses | |||
| Crossline Skipper | grasses | |||
| Long Dash | grasses | |||
| Northern Broken Dash | grasses | |||
| Little Glassywing | grasses | |||
| Delaware Skipper | grasses | |||
| Hobomok Skipper | grasses | |||
| Dion Skipper | sedges (Carex) | |||
| Broad-winged Skipper | Phragmites | |||
| Dun Skipper | sedges (Carex) |
Home of the Rochester Butterfly Club photo gallery. Members of the Rochester Butterfly Club can register and post their pictures of butterflies, and other related things, after their gallery is set up.
Right now I'm in the testing stage. If you're willing to help with the testing, just go the gallery and register. Then email the webmaster and let me know that you are willing to help with the test. I will then create your album and you can start uploading your photos (jpegs only).
Note: This photo gallery is for Rochester Butterfly Club members only.
There is no need to worry about the size of your image. It will downsized to around 100kB when you upload it.
Please note:
By clicking on the link below you are agreeing that you will not post any specific information about the location of any butterfly or moth. You are free to post the date, time and county, but nothing more specific.
The gallery can be found here.