The 2005 Hamilton Butterfly Count (3rd annual)

By Bill Lamond

The 3rd annual Hamilton Butterfly Count (HBC) was conducted on 9 July 2005. We recorded a total of 51 species with one additional subspecies (White Admiral). This total is quite similar to the 2004 total of 54 species. In 2004 there were seven species observed that were not seen in 2005. Conversely, in 2005 five species were seen that were not seen in 2004. So in theory a count of 60 species is possible if we get exceptional coverage, great weather, and lucky!

Wild Indigo Duskywing
Photo taken by Dean Gugler in Hendrie Valley

There was nothing exceptional about the count, but there were a few highlights: Wild Indigo Dusky Wing, Dreamy Dusky Wing, Common Sooty Wing and Painted Lady. The Wild Indigo Dusky Wing is a relatively new species to the Hamilton Study Area (HSA), but is rapidly increasing and will likely soon become common on this butterfly count. The Dreamy Dusky Wing is not uncommon in the HSA, but it is an early season butterfly and is usually gone by July. The Common Sooty Wing is a species of disturbed habitats, but nonetheless is still quite uncommon in the HSA. Lastly the Painted Lady is an immigrant to our area. It probably puts in an appearance here about one in three years. It has graced our area this year in modest numbers.

The count area is a 7.5 mile radius circle centred at Kirkwall and we have divided this circle into eight large territories. This year we had much reduced coverage compared to 2004. In 2004 we had parties in each territory, but this year only six territories were covered. This is obviously going to happen from time to time as July is a busy month and people cannot always commit to a butterfly count.

Possibly a good indicator of the count effort difference between 2004 and 2005 is the number of Wood Nymphs. In 2004, 1,064 were recorded and in 2005, 658 were recorded. But these are insects, folks, not birds. Insects numbers, butterflies included, can fluctuate dramatically from year to year. As an example, last year 2,969 European Skippers were tallied. In 2005, only 258 were seen even though the count effort was not that different. Obviously, butterfly counts will not be terribly reliable for surveying butterfly populations. These counts, however, will uncover new locations for the rarer species, document the arrival of new species and give us limiting dates for other species.

Coverage for the HBC will probably always be relatively thin compared to bird counts. Nonetheless, we still had a respectable list.

Species:

Silver-spotted Skipper 1
Dreamy Dusky Wing 2
Wild Indigo Dusky Wing 7
Common Sooty Wing 6
Least Skipper 23
European Skipper 258
Peck's Skipper 22
Crossline Skipper 21
Tawny-edged Skipper 54
Long Dash 2
Northern Broken Dash 122
Little Glassy Wing 9
Delaware Skipper 9
Hobomok Skipper 1
Broad-winged Skipper 1
Black Dash 7
Dun Skipper 23
Black Swallowtail 6
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 26
Cabbage White 232
Mustard White 1
Orange Sulphur 11
Common Sulphur 146
Bronze Copper 5
Coral Hairstreak 21
Acadian Hairstreak 26
Banded Hairstreak 7
Striped Hairstreak 1
Eastern Tailed Blue 6
Summer Azure 5
Great Spangled Fritillary 66
Meadow Fritillary 5
Silver-bordered Fritillary 1
Orange Crescent 238
Pearl Crescent 7
Baltimore 7
Question Mark 3
Eastern Comma 1
Mourning Cloak 14
Red Admiral 3
American Painted Lady 4
Painted Lady 6
Red-spotted Purple 21
White Admiral 1
Viceroy 7
Northern Pearly Eye 30
Marsh (Northern) Eyed Brown 78
Appalachian Eyed Brown 76
Little Wood Satyr 16
Inornate Ringlet 1
Wood Nymph 658
Monarch 12

I would like to thank all the participants in 2005. Good work!

Participants: Jerry Chapple, Barb Charlton, Rob Dobos, Diane Green, Shirley Klement, Bill Lamond, Kevin McLaughlin, Mary Pomfret, Norm Pomfret, Elaine Serena, Brian Wylie, Chris Zoladeski.

Parties: 6

Party-Hours: 42