Friday, May 3, 2013

What's Flying? - May

The temperature are starting to rise, and summer will be here before we know it! It's still a wonderful time for butterflies, with cool season species like whites and Painted Ladies lingering in the area while warmer weather species like Giant Swallowtails start to appear as well. Here's what you can expect to see in the MOSI Outside gardens and back woods this month:

5 Most Common:
Other Common Sightings:
Occasional Sightings:
Notes from the Field:
  • In late April, we had an exciting spotting: a Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) was seen drinking from a puddle behind the Flight Encounter! This is a rare sight in our area, and though we tried to grab it with a net, we were unsuccessful. We've had reports from other butterfly folks that they have also seen this fun species on occasion in the Tampa Bay area recently, so we'll be keeping our eyes open for them in the future.
  • We are finally raising some Common Buckeye larvae in the lab, thanks to some eggs from a local butterfly grower. We have seen very few of these flying outside this year, and we don't really know why. We're glad to have them for the Flight Encounter again, since they are such a beautiful little butterfly with their orange markings and bold eyespots.

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