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| List: NorWest Leps Date: Mon, 06 Jun 2022 21:37:02 -0700 From: <tlpyle...> Subject: [NorWestLeps] East Klickitat Field Trip: Pale Crescent |
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--MfcirlK6siWyCGMQ85Zt Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable East Klickitat Co., 1 June 2022: RMP Field Report Weary of the never-ending rain, gray, and cold of this worst butterfly spri= ng in recent memory, I visited Klickitat County on June 1. I had intended t= o make the trip in April, then May, but even the "sunny side" of the Cascad= es has had largely hostile weather for weeks on end. My particular hope was= to find the Pale Crescent ( Phyciodes pallida ), one of the last three Was= hington resident butterflies I have yet to see within the state. I didn't h= ave time to drive to the distant Snake River sites, so I intended to revisi= t the much-nearer Klickitat County localities, none of them confirmed for d= ecades. June First was forecast for full sun and temperatures into the eighties, bu= t it dawned overcast at The Dalles and remained hazy all day, probably not = exceeding 75 F. First I checked a draw east of Maryhill Mansion where John = Hinchliff found the species in 1981, but this had been utterly altered by c= attle and grass and there were no hostplants, the native wavy-leaved thistl= e ( Cirsium undulatum ). A Stan Jewett data site from 1953, east of there, = was garbled=E2=80=94the record did not match the ground. The third legacy s= ite I checked was Paul Handy's record from John Day Dam in 1970. That's a b= ig area, but on the little road from the dam down to the Railroad Island bo= at launch on the Columbia, I channeled my inner Stewart Wechsler and spotte= d several healthy stands of C. undulatum on the roadside and in the dry sto= ny ground beneath basalt rimrock and scree. The air was certainly warm enou= gh for flight and there were loads of nectar, mostly buckwheats and daisies= . In spite of this, there were no butterflies at all apparent, until I nett= ed one fresh female Acmon Blue ( Plebejus acmon ) visiting rabbitsfoot clov= er ( Trifolium arvense ). Amazing that this was the sole butterfly of the d= ay so far. Then, down at the boat launch, a small yellow sulphur or female = orange tip flew over plantain and purple vetch Going back down the road, I spotted a robust thistle with some 30+ buds (no= ne in bloom, though some were elsewhere). Searching the well-defended plant= I found three skeletonized leaves, each with a compact silken nest down th= e midvein. Two of these were open and empty, with bunches of small frass re= maining at the lower end. The third was still loosely sealed, and I could s= ee a caterpillar within. I gently opened the silk, not wanting it to drop o= ff=E2=80=94difficult, as the leaves are very rigid and thorny. It appeared = melitiid rather than vanessid to me=E2=80=94 not a painted lady. It was nea= rly an inch long (~25 mm). This is too big for Phyciodes mylitta , and acco= rding to James & Nunnallee, is approaching the usual pupation size for P. p= allida. The dorsal pattern and tubercles resembled the illustrations in Jam= es & Nunnallee, though the orange marking was not as bright. If this was in= deed a larva of P. pallida , it is the first modern confirmation for the sp= ecies in Klickitat Co. in 41 years. It should be confirmed with adults and/= or reared material next spring. (Or maybe later this year? Record dates and= James & Nunnallee both suggest that, while most records are for the early = spring, there is some reason to believe there may be occasional, non-diapau= sing, perhaps facultative double voltinism. I suggest that this caterpillar= is likely the offspring of early spring adults that sneaked in a bit of br= eeding on the very few clement days this spring, and that it will produce a= July-flying adult. Especially after all the rain, it might be worth lookin= g, for someone who could stand the midsummer heat in the eastern Gorge.) Feeling good about perhaps having found the target species, I checked two m= ore sites still farther east. The first is the wooded swale east of Rooseve= lt that I called the "Fish Patch" in Chasing Monarchs for its reliability a= s a site for migrating and breeding monarchs. David James wrote in G'num th= is month that after the big rise in California winterers this year, monarch= s should be arriving in Washington again, beginning in June. I'd hoped to g= ive him supporting evidence, but flooding of the swale and succession by wi= llows and Russian olives seem to be blotting out most of the milkweed of bo= th species, and I saw only a couple of Cabbage Whites ( Pieris rapae ), tho= ugh the afternoon was at last fully sunny and hot. Finally, I checked one of my favorite canyons, Rock Creek, between Roosevel= t and Rufus. After the extreme drought of last year it was a pleasure to se= e the hills still greenish in June, and the wildflowers in the lower canyon= where the rimrock comes almost down to the road were spectacular, mostly b= uckwheats, penstemons, and yellow composites. I found some of the thistle h= ere, too, but again no butterflies=E2=80=94until almost six o'clock, when t= hey decided to come out for the last of the sun: half a dozen Ochre Ringlet= s ( Coenonympha californica ) and a couple of (probably) Becker's Whites ( = Pontia beckerii ) motoring down the roadside. I was watching a beautiful li= ttle western side-blotched lizard ( Uta stansburyana ), salmon-pink below a= nd doing little push-ups on basalt boulders right beside me, when some blue= s showed up. And right at 6:30 p.m., I spied three pairs of Columbia Blues = ( Euphilotes columbiensis ) in copulo atop arrowleaf buckwheat heads, two o= f the pairs on the same inflorescence; and one random male frantically tryi= ng to get in on the action, bugging all the others. Across the road, four w= hite pelicans paddled through the sparkles on Rock Creek Lake just before t= he sun dived beneath the western ridge, Data : WA: Klickitat Co. Railroad Island Boat Launch road, Columbia River, just ab= ove John Day Dam. 45.723013, -120.700621 Phyciodes pallida , one prob. 5th = instar larva, on Cirsium undulatum ; Plebejus acmon, 1 fresh female on Trif= olium arvense. 1 June 2022 WA: Klickitat Co. Rock Creek, one km above SR 14. 45.712690, -120.463577 Co= enonympha californica , 6; Euphilotes columbiensis , 3 prs in copulo, 3+ ma= les, on Eriogonum compositum. 1 June 2022 R. M. Pyle 6 June 2022 -=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#10961): https://groups.io/g/NorWestLeps/message/10961 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/91594410/795800 Group Owner: NorWestLeps+<owner...> Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/NorWestLeps/leave/4559582/795800/778100922= /xyzzy [<lists...>] -=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D- --MfcirlK6siWyCGMQ85Zt Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <p class=3D"DefangedMsoNormal" style=3D"text-align: center;" align=3D"cente= r" style=3D"margin:0px;"><span style=3D"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115= %; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">East Klickitat = Co., 1 June 2022: RMP Field Report<br/><br/></span></p> <p class=3D"DefangedMsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0px;"><span style=3D"font-si= ze: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','= serif';"><span style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 </span>Weary of the never-ending ra= in, gray, and cold of this worst butterfly spring in recent memory, I visit= ed Klickitat County on June 1. I had intended to make the trip in April, th= en May, but even the "sunny side" of the Cascades has had largely h= ostile weather for weeks on end. My particular hope was to find the Pale Cr= escent (<em style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Phyciodes pallida</em>),= one of the last three Washington resident butterflies I have yet to see wi= thin the state. I didn't have time to drive to the distant Snake River = sites, so I intended to revisit the much-nearer Klickitat County localities= , none of them confirmed for decades.</span></p> <p class=3D"DefangedMsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0px;"><span style=3D"font-si= ze: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','= serif';"><span style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 </span>June First was forecast for = full sun and temperatures into the eighties, but it dawned overcast at The = Dalles and remained hazy all day, probably not exceeding 75 F. First I chec= ked a draw east of Maryhill Mansion where John Hinchliff found the species = in 1981, but this had been utterly altered by cattle and grass and there we= re no hostplants, the native wavy-leaved thistle (<em style=3D"mso-bidi-fon= t-style: normal;">Cirsium undulatum</em>). A Stan Jewett data site from 195= 3, east of there, was garbled=E2=80=94the record did not match the ground. = The third legacy site I checked was Paul Handy's record from John Day D= am in 1970. That's a big area, but on the little road from the dam down= to the Railroad Island boat launch on the Columbia, I channeled my inner S= tewart Wechsler and spotted several healthy stands of <em style=3D"mso-bidi= -font-style: normal;">C. undulatum</em> on the roadside and in the dry ston= y ground beneath basalt rimrock and scree. The air was certainly warm enoug= h for flight and there were loads of nectar, mostly buckwheats and daisies.= In spite of this, there were no butterflies at all apparent, until I nette= d one fresh female Acmon Blue (<em style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">P= lebejus acmon</em>) visiting rabbitsfoot clover (<em style=3D"mso-bidi-font= -style: normal;">Trifolium arvense</em>). Amazing that this was the sole bu= tterfly of the day so far. Then, down at the boat launch, a small yellow su= lphur or female orange tip flew over plantain and purple vetch</span></p> <p class=3D"DefangedMsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0px;"><span style=3D"font-si= ze: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','= serif';"><span style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 </span>Going back down the road, I = spotted a robust thistle with some 30+ buds (none in bloom, though some wer= e elsewhere). Searching the well-defended plant I found three skeletonized = leaves, each with a compact silken nest down the midvein. Two of these were= open and empty, with bunches of small frass remaining at the lower end. Th= e third was still loosely sealed, and I could see a caterpillar within. I g= ently opened the silk, not wanting it to drop off=E2=80=94difficult, as the= leaves are very rigid and thorny. It appeared melitiid rather than vanessi= d to me=E2=80=94<em style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not </em>a paint= ed lady. It was nearly an inch long (~25 mm). This is too big for <em style= =3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Phyciodes mylitta</em>, and according to = James & Nunnallee, is approaching the usual pupation size for <em style= =3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">P. pallida</em>. The dorsal pattern and t= ubercles resembled the illustrations in James & Nunnallee, though the o= range marking was not as bright. If this was indeed a larva of <em style=3D= "mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">P. pallida</em>, it is the first modern conf= irmation for the species in Klickitat Co. in 41 years. It should be confirm= ed with adults and/or reared material next spring. (Or maybe later this yea= r? Record dates and James & Nunnallee both suggest that, while most rec= ords are for the early spring, there is some reason to believe there may be= occasional, non-diapausing, perhaps facultative double voltinism. I sugges= t that this caterpillar is likely the offspring of early spring adults that= sneaked in a bit of breeding on the very few clement days this spring, and= that it will produce a July-flying adult. Especially after all the rain, i= t might be worth looking, for someone who could stand the midsummer heat in= the eastern Gorge.)</span></p> <p class=3D"DefangedMsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0px;"><span style=3D"font-si= ze: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','= serif';"><span style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 </span>Feeling good about perhaps h= aving found the target species, I checked two more sites still farther east= . The first is the wooded swale east of Roosevelt that I called the "Fi= sh Patch" in <em style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chasing Monarch= s</em> for its reliability as a site for migrating and breeding monarchs. D= avid James wrote in <em style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">G'num</e= m> this month that after the big rise in California winterers this year, mo= narchs should be arriving in Washington again, beginning in June. I'd h= oped to give him supporting evidence, but flooding of the swale and success= ion by willows and Russian olives seem to be blotting out most of the milkw= eed of both species, and I saw only a couple of Cabbage Whites (<em style= =3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pieris rapae</em>), though the afternoon = was at last fully sunny and hot.</span></p> <p class=3D"DefangedMsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0px;"><span style=3D"font-si= ze: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','= serif';"><span style=3D"mso-tab-count: 1;">=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2= =A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 </span>Finally, I checked one of my= favorite canyons, Rock Creek, between Roosevelt and Rufus. After the extre= me drought of last year it was a pleasure to see the hills still greenish i= n June, and the wildflowers in the lower canyon where the rimrock comes alm= ost down to the road were spectacular, mostly buckwheats, penstemons, and y= ellow composites. I found some of the thistle here, too, but again no butte= rflies=E2=80=94until almost six o'clock, when they decided to come out = for the last of the sun: half a dozen Ochre Ringlets (<em style=3D"mso-bidi= -font-style: normal;">Coenonympha californica</em>) and a couple of (probab= ly) Becker's Whites (<em style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pontia = beckerii</em>) motoring down the roadside. I was watching a beautiful littl= e western side-blotched lizard (<em style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">= Uta stansburyana</em>), salmon-pink below and doing little push-ups on basa= lt boulders right beside me, when some blues showed up. And right at 6:30 p= .m., I spied three pairs of Columbia Blues (<em style=3D"mso-bidi-font-styl= e: normal;">Euphilotes columbiensis</em>) <em style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style:= normal;">in copulo</em> atop arrowleaf buckwheat heads, two of the pairs o= n the same inflorescence; and one random male frantically trying to get in = on the action, bugging all the others. Across the road, four white pelicans= paddled through the sparkles on Rock Creek Lake just before the sun dived = beneath the western ridge,</span></p> <p class=3D"DefangedMsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0px;"><em style=3D"mso-bidi-= font-style: normal;"><u><span style=3D"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%= ; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><br/>Data</span>= </u></em><u><span style=3D"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-famil= y: 'Times New Roman','serif';">:<br/></span></u></p> <p class=3D"DefangedMsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0px;"><span style=3D"font-si= ze: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','= serif';">WA: Klickitat Co. Railroad Island Boat Launch road, Columbia R= iver, just above John Day Dam. </span><u><span style=3D"font-size: 9.0pt; l= ine-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color:= #4285f4; background: white;"><span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">=C2=A0</sp= an></span></u><span style=3D"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-fam= ily: 'Times New Roman','serif'; background: white;">45.7230= 13, -120.700621</span><span style=3D"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; = font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <em style=3D"mso-= bidi-font-style: normal;">Phyciodes pallida</em>, one prob. 5th instar larv= a, on <em style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cirsium undulatum</em>; <e= m style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Plebejus acmon,</em> 1 fresh femal= e on <em style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trifolium arvense</em>. 1 J= une 2022</span></p> <p class=3D"DefangedMsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0px;"><span style=3D"font-si= ze: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','= serif';">WA: Klickitat Co. Rock Creek, one km above SR 14. <span style= =3D"background: white;">45.712690, -120.463577</span></span><em style=3D"ms= o-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Coenonympha californica</em>, 6; <em style=3D"= mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Euphilotes columbiensis</em>, 3 prs in copulo= , 3+ males, on <em style=3D"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eriogonum composi= tum</em>. <span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">=C2=A0=C2=A0</span>1 June 2022= </p> <p class=3D"DefangedMsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0px;"><span style=3D"font-si= ze: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','= serif';"><br/>R. M. Pyle</span></p> <p class=3D"DefangedMsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0px;"><span style=3D"font-si= ze: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','= serif';">6 June 2022</span></p> <p class=3D"DefangedMsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0px;"><span style=3D"font-si= ze: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','= serif';">=C2=A0</span></p> <div width=3D"1" style=3D"color:white;clear:both">_._,_._,_</div> <hr> G= roups.io Links:<p> You receive all messages sent to this group. <p> <a= target=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://groups.io/g/NorWestLeps/message/10961">V= iew/Reply Online (#10961)</a> | <a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"mailto:NorWes= <tLeps...>?subject=3DRe:%20%5BNorWestLeps%5D%20East%20Klickitat%20Fiel= d%20Trip%3A%20Pale%20Crescent">Reply To Group</a> | <a target=3D"_blank" h= ref=3D"mailto:<tlpyle...>?subject=3DPrivate:%20Re:%20%5BNorWestLe= ps%5D%20East%20Klickitat%20Field%20Trip%3A%20Pale%20Crescent">Reply To Send= er</a> | <a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://groups.io/mt/91594410/7958= 00">Mute This Topic</a> | <a href=3D"https://groups.io/g/NorWestLeps/post"= >New Topic</a><br> <a href=3D"https://groups.io/g/NorWestLeps/editsub/79= 5800">Your Subscription</a> | <a href=3D"mailto:NorWestLeps+<owner...>= ">Contact Group Owner</a> | <a href=3D"https://groups.io/g/NorWestLeps/lea= ve/4559582/795800/778100922/xyzzy">Unsubscribe</a> [lists@butterflydigest.= com]<br> <div width=3D"1" style=3D"color:white;clear:both">_._,_._,_</div>= =20 --MfcirlK6siWyCGMQ85Zt-- |
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