The Daily Bucket is a place to catch your casual observations of the natural world and turn them into a valuable resource. Whether it's the first flowers of spring or that odd bug in your basement, don't be afraid to toss your thoughts into the bucket. Check here for a more complete description.
September 16-22, 2012
Omaha, Nebraska
Monarch(female) - Danaus plexippus
Backyard butterfly weekly list. Number indicates the number of days sighted. Names in bold represent new sightings for the year.
Butterflies:
Monarch(5)
Painted Lady(2)
Cabbage White(1)
Red Admiral(1)
Orange Sulphur(1)
Skippers:
Fiery(2)
Peck's(1)
Sachem(1)
Silver-spotted(1)
Moths:
Ailanthus Webworm Moth(1)
While putting together this week's butterfly list, I took a look at last years calender to see how things matched up. I'm always interested to see how things compare to the previous year and for most of the summer my counts have been much lower this year than last. What is remarkable about this week is not just that the count is almost the same this as last(10 sightings this year versus 11 last year), but that the butterflies seen were almost exactly the same. Last year's total for the third full week of September included one less day with a Monarch sighting, one more day with a Cabbage White sighting, and a Comma. This gives me hope that we can at least have a decent Fall.
So, what are you seeing in your area?